Michelle here.
Since getting my DVD player operational last month, I have been starting to collect TV shows that I have loved. Most of my new acquisitions are shows for grownups, naturally enough, but one is my favorite cartoon show as a kid: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Looking back on the show from the perspective of an adult, I can now see why my parents dismissed it as a thirty-minute toy commercial. It was. It was also extremely corny. I often can’t stop giggling when He-Man yells, "I HAVE THE POOOW-ERRR!" The animation is somewhat crude by today’s standards and it is fascinating how often the animators relied on stock images, especially during the transformation scenes.
But what makes the show interesting to me as an adult is how grounded the stories are in morality. Now, He-Man was famous for tacking on a little morality speech at the end of each episode, but that isn’t what interests me. The episodes themselves had stories that made important moral points, some of them often startlingly Christian in nature.
In one episode, the female protagonist Teela is bemused when He-Man risks his life to save the evil Mer-Man. Why did he do it? she asks. He-Man responds that all life is precious, even an evil one. In another episode, archvillain Skeletor and his henchmen cast a spell to summon an evil creature from another dimension so that they can use the creature to conquer Eternia. Much to their dismay they find that they cannot control the creature they have summoned and must turn to the good guys for help in getting rid of it.
Powerful stuff, with a message kids today would do well to hear.
For more information on the DVDs that are currently available, check out the following fan site, apparently maintained by a practicing Christian:
Kind of hard to notice the cross on breastplate now that you’re older, huh?
I always loved the show, but one thing I could never get my brain around was the fact they such wonderful works of magic and science — talking cats and tanks and lasers and dragons… Yet in the end, the technology to create a decent pair of pants has persistently eluded them…
I have been considering buying some of my old favorite “toy commercials” too, but for some reason I just cannot seem to able to take them to the register.
Maybe I could find some kid to buy them for me?
Kind of hard not to notice the cross on breastplate now that you’re older, huh?
I always loved the show, but one thing I could never get my brain around was the fact they such wonderful works of magic and science — talking cats and tanks and lasers and dragons… Yet in the end, the technology to create a decent pair of pants has persistently eluded them…
I have been considering buying some of my old favorite “toy commercials” too, but for some reason I just cannot seem to able to take them to the register.
Maybe I could find some kid to buy them for me?
An indepth discussion of the moral grounding of the series can be found in one of the documentaries on the He-Man/She-Ra Christmas Special DVD. Said Special, while not one of the series’ highest points, is also noteworthy for obliquely referring to the real meaning of Christmas. The Earth children start to tell Orko the Christmas story, and while the special cuts away at this point, when it cuts back, we hear them finishing up with the end of the Visit of the Magi.
Not exactly a ringing proclamation of the Gospel, but noteworthy for a toy-inspired children’s special in the dawning days of political correctness.
Yes, I’m a He-Man fan. Never have quite grown out of it. 🙂
What I remember is they had a kind of superman type secret identity thing. In the transformation sequence, all that happens is that he wears less clothes and gets a tan, and just like Clark Kent without his glasses, no one ever connects the dots that Prince Adam and He Man are the same person, even though they look exactly the same.
I was a few years ahead of the He-Man experience.
By that time I had moved on to other things.
But I would enjoy collecting the entire Johnny Quest series.
Johnny and Hadji ROCKED!
I remember my mother not wanting us to watch He-Mand, because she was concerned with several aspects of the show, chief among them that He-Man’s power came from “the power of grayskull” – a mix of magic (gray being between white and black) based on death (a skull).
Also, the over-developed body types and lack of clothing was also offensive to her (and looked ridiculous to me). Lastly, there was Orko, who was a demon-type of being that was there as comic-relief.
I’d just like to hear your take on this: do you think it’s over-protection of children, or is it justified? I’ve got a 1-yr old now, and I’m trying to figure out where to draw the lines on what I will allow her to be exposed to.
Thanx,
Jamie Beu
I loved Underdog! Almost started the house on fire after watching an episode that gave me an idea to capture electricity.
My children loved He-man, and I was happy to let them watch it because of those nice little morals at the end. We still have all of their He-man toys (including the large Castle Greyskull) in a closet in our basement.
Oh, He-Man! My brother’s favorite cartoon, and one I watched regularly. Ohh, how time has passed…
It was a good show, far better than some things that are aimed at children today. “I have the POWEEEEERRRR!!!”
I’m surprised Mom didn’t reveal these fabulous secret powers to everyone.
Sorry, to everyone who watches that. 🙂
Tim J.: You don’t have to collect Johnny Quest: all the original episodes are collected in a single dvd set called “Johnny Quest: The Complete First Season” or somesuch. I got it for my dad a year or so back.
Yes, Derringdo, I remember reading about that right on this here ‘blog!
I didn’t realize the show only ran for 26 episodes.
Jonny, we hardly knew ye…
Oh yeah, I remember He-Man, and how I wish I could forget! I’m not sure how many I.Q. points I lost watching those mind-numbing politically-correct cartoons, but it must have been a substantial number.
The thing that always drove me batty was He-Man never using that big honkin’ sword for anything but swatting monsters with the flat of the blade (oh, and holding it aloft and yelling, “By the power of Greyskull! I have the poweeeeeeeerrrrrrrr!!” Nauseatin’ self-esteemism. Ugh!). He never, ever killed any monster, just wrestled with them, gave them a spanking with his sword, and somehow made them go away. What’s the point of a muscle-bound Conan the Barbarian type of guy having an 8-foot claymore if he never gets to use it slay the evil beasties?? But that’s what the politically-correct aversion to “violence” gets you.
Oh yeah, I remember He-Man, and how I wish I could forget! I’m not sure how many I.Q. points I lost watching those mind-numbing politically-correct cartoons, but it must have been a substantial number.
The thing that always drove me batty was He-Man never using that big honkin’ sword for anything but swatting monsters with the flat of the blade (oh, and holding it aloft and yelling, “By the power of Greyskull! I have the poweeeeeeeerrrrrrrr!!” Nauseatin’ self-esteemism. Ugh!). He never, ever killed any monster, just wrestled with them, gave them a spanking with his sword, and somehow made them go away. What’s the point of a muscle-bound Conan the Barbarian type of guy having an 8-foot claymore if he never gets to use it slay the evil beasties?? But that’s what the politically-correct aversion to “violence” gets you.
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