Animated Society: How Cartoons have Shaped Our Thoughts and Values

Cartoons are embroidered into the fabric of our childhoods — they taught us lessons we weren’t even aware we were learning. Personally, cartoons were the highlight of my day when I was younger. After dinner, my sister and I would huddle up and learn Spanish from Dora, roll around on the floor with laughter at Tom and Jerry’s silly schemes and rivalry, and sometimes even pretend we were solving mysteries like Scooby-Doo. 

On the surface, it may look like these are just cherished memories and a form of entertainment, but looking back, I realise the impact it had on me — the way I viewed cultures, relationships and even my morals to a certain extent. I’m sure many of you can relate. Over the summer, I came across an article that briefly talked about the role of cartoons in shaping societal perceptions, and after that, I fell down a rabbit hole. I scoured the internet on all that I could find, and even though I didn’t understand a lot of what was written, it excited me. 

So, a couple weeks ago, when my friend Kiara Matthew and I were told to give a talk in class, this is what first came to mind, and that led me to write this piece. It made me realise — and admire — the fact that the quiet characters that had been in the background all along were influencing not only us kids, but everyone around us too.

Historical Influence

We can view cartoons as sort of a time capsule. The iconic Mickey Mouse, created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, was born in 1928 during the Great Depression, and suddenly sparked hope within the United States. He became more than just a mere character — he embodied optimism, and offered the spirit that America so desperately needed. 

Another hilariously accurate example is Popeye the Sailor Man who debuted just a couple years later, and became so popular that reports say that the spinach consumption in the US rocketed (Popeye was famous for his spinach-fuelled strength). He starred in numerous propaganda films, along with Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny during World War II, which encouraged patriotism, war bonds, and even directly mocked enemy leaders like Mussolini and Hitler (for example, Der Fuehrer’s Face, the Oscar winning short), making the characters all the more popular.

Donald Duck working in a Nazi factory; Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943)

We cannot forget Betty Boop, who originally portrayed the playful and optimistic spirit of women in the 1930s, but as the views towards women’s role in society changed, she evolved to reflect modern ideas.  

After a tonne of research and reading, it’s astonishing to realise how cartoons down the ages so cleverly portrayed everything that was right and wrong with society during a certain period of time through satire and humour.

Cartoons in the Modern World

When we view the cartoons from the past, it’s like we are seeing who we were, as a society, whereas now, it seems almost as though they are asking us who we want to be. Although cartoons may have originally been light-hearted and humorous, they now question instead of merely reflecting societal issues. They help children develop perspectives, and parallelly lead adults to question them. If they are looked at closely and examined, cartoons depict human nature — our instinctual reactions to certain biases, making us unconsciously aware of what to or what not to do. 

Cartoons show us how to live life, directly influencing our behaviour. It is an underestimated form of media that reflects the previous generations’ thoughts and ideas, all the while shaping the next generation’s ideas and thoughts. 

Encanto, for example, depicts a multigenerational family where each member has some sort of magical power. To me, the characters portray the pressure they face when expectations are so high. Each character fights through different issues, including self-worth, finding their own identity, perfectionism as an illusion, and the struggle to surpass the status quo. 

Moana (2016) is an example of strong, independent female characters

Gender equality has now become a major theme. While earlier cartoons often showed women as sidekicks, damsels in distress, and sometimes even comic relief, male characters were seen as saviours in armour. Later, such restrictive gender roles were seen as ridiculous since it stereotyped women as passive and men as people with no capacity for emotional vulnerability. 

For example, the Powerpuff Girls are shown to be heroes —  independent, strong and courageous. Icons like Moana and Elsa are seen as solo stars whose journey doesn’t depend on romance, but their own sense of self-discovery and adventure. Steven Universe is praised for its direct acknowledgement where the male protagonist remains a hero even though his strength still comes from emotional openness and empathy.

As I said before, cartoons were one of my first teachers of kindness, courage and humour. After reflecting and looking at the details with more awareness, I picked up some of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which they shaped some of my views, making me wonder how cartoons will influence the upcoming generations.

By Aadya Satpathy, Grade 9