Adults go crazy with cartoons
We have been brought up to believe that cartoons are children stuff and adults are past that age. <br>But how wrong we are!
We have been brought up to believe that cartoons are children stuff and adults are past that age.
But how wrong we are! Titus Serunjogi reports on a new phenomenon where hundreds of adults skip lunch or beat the rush hour in order to watch animated movies.
Go to Ed’s Video Library in Wandegeya and chances are, you will have to book several days in advance to get your hands on Tom and Jerry (a cartoon where a mouse and a cat play silly tricks on each other).
This cartoon is on high demand compared to the more serious real-life series like Prison Break or Desperate Housewives. Do not think that cartoons are only borrowed by parents who wish to connect with their children.
Hundreds of corporate employees and showbiz celebrities confess that they love cartoons. Afritalents actress, Jennifer Kabanda, is obsessed with Shrek II.
Karitas Karisimbi is also notorious for leaving work at about midday to go home and watch Chicken And Cow for at least two hours.
Sanyu FM presenter Nash Kiwanuka, Bebe Cool, Michael Ross, songbird Juliana Kanyomoozi, famous basketball hunk Norman Blick, Moyo Africa marketing executive John Bageire and even Express FC’s committee member Peter Mubanda have all been known for their fixation for cartoons.
Just what has got into people’s heads these days?
According to wikipaedia.com, cartoons were first used as paintings and tapestries. Later, newspapers took them on to make slapstick humour. Motion picture gurus soon took on the humorous characters and turned them into actors for children’s fairy tale classics.
This gave way to the very first cartoons on screen; which were indeed taken from children’s fairy books like Pinocchio, Thumbelina, and Peter Pan.
Walt Disney, an American multimillion dollar empire was built on cash massed out of selling cartoons.
But just why do adults get hooked on cartoons?
Asked to clarify reports that she has an obsession for cartoons, Karitas says: “Yes, I do watch cartoons. Cartoons are the best way to de-stress. Even if you were so angry, you cannot fail to crack a laugh at seeing the way these silly innocent things relate. I return to work with a clearer mind.â€
Sammy Sebadduka, an IT specialist for MTN confesses that he cannot imagine life without Finding Nemo, (a bestselling cartoon with fish for characters; a daddy fish determined to find a son fish ). Sebadduka says he visits his best friend Elvis Kalema’s house everyday to watch cartoons with his (Kalema’s) daughter.
“There is nothing wrong with pretending to be a kid and fulfilling the kid feeling in myself for a few minutes everyday. I can catch up with my friends at the pub afterwards.†But Sebadduka is not alone.
Enter any family living room today after twilight and you will be shocked to find daddy, mummy, the children and the maid with their eyes glued to the screen, watching Cartoon Network.
Rachel Aurugai, a counsellor and psychology lecturer at Bugema University, believes that some parents watch cartoons because, as children, they did not have the privilege of being nurtured with such ample resources. “Whenever such adults become frustrated or depressed, they revert to things that they missed out on doing as children.â€She says other adults get addicted to watching cartoons in a bid to get intimate with their children. Along the way, they pick deep underlying meanings from the cartoons and even enjoy them.
Joseph Musaalo, a counselling psychologist at Uganda Christian University Mukono, says cartoon watching is an addiction like any other and age does not matter.
“Some people begin by watching them for leisure and then it gets more interesting. There are some parents who develop interest while watching the cartoons with their children. As the children get excited, parents get excited too and develop a passion for the cartoons,†he says.
Musaalo says the addiction comes from the feelings that the cartoons provoke in these adults. It is this feeling that compels the person to keep watching the cartoons over and over.
Margaret Namirembe, a mother of two in Kawempe, says she watches cartoons as much as she plays with balloons, jumps on trampolines and plays video games, to be a good mother.
“That is how I spend my day raising my first twins,†she says.
But evidently, the days when cartoons were meant for marketing classic fairy tales and toys and bubble gum are long gone.
Cathy Bagaya, an actress with the Theater Factory reminisces,
“In Primary School, our teachers told us Madonna was satanic and it was bad manners to watch the Simpsons.†(Madonna is a cartoon drama about a good-for-nothing dad who leaves all responsibilities to his wife.)
Bagaya says that she has since discovered that Simpsons was indeed meant for adults, not children. In fact, the cartoon was based on an adult sitcom.
Behind those seemingly silly cartoon characters, the adult can grasp so many innuendos, hidden messages and sometimes sexual themes that a child will clearly not understand. In fact, the most successful cartoons are those that have thrived on double standards.
It is because of their duality that Aurugai believes cartoons should not be left entirely to children. Some of the modern-day cartoons have erotic and violent messages that parents should guide their children through,†she says. Even if children now enjoy Popeye comics, the sight of a one-eyed sailor being pummeled on screen would trouble a delicate toddler. Same goes for that Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles film that that shows a heroe eating cats!
Japanese have taken things a step further and instead brought about a new genre of X-rated cartoons called anime.
But how wrong we are! Titus Serunjogi reports on a new phenomenon where hundreds of adults skip lunch or beat the rush hour in order to watch animated movies.
Go to Ed’s Video Library in Wandegeya and chances are, you will have to book several days in advance to get your hands on Tom and Jerry (a cartoon where a mouse and a cat play silly tricks on each other).
This cartoon is on high demand compared to the more serious real-life series like Prison Break or Desperate Housewives. Do not think that cartoons are only borrowed by parents who wish to connect with their children.
Hundreds of corporate employees and showbiz celebrities confess that they love cartoons. Afritalents actress, Jennifer Kabanda, is obsessed with Shrek II.
Karitas Karisimbi is also notorious for leaving work at about midday to go home and watch Chicken And Cow for at least two hours.
Sanyu FM presenter Nash Kiwanuka, Bebe Cool, Michael Ross, songbird Juliana Kanyomoozi, famous basketball hunk Norman Blick, Moyo Africa marketing executive John Bageire and even Express FC’s committee member Peter Mubanda have all been known for their fixation for cartoons.
Just what has got into people’s heads these days?
According to wikipaedia.com, cartoons were first used as paintings and tapestries. Later, newspapers took them on to make slapstick humour. Motion picture gurus soon took on the humorous characters and turned them into actors for children’s fairy tale classics.
This gave way to the very first cartoons on screen; which were indeed taken from children’s fairy books like Pinocchio, Thumbelina, and Peter Pan.
Walt Disney, an American multimillion dollar empire was built on cash massed out of selling cartoons.
But just why do adults get hooked on cartoons?
Asked to clarify reports that she has an obsession for cartoons, Karitas says: “Yes, I do watch cartoons. Cartoons are the best way to de-stress. Even if you were so angry, you cannot fail to crack a laugh at seeing the way these silly innocent things relate. I return to work with a clearer mind.â€
Sammy Sebadduka, an IT specialist for MTN confesses that he cannot imagine life without Finding Nemo, (a bestselling cartoon with fish for characters; a daddy fish determined to find a son fish ). Sebadduka says he visits his best friend Elvis Kalema’s house everyday to watch cartoons with his (Kalema’s) daughter.
“There is nothing wrong with pretending to be a kid and fulfilling the kid feeling in myself for a few minutes everyday. I can catch up with my friends at the pub afterwards.†But Sebadduka is not alone.
Enter any family living room today after twilight and you will be shocked to find daddy, mummy, the children and the maid with their eyes glued to the screen, watching Cartoon Network.
Rachel Aurugai, a counsellor and psychology lecturer at Bugema University, believes that some parents watch cartoons because, as children, they did not have the privilege of being nurtured with such ample resources. “Whenever such adults become frustrated or depressed, they revert to things that they missed out on doing as children.â€She says other adults get addicted to watching cartoons in a bid to get intimate with their children. Along the way, they pick deep underlying meanings from the cartoons and even enjoy them.
Joseph Musaalo, a counselling psychologist at Uganda Christian University Mukono, says cartoon watching is an addiction like any other and age does not matter.
“Some people begin by watching them for leisure and then it gets more interesting. There are some parents who develop interest while watching the cartoons with their children. As the children get excited, parents get excited too and develop a passion for the cartoons,†he says.
Musaalo says the addiction comes from the feelings that the cartoons provoke in these adults. It is this feeling that compels the person to keep watching the cartoons over and over.
Margaret Namirembe, a mother of two in Kawempe, says she watches cartoons as much as she plays with balloons, jumps on trampolines and plays video games, to be a good mother.
“That is how I spend my day raising my first twins,†she says.
But evidently, the days when cartoons were meant for marketing classic fairy tales and toys and bubble gum are long gone.
Cathy Bagaya, an actress with the Theater Factory reminisces,
“In Primary School, our teachers told us Madonna was satanic and it was bad manners to watch the Simpsons.†(Madonna is a cartoon drama about a good-for-nothing dad who leaves all responsibilities to his wife.)
Bagaya says that she has since discovered that Simpsons was indeed meant for adults, not children. In fact, the cartoon was based on an adult sitcom.
Behind those seemingly silly cartoon characters, the adult can grasp so many innuendos, hidden messages and sometimes sexual themes that a child will clearly not understand. In fact, the most successful cartoons are those that have thrived on double standards.
It is because of their duality that Aurugai believes cartoons should not be left entirely to children. Some of the modern-day cartoons have erotic and violent messages that parents should guide their children through,†she says. Even if children now enjoy Popeye comics, the sight of a one-eyed sailor being pummeled on screen would trouble a delicate toddler. Same goes for that Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles film that that shows a heroe eating cats!
Japanese have taken things a step further and instead brought about a new genre of X-rated cartoons called anime.