Revenge of The Robots
Revenge of The Robots
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco
Published in: The Manila Times, May 25, 1987
THEY first appeared in the 70's, those super robots from Japan, capturing the hearts of our children with their breakneck action and mechanical gore. Having taken the world of television by storm, they soon became merchandise wonders as well, as our children played out their fantasies in a futuristic realm where battlestars and atomic-powered titans contested supremacy. Filipino kids from virtually all walks of life had fallen hopelessly in love with this new powerplay age in fantasy animation - as did children of all races everywhere
Of course, our Own President would have none of it. Robot cartoons, he said, would make our children fierce and overly aggressive eventually transforming us into a nation of rabid war-mongers. Presumably, a docile and half-hearted people would fit much better into his scheme of things, dubious as it may seem in retrospect.
In those days, it was a simple case of doing exactly what we were told. Robot cartoons were "bad" for us because the President had said so, and that was simply that. With a proverbial sweep of his pen, Mr. Marcos had virtually outlawed these mechanical superheroes from our livingroom screens. Much like those ill-fated video games before them, the intergalactic titans of television were arbitrarily shut off by a heavy-handed system already grown expert at the skillful art of preventive surgery.
The questions persist to this day. Were these robot cartoons really "bad" for the minds of defenseless young children? Or were they merely pawns in a glossy public-relations scheme that fed on our puritanical fears?
One way or another, we should know soon enough! For the robots and their sword-wielding friends are back with a vengeance, making every parent shudder at their growing influence over our kids.
While some of us may have been too young to have had children of our own in the initial heyday of "Voltes V" and "Mazinger Z", we now find ourselves face-to-face with a new wave of young tykes who fly around the house making swooshing noises and mouthing Japanese attack words. There is a great deal of imaginary swordplay taking place in our homes, and a torrent of imaginary blood is spilled nightly on our livingroom floors. You could say that we have all become concerned guardians in a new era that makes no attempt to lead us on a leash.
To be sure, a great deal has already been written about the frightening side-effects of powerplay animation in general, particularly about a code-of-arms invariably molded in the shadow of feudalistc Japan. Much of this disturbing insight has been offered up as "expert advice" - the rhetorical kind that intimidates readers into a sort-of Marcosian submissiveness. And we've all had more than enough of that.
No "educated opinion" can ever substitute for a parent's all-knowing concern. And there is no better inquiry into this matter than a first-hand peek into the swashbuckling world of warlike cartoons.
You may find ample comfort in the knowl edge, for instance, that despite the generally inane storylines and their outrageous translations into English, the distinctions are pretty well drawn between the forces of good and evil. The villains literally ooze with loathsome wretchedness, and their sins are cruel and uncaring. More often than not, they are a mutant race of robot-riding humanoids obsessed with the enslavement of common, god-fearing people. No one could deserve the avenging axe more than they do, and it is little wonder that Mr. Marcos should have felt so strongly against their just annihilation.
On the other hand, the so-called second generation of robotic superheroes (produced in the West after the original Japanese models) are even more conservative where a moral ethic is concerned. Many even have regular epilogues that come across like cornball sloganeering. There is probably nothing to fear here, other than the marketing wizardry of the multinational toy conglomerates who are making a bundle on their look-alike collectibles. In fact, there is a lot more blood-leeting in The Bible - and sometimes for all of the wrong reasons.
As for their notorious propensity to inspire the use of force against the perpetuators of evil, it has become increasingly difficult to fault these warlike cartoons with a misguided sense of values. Force is sometimes necessary when all other possible means have been exhausted, and our own Bayang Magiliw makes no bones about that. In the end, it may be far better to raise our children within earshot of the universal struggle against greed and oppression, than in the slapstick violence of Porky Pig or the subliminal lechery of Old World fairytales.
Of course, the choice is our own. And it is that choice—along with its attendant responsibilities—that spells the big difference between then and now.
* * *
Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Revenge of The Robots” (page 1 of 2), The Manila Times, May 25, 1987
Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Revenge of The Robots” (page 2 of 2), The Manila Times, May 25, 1987
