It may seem insignificant, a little kid watching a cartoon, but Captain Planet made me conscious of the dangers to our environment. I wanted to be a Planeteer. I wanted to help the environment.
Nowadays, educating the public about being environmentally conscious has become severely linked to commercial interests (think about those water filter systems whose angle is to reduce the use of water bottles). I say "severely" because beyond trying to sell products and promote some sort of message with short little thirty-second spots, there is little being done to actually teach the next generation. Sure, there are those pamphlets they give to elementary school students that show the proper way to recycle, but does anyone actually remember to follow those pieces of paper? I had it easy - Captain Planet engraved the importance of being green into my mind. Yeah, I was brainwashed by television, but I say it taught me right.
I'm not advocating the return of Captain Planet or the establishment of some similar TV show. People watch enough television as it is. I'm just saying that it's much more difficult nowadays to preach this message of being green than it was ten years ago. Things change, I get that. However, the passing of time cannot justify neglecting our environment.
What do you guys think? Has educating the importance of being green been forgotten? Is the media an effective means to teach the environmental movement? What did you guys think of Captain Planet?
Remember everyone,
The power is YOURS!
Hah, I have to admit, Captain Planet really made me a lot more ecologically-aware as a child. I think I used to pretend to be Captain Planet with my buds on the kindergarten playground. Mann. That was fun.
ReplyDelete