How cartoons got us to Harvard?
(Written for Harvard 2019 commencement though applicable for any college graduate)
Welcome, parents, friends, and soon to be graduates. Hold on we have just a few more hours until the thing we worked so hard for is finally finished. Raise your hand if you ever watched cartoons when you were a child? Raise your hand if you still watch them now? Haha, glad to see that you are all still youthful. I remember waking up on a Saturday morning, a full bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in one hand and the remote in the other hand. For a moment we were able to be transported into any world. Underwater civilizations, enormous laboratories, and even regular neighborhoods. At first glance, these shows can be passed off a just slew of one-off comedic efforts. However, there is something more in these shows.
As children, as we grow up we go through some tough times. We have to excel in school, athletics, and socially. We have to find time to be perfect at many things, though sometimes that makes us neglect other things. Maybe at one point we focused on school and lost time for other activities. Raise your hand now if any of you have people trying to insult by calling you a nerd, geek, or just weird? You see bullying is more common than we think. A study conducted by Cartoon Network and the Harvard Graduate School of Education found that 62% of 9, 10, and 11-year-olds said they had been bullied before (Cartoon Network). With bullying as widespread it is, people need a place that they go to without fear. Often these shows offer an outlet for us to explore. Spongebob taught us how to have an abundance of joy, how to be enthusiastic at whatever life throws your way. Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy had us come together around a group of misunderstood friends. Hey Arnold! showed how it is ok to have insecurities but how we can band together to overcome anything.
So as we grew up we took these lessons and applied them to our life. We learned to embrace what makes each and every one us different, and learn and grow from each other. So if we ever felt like the fire nation was able to stage an attack we woke up from our hundred-year slumber and gathered our closest friends together to defeat them.
We live in a day and age where technology is engrained in everything we do. From online shopping to grocery shopping, from scheduling event dates to awkward Tinder dates, we have come dependent on learning from our tech. More and more this will continue to be the cause. Children born now will never know a time before smartphones or even Alexa and Google Home. We are shaped by the things that surround us most. Living in the Golden Age of Cartoons from the 80s to the 00s has imprinted lessons on us that we may have never realized. I can remember when I was a child saying that I wanted to grow and become a great scientist. A lot of this stemmed from watching Dexter cook up some cool experiments in his lab and Jimmy Neutron battling aliens in space. Flash forward 20 years later and I am now a master of science. Huh mom, told you that TV was good for you.
In 1977 Harvard made the agreement with the all-women’s Radcliffe College to merge. It was not until 1999 until Radcliffe was fully integrated into college. Today’s girls were exposed to strong, smart, confident, caring, female characters. Kim Possible was able to show people you can save the world, get straight A’s, and have time for sports. Eliza Thornberry introduced many us to the world of wildlife conservation, and Ms. Frizzle took us on wild adventures, with both of them showing that science does not have to be a “male field”. The list of these impactful characters continues from Daria to Penny Proud to Ginger, to the new kids show Doc McStuffins. Cartoons have been key in showing that all types of fields are for all genders, and races, and social identities.
Many of us were first exposed to Harvard through TV and movies. The American classic “Legally Blonde” told the story of Harvard Law’s Elle Woods. “The Social Network”, told the story of Mark Zuckerberg’s rise. And yes even Method Man and Redman’s “How High”, in addition to the movie “Dope”, helped minorities learn about Harvard and see visualize representation. We did not realize but from our first exposure we started to think have maybe that could be me. We watched shows with people that looked like us and said: “hey I can do that”. We learned it was ok to be sad and to cry because that is what our favorite characters did. As we end I want to say to congratulations to you all. You did you, you accomplished what you have set out for your selves. And as each and every one of you blaze on new paths to cure diseases, solve climate change, and manage large organizations. I want you remember one thing. When you child say mom and dad, can I watch TV, you can tell them the story of how cartoons got you to Harvard. Thank you all, Veritas!
Source:https://i.cartoonnetwork.com/stopbullying/CN_Stop_Bullying_Survey_Report_Exec_Summary.pdf
