All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned from Bugs Bunny

"The Bugs Bunny Show" aired on ABC from October 1960 to September 1962, Tuesdays from 7:30 to 8:00 PM.  This was something we looked forward to every week when my sister and I were little.  We'd watch 30 minutes of cartoons and then it was bedtime.  The only thing that came close was Saturday morning cartoons.  (If Saturday morning now was like it was back then, I'd still be glued to the TV set.)

A great reference for Warner Bros. cartoons is Jerry Beck's and Will Friedwald's book, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons.  This text lists and describes every cartoon Warner Bros. produced, including year of production, characters, artists and animators, plot and gags, and connections to other cartoon.  I used this book to make a list of every Bugs Bunny cartoon ever produced ("theatrical cartoons" only).  Assuming I counted correctly (!), I have seen 133 out of 167 cartoons.  Maybe seeing the remaining 34 should be an addition to my bucket list!

What did I learn from watching Bugs Bunny cartoons?  I think primarily watching these cartoons shaped my appreciation for humor.  But there were other things.  To expect fairness, but not be surprised if it wasn't forthcoming.  That indignation over unfairness is appropriate.  That retaliation and vengeance - the kind that doesn't cause real harm, only "pretend harm" - is one response to unfairness, but that this can backfire!

The censorship of Warner Bros. cartoons that I've seen in recent years is something that I find offensive.  I did not learn to fire guns at people by watching Elmer Fudd fire his gun at Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck.  I did not learn that wounds in real life - even severe wounds - can heal themselves in the few seconds that it takes for a scene to change in a cartoon.  Just as I did not acquire a warped view of violence, I did not acquire a warped view of race and culture, despite the many depictions of races and cultures that are offensive to people in this day and age.

Thank you, Bugs, for being an important part of my life.