Captain Planet & the Planeteers-Short Cartoon Clip

This is a short clip of "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" explaining how they save the environment/planet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpXM9bj-WPU

Liberal Cartoon

The Liberal cartoon promotes children to clean up the planet. At the end of the cartoon their are tips that are given for viewers to follow to make this happen. Also the author states on (pg.257) that " the Captain Planet Foundation takes the ideas of the show and encourages young people to get involved and do what ever they can to help the Planteers-and Captain Planet-to succeed in their vital work."

Kids For Saving Earth

Here is another website, similar to the one Nancy found, but it's more focused on younger kids. It has great ideas for activities students can participate in to be green. It also has information for parents and teachers alike. This is a fantastic resource!

http://www.kidsforsavingearth.org/

Goal of Captain Planet

Many people might ask what the ultimate goal of Captain Planet is. If its goal is actually helping or hindering children from helping out the enviornment. I feel that the book states it best in the last sentence in this chapter (pg. 264), "If children are the last line of defense, teaching teaching them to care and hoping that they will have, find, or create "the power" are inescapable extrapolations." The bottom line is that we need to educate and prepare our future to be aware and make the right decisions that are needed to clean up our enviornment.

Teens for Planet Earth

I want to share this link because I think it kind of proves the point of the article. Kids & teens can take an active role in protecting our Earth and they do it because they've been encouraged by friends, role models and family. So even though "Captain Planet" is a cartoon providing environmental issues and solutions, I think the overall message is that age doesnt matter, we all have a choice and the chance to do something to help the Earth.

http://www.teensforplanetearth.org/



"T4PE knows you can't do everything. But if each person does even one thing, it all adds up to something pretty amazing."

Literature Movement

Writers need inspiring things to write about and what better to write about then science fiction and fantasy. The authors, Dobrin and Kidd (pg. 255) feel that what people will be writing about in the future will be science fiction and fantasy. With the future of tommorrow being so consciously aware about preserving the envionment I could defintely see this happening. By putting this literature out there people that are not into keeping the enviornment at is best might become more aware and willing to help out. One of my favorite quotes from the book says it best in the following statement, " Many of today's most aware and knowledgeable adults are helpless, but there is nevertheless an idea that we must expect the next generation to experience the brunt of "global neglect and abuse"-and fix it.

Captain Planet and the Planeteers: Who is Responsible for our Planet?

Captain Planet and the Planeteers was a popular 1990's cartoon conceived by media giant, Ted Turner. The cartoon teaches children to be responsible to the environment by placing teenagers in situations where they are forced to defend their planet against "ecovillians". In reading Susan Jaye Dauer's essay, "Cartoons and Contamination," Dauer shows us, that upon looking closer, the message appears to be about shifting responsibility. Dauer sites an essay by Ruthanne Kurth-Schai which states that children are being exploited by adults, they are "asked far too soon to assume adult responsibilities that are not of their choosing" (261). This message becomes clear from the beginning of the Captain Planet series. In episode one, five teenagers are chosen and transported to meet Gaia, a Mother earth figure, who lives on Hope Island. Upon arrival, the teens seem confused by their new surroundings, but are "quickly persuaded that what they do is vital and necessary work." The cartoon goes on to show teens placed in dangerous environmental situations, facing dangerous people, it makes me consider the fact that the teens have not chosen to do this, and should they, at their age, be faced with such danger? Since this cartoon is targeted toward children, I feel the message these children are recieving is that they are responsible for cleaning up messes that they haven't made. This thought is explained in one particular episode when the teens are asked to clean animals harmed by an oil spill; one teen "wonders why he and his companions have to clean a mess they have not made." (260) The concept of Captain Planet and the Planeteers provided a public service of respect and awareness for our environment. However, placing young people, in what could be very dangerous situations, that they may not be "equipped to handle" (263), almost encourages children to take dangerous risks.