echo by Clinton Wee
Since the dawn of time, an age old civil war has ravaged this Earth. It all started in a small house. There lived a petite young warrior who wanted no trouble in this world. His main goal in life was to enjoy it peacefully. Alas, no valid story would be about peace, at least not for long. His arch-nemesis aka his house mate, a ferocious bloodthirsty beast at least 10 times his size, hunts him day and night. This merciless beast even uses various deadly weapons to end our young warrior, from axes and swords to firearms and bombs. Our hero is no physical match for this beast and can only find salvation in a tiny secret cave. However he still has to come out to face the beast every single day, fighting not only for his life, but for all of humanity.
Relying on his sheer wit and agility, our hero overcomes every attempt that this beast throws at him. He has stared death in the face countless times, but has always managed to escape by a whisker every single time. This is a timeless story of brains vs brawn. This is a rivalry more epic than even David vs Goliath, or Ironman vs Captain American, or even Trump vs Humanity. Passed down from generation to generation, spawning its own TV series, a couple of movies and even various spin-offs, I present to you the legend of “Tom and Jerry”.
Tom and Jerry has shaped millions of childhoods ever since 1940 when it was first produced. Being the most horriying and gruesome show parents ever let their kids watch, it has become an icon in the television industry. Even just a few days ago, my young 2 year old nephew was laughing heartily at a video on Youtube (Yes he knows how to use Youtube). Apparently it was an episode of Tom and Jerry. That immediately sent me into a nostalgic phase as I was suddenly thrown back into my matching Power Rangers jumper and onto my couch with the old tele right in front of me. It amazes me how even with all the technological advancement with have made, and how much the World has changed, that certain shows still manage to capture the children’s hearts. With Jerry’s charming cheekiniess, mixed with Tom’s endless frustration, viewers just cannot seem to get enough of it.
The show is not all fun and games, after growing up only did I realize theres a hidden lesson behind the stories. As young kids, we all rooted for Jerry and laughed whenever Tom failed(which was always). This was probably because we saw Tom as the evil villian who wanted nothing more than Jerry’s head, but this was not his fault. Tom was merely doing what he believed was right. Jerry was a nuisance to the family of the house the setting takes place in, and Tom only wanted to rid the family of this nuisance. As we grew older, we started to emphatize with Tom as more often than not in life, we have to be the villian in order to do what we feel is right. Not all our actions and decisions will gain everyone’s approval. Sometimes there might even be people who go out of their way to stop us. Despite all this, we have to go on fighting the good fight, even if it means being hated.
Every day new cartoons are being mass produced, with producers trying their best to capture as many viewers as possible. In my eyes, none of them could ever hope to compete with the simplicity and originality of Tom and Jerry. For those action comedy lovers, this is the show for you!
