Did you know that Captain Planet was straight up created to be pro environmentalist and anti-oil propaganda?

>Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1996) was a pioneering animated series designed by Ted Turner and producer Barbara Pyle as environmental, pro-social "edutainment" to influence children towards ecological activism. It aimed to combat pollution and encourage environmental stewardship, often using over-the-top, stereotypical villains to represent corporate greed and ecological destruction.

Our parents let us get brainwashed by hippies and corporations as kids haha

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breakyerself an hour ago | parent | next [-]

The only problem with captain planet was the lack of nuance. Most people driving environmental degredation aren't over the top villains. Just executives acting in the best interest of their shareholders, but in general influencing kids to care about the environment is a pretty positive/pro-social thing to do.

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zahlman 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Did you know that Captain Planet was straight up created to be pro environmentalist and anti-oil propaganda?

Well, yes, it isn't subtle.

It turns out that some propaganda is just correct, however.

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II2II an hour ago | parent [-]

Captain Planet always bothered me as a kid, even though I was (and continue to be) supportive of environmental protection. There was too much evil for the sake of evil. People don't destroy the environment because they want to. The destroy it because they don't care. They don't care because they are driven by greed, or some other motivation that is ultimately damaging to the environment, society, and civilization.

	▲	zahlman an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Yes, that's an entirely fair criticism. Media for children often has this kind of non-realism, and I think it's mostly for the worse. Strangely enough, I was raised with quite a bit of environmental responsibility, but only a relatively dim awareness of the show existing.
	▲	jajuuka an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		It's a cartoon meant to sell merch. It wasn't exactly meant to be a nuanced reflection of reality.

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tclancy an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>Our parents let us get brainwashed by hippies and corporations as kids haha

Yes, well the alternative, where the entire media system that might offer a cartoon like Captain Planet is owned by one side, is working out super well and in no way slants anyone's view of anything. Good God, my dad still fights weird battles like this tiny skirmish without ever being able to see the larger picture and how immaterial this is.

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adrianN an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Next you tell me that teaching children not to piss in the pool is propaganda.

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throwway120385 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Brainwashing has the connotation of going through cult programming. Captain Planet doesn't involve the kind of tight control over your interpersonal relationships that requires. To the extent any of us were "brainwashed" it would have been because the people around us were largely in agreement with the messaging in that show. I submit that many people still are.

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dyauspitr 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I wish we had more “propaganda” like this.

	▲	jkubicek 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Sesame Street is still putting out new episodes. Turns out the "learn to count" and "be nice to your neighbors" industry wields a lot more power than anyone thought.