Written by Fumo Verde
During the mid ‘70s when I was only knee-high to a grasshopper, fireworks were still legal, there were two lids in a joint, and our government was taught on TV along with the Saturday morning cartoons. Like mini musical commercials, Schoolhouse Rock! taught a whole generation about how our country came to be, the way it was governed, and why we think it works so well. Some call it inspiring, others call it brainwashing, but either way the songs and little animated characters can still be sung and remembered by both sides.
“Hey, do you know about the U.S.A.? Do you know about the government? Can you tell me about the Constitution? Hey, learn about the U.S.A.”
Lynn Ahrens, whose voice sounds like a young Joni Mitchell sang that lead-in and right from that moment you knew it was time for some history. That’s what this DVD is all about; the Election Collection brings us three groups of animated vignettes that include: “How Government Works,” “Our History,” and “The Campaign.”
In “Our History” we get “No More Kings,” and this is where we learned that taxation without representation is not fair, also the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” where we learn how the first shot was the start of the Revolution. Both of these glossed over the struggles, which our founding fathers had to deal with during the eight years of war with England, but it does lay the groundwork. Putting it into a cartoon gave kids a chance to see it over and over, and the catchy songs helped them remember. Tom Yohe who produced the series understood this and exploited it to its utmost. Other stories in “Our History” include the “Great American Melting Pot,” “Fireworks,” and “Mother Necessity,” which told about famous inventors but kind of strayed away from how the nation became. “Elbow Room” would have been a better choice.
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