Addiction in Society

Addiction—the thematic malady for our society—entails every type of psychological and societal problem.

by Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D.

Dang Me – I can’t love cartoon characters!

Cartoons are the only films that embody the human dilemma!

Published on June 23, 2010 by Stanton Peele in Addiction in Society

When I saw the animated film, The Incredibles (released by Pixar in 2004), about a dysfunctional (super) family that pulls together under extreme, life-threatening challenges, it occurred to me that cartoons were the films that were now most likely to deal with human issues that were important to me.

The Incredibles were supposed to be a real family - mother, father, boy, and girl - named the Parrs. But - they were animated! Could I really identify with cartoon characters? I felt like Bob Hoskins in the 1988 Robert Zemekis film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, whose main relationships were with cartoons (whom he derisively calls 'toons').

Of course, the existence of Pixar has brought my confusion to a head. Pixar regularly turns out animations about, well, things with real human feelings and concerns. Thus, WALL-E, a 2008 Pixar animation about a relationship between two robots, dealt in a sophisticated and interesting way with both the future of humans and (I blush to write) a heart-warming love affair.

Find a Therapist

Search for a mental health professional near you.

Find Local:

I struggle with these thoughts as I contemplate going to see Toy Story 3, a New York Times critics' pick, which I understand is about loyalty, treating others with care and compassion, the lives and deaths of relationships, and mortality. But toys are mechanical objects that routinely get broken and thrown out - I can't start having emotional reactions to toys!

But here is what the Times says about the alternative, Knight and Day, "A loud, seemingly interminable, and altogether incoherent entry in the preposterous and proliferating action-comedy genre, it stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz as a pair of hastily sketched cartoon characters hurtling from plane crash to car chase to further car, helicopter and motorcycle chases, one involving stampeding bulls."

What's a psychologist to do?

3 Reader comments join the discussion here!

Tags: cameron diaz, car chase, cartoon characters, emotional reactions, extreme life, family mother, human feelings, knight and day, mechanical objects, new york times critics' pick, pixar, plane crash, robert zemekis, roger rabbit, the incredibles, toy story, toy story 3, wall-e, who framed roger rabit

Previous Post

No More Best Friends - Next, No More Lovers?

Next Post

How Barack Obama Made Me a Pacifist

Stanton Peele, Ph.D., J.D., has been researching and treating addiction since he wrote Love and Addiction (1975). He also wrote 7 Tools to Beat Addiction.

more...