Give Him the Cereal

I root for the underdog.  I can’t help it.  All things being equal, if I don’t have anything at stake I will always root for the underdog.  Apparently, there has been study after study done on this.  And they always find that humans prefer the Darkhorse.  To see some schmo that’s not supposed to come out ahead pull it off gives people a sense of justice.

Watch a movie.  The underdog is always the protagonist and the champion is a villain. Karate Kid?  Miracle?  Hoosiers?  Rocky?  There’s no drama if the outcome is never in doubt.  Unless it’s Titanic. There’s no story if there is no struggle. I guess kids need to root for the winner the whole time, to be taught that through determination and hard work you can achieve anything.

Cartoons and commercials though….the rules change.  I guess in abbreviated stories there is a short time available and kids do not have long attention spans.  They root for the winner from the beginning to the end.  They had better get the outcome they were expecting.

Take Roadrunner.  I always, always, always rooted for Wile E. Coyote (and Tom from Tom and Jerry).  Clearly, he is the underdog.  He never wins though.  He fails, gets back up, and tries again.  He fails again.  He gets up again.  Repeat.  Over and over.  He is not lazy.  He is a hard worker.  He is determined.  He is hungry.  He never wins.  Why?  Because without Roadrunner there is no cartoon?  Weak.

As passionate as I felt about Wile E. Coyote, I was more so about the Trix Rabbit.  He wasn’t even trying to eat the hero, he wanted some damn cereal.  He is just a furry creature with a dream.  He wants to indulge in those eight essential vitamins and minerals.  But all through the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s (and 2000’s?) kids denied him his fruity treat.  Finally, in 1991, kids voted and he got his reward.  One bowl of Trix in 40 years?  But besides that, again and again he was rejected a single bowl.  He would be momentarily dejected but by the next commercial he would be at it again.  Pushing.  Training.  Studying for his goal.  A bowl full of sweetened corn puffs.

I guess those two examples were good for kids.  The reality check, the inverse of the standard little guys always pull through plot.  Never give up, never get down.  Keep trying and maybe your dreams will be achieved.  But, unfortunately, life is not always fair.  This does not mean you should give up though.  Always look back to the little engine that could.  Maybe you will earn it.  Maybe you will go the distance with Apollo Creed.  And if not?  Keep the dream alive and try again.  See, the Trix Rabbit is similar to another legendary commercial bushy tailed creature, the Energizer Bunny.  You just can't keep a good rabbit down.  Or Italian Stallion for that matter.

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