Episode 72: Aging Into Characters

     Yesterday, I watched a video where a guy was talking about how, upon one of his many rewatches of Regular Show, he found himself understanding and relating more to Benson. For those who are uninformed on my second favorite cartoon, Benson is the boss of the main characters. Since the main characters are Mordecai and Rigby, who are two slackers who just want to play video games, chill, and avoid work, the show kind of makes you want to sympathize for them. 

     Thus Benson, the stern, intolerant-of-laziness boss, becomes somewhat of an antagonist. His forceful demands of work hinder the quirky, comedic blue jay and his raccoon friend. But, the show does not shy away from making Benson likeable. He's honestly probably my second favorite character after Rigby (sorry, Mordecai, you get a solid third place). We are often made to feel Benson's pain as he's just a man trying to do his job, but that job is made so much harder by having to deal with two terrible slackers. 

    Benson is a character made for the adults watching. Kids do not understand the necessity of work, and the mundaneness that sometimes comes with grown-up life. So how can they relate to a park manager who tells employees what to do and lives alone in an apartment? Of course kids favor the video game-loving, food-loving slackers. But growing up makes you understand and appreciate a character like Benson so much more.

    The same goes with Squidward from SpongeBob. Growing up, Squidward is just SpongeBob and Patrick's grouchy neighbor who is always grumpy and annoyed by them, and constantly complains while at work. He also has artistic endeavors (clarinet, painting) that he wants to pursue. Like Benson, Squidward is painted as somewhat antagonistic, given the fact that much of the audience is children. Squidward, like Benson, is there for the adults watching. Adults relate to his being annoyed with chaotic neighbors, his displeasure with his job, his overall disgruntled demeanor, and his "I'd rather be pursuing my passions" state of mind.

    I appreciate cartoons incorporating characters that are made for you not to enjoy as a child, but to come to understand and appreciate as you grow older. I see more and more of myself in the Bensons and Squidwards of fiction as I go deeper and deeper into adulthood. 

   But I think there's a balance there too that must be achieved, or at least desired. We must have the seriousness and stability of people like Benson and Squidward, but we also can't lose the sense of fun and adventure of people like SpongeBob and Patrick or the desire for time to relax and have to oneself of Mordecai and Rigby.