(www.imdb.com)
Hello my friends! It's been awhile!! I've been working so I haven't been on the site for awhile. However, now that I am quarantined thanks to Mr. Corona Virus, I have a bit of time to reflect and do some blogging. I really think that 2020 needs to start over, seriously. We already have rumors of war, Kobe died and now the virus, holding everyone hostage. I'm scared to find out what's going to happen for the rest of the year. We already got two grumpy old men running for U.S President and unfortunately I'm not looking forward to it. Anyway, on to cool stuff. Earth Day is coming up (April 22nd) and what a better time to bring up Captain Planet and his crew, the Planeteers! Captain Planet and The Planeteers was created by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle and it was shown on TBS from September 15, 1990 to December 5, 1992. Another series The New Adventures of Captain Planet was broadcasted from September 11 1993, to May 11, 1996 and both series are in syndication and even on YouTube but you have to pay though. The show promotes enviromentalism, where Captain Planet and his gang fight with villains to protect the planet.
The plot follows Mother Earth or Gaia, a spirit who sees the destruction we humans brought to the planet. She sends five ringers to five teenagers from around the world; four to control the natural elements while one controls the heart. The five teenagers are Kwame from Ghana with the power of earth, Wheeler from New York, U.S.A with the power of fire, Linka from then Soviet Union with the power of wind, Gi from South Korea with the power of water and finally Ma-Ti from the Amazon, Brazil with the power of heart. With all the rings combined, Captain Planet was born with an aim to protect the planet from villains who wants to destroy it for their own personal often financial gain (Wikipedia).
(www.theguardian.com)
Naturally there are evil counterparts to the good guys and they are called Eco-Villains. They are, Hoggish Greedly (consumerism), Verminous Skumm (disease, urban blight and drug abuse), Duke Nukem (abuse of nuclear power), Dr. Blight (uncontrolled technology and unethical scientific practices), Looten Plunder (poaching and loothing), Sly Sludge (laziness and lack of empathy) and Zarm, a spirit similar to Gaia but he represents war and destruction. Captain Planet's evil counterpart is Captain Pollution. The show went on for 6 seasons in total with the last episode aired on May 11th 1996 (Wikipedia). I watched some of the episodes while living in Trinidad and even though it can be cheesy at times, it's still an important show as it shows kids and adults that we have to protect our planet for future generations.
Captain Pollution (tvtropes.org)
Zarm (saturdaymorningsawesome.blogspot)
Right now, the planet is in peril. I really believed that all this pollution and overall ongoing destruction really took off in the Industrial Revolution which started in the 1760s England. It brought economic success and improved technologies but these came with a price. Destruction of forests and natural environment for natural materials, increased by consumerism especially for cotton and cane sugar in which slavery and even child labor came into play. Not to mention the severe class structure where the lower class population suffered from dirty air and water, poor hygiene and overall unsanitary conditions. The continuous pillaging of our planet continued well into the 21st century, even causing the glaciers to melt in the North Pole. Also, the destruction of the natural environment caused many viruses including Covid-19 and extreme disasters such as hurricanes. People are slowly but surely taking action to protect the planet and hopefully it will not be in vain. So please, we must do our part to protect the planet. As Captain Planet said, "The power is yours!"
