Is This Real?
From 1940 to 1958, MGM studios made Tom and Jerry cartoons. They placed these short films in front of movies, and in the '60-80s, MGM made cartoons for Saturday morning shows. A full-length movie is about to be released. Recently, I happened across the following YouTube:
In the YouTube video, we see two kittens watching a Tom and Jerry video (film) Cue Ball Cat from 1950. As I watched the kittens being thoroughly riveted, I realized the kittens 100% thought the action was real. The cat Tom and the mouse Jerry were actual animals.
Humans also get fooled by optical illusions. For example, a magician making a rabbit disappear. The audience knows the action is a trick, but we are at a loss to explain what occurred. On rare occasions, we get convinced an optical illusion is real. In a previous blog, I confessed to believing a car disappeared:
Humans also get fooled by optical illusions. For example, a magician making a rabbit disappear. The audience knows the action is a trick, but we are at a loss to explain what occurred. On rare occasions, we get convinced an optical illusion is real. In a previous blog, I confessed to believing a car disappeared:
A child watching the same magic show might truly believe the rabbit disappeared because the child does not have adult experience to guide them. But what about an adult who is unaware of magic? Let's rewind the clock to 0 AD. Society was learning how to write words, and film/video technology did not exist. Let's present the same disappearing rabbit trick to a crowd of adults who do not know magic. I would venture that many of them would agree the rabbit truly disappeared. Yet, some would be skeptical.
Now, let's show the same 0 AD crowd that Tom and Jerry video. The video would amaze the crowd, but if you asked them to pay closer attention, they would understand the characters are drawn (cartoons.) The cartoon would only convince a few people that it is real.
It is impossible to ask kittens their opinion, but I can guess they fully believe the characters are real. This concept made me wonder how much of my life is an illusion. Am I in the Matrix or on the Star Trek Holodeck? Clearly, I am not, but that cartoon gave me a lot to think about. Take another look at that video and focus on the cat’s expression. They believe and there is a lot more to life than meets the eye.
You’re the best -Bill
May 05, 2021
Now, let's show the same 0 AD crowd that Tom and Jerry video. The video would amaze the crowd, but if you asked them to pay closer attention, they would understand the characters are drawn (cartoons.) The cartoon would only convince a few people that it is real.
It is impossible to ask kittens their opinion, but I can guess they fully believe the characters are real. This concept made me wonder how much of my life is an illusion. Am I in the Matrix or on the Star Trek Holodeck? Clearly, I am not, but that cartoon gave me a lot to think about. Take another look at that video and focus on the cat’s expression. They believe and there is a lot more to life than meets the eye.
You’re the best -Bill
May 05, 2021
