It’s no secret I’m a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise. As a kid, it was the first anime I got into. And even though it’s goofy entertainment, the show really shaped my morals; as I suspect it has done with many other people my age.
So as not to bore any of you non-anime fans, I won’t deep dive into Dragon Ball lore. Though I highly recommend everyone give the franchise a chance starting with the original Dragon Ball, the continuation of the story that is Dragon Ball Z, and the current series Dragon Ball Super. You can also check out Dragon Ball GT which followed Z in the 90s, but that show isn’t considered canon and most people dislike it.
The original Dragon Ball manga and anime are based on (or perhaps inspired by) the first Chinese novel, Journey to the West from the 16th century. This means that Dragon Ball isn’t your run-of-the-mill anime. It has depth.
Hidden beneath the fun martial arts fights and the often sophomoric comedy lies a tale rich in great moral teachings, lessons in spirituality, and a deep look into the not-so-black-and-white classic battle of good versus evil. As children, we didn’t realize we were being shaped by a cartoon. And I’m sure our parents thought we were only partaking in some harmless albeit mindless entertainment.
I think the whole framework of morality for my generation comes from such entertainment. Whether I realized it at the time or not, Dragon Ball taught me the importance of fighting for what you believe in, fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves, giving people second chances, showing mercy to those who need it most, why hard work and self-discipline are required to reach new heights in life, the necessity of consistent self-improvement, and so many other wonderful lessons. Many of which are rooted in the teachings of martial arts. Of course, many young people at the time couldn’t afford to take martial arts, so Dragon Ball was our introduction to such invaluable life lessons.
Dragon Ball wasn’t the only form of entertainment that formed my generation’s moral compass though. Far from it. There are so many things that shape our view of the world: comic books, movies, music, TV, etc. What I find so interesting is how we lump almost all of these things into the category of mindless entertainment. As if watching the newest Marvel movie will only kill our brain cells and dumb down society. I think that’s far too simplistic of an analysis.
Yes, there are forms of entertainment that I believe actually do dumb down society and make the world a worse place. A lot of reality television for instance. There’s a good bit of music that seems to only exist as a tool to chip away at society’s moral compass; think of all these hoochie-coochie “I only rap about sex drugs and violence” rappers you hear on the radio that make degrading oneself seem cool to young people. But there are also less malicious forms of entertainment that serve no other purpose than to distract. Such as the countless thriller or romance novels that don’t teach the reader anything worthwhile.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should only partake in entertainment that enriches your life in some way. Honestly, I think it’s good to shut off your brain and watch a crappy movie or read a purposeless book sometimes. But that shouldn’t be all you do in life.
It seems to me that religion (or spirituality in general) has been steadily decreasing in popularity since I was born. That in itself is not necessarily a problem, but the fact that there are so many out there who wander life aimlessly with no moral compass to direct them is a major issue. This is where I think entertainment like Dragon Ball comes in.
If kids partake in entertainment that teaches them how to be virtuous in a fun, engaging way, I think it would prove a great service for mental health in our fast-paced modern society. We should be steering our children away from hoochie music, the plastic idols like the Kardashians, and those other types of entertainment that only exist to turn us into mindless consumers. Society needs direction and that direction shouldn’t lead us to the endless pages of Amazon or the overstuffed aisles of Walmart.
I can’t tell you how to raise your kids or how to develop your own moral compass. But what I can tell you is that at the surface level, the entertainment you allow yourself to partake in has a direct correlation with your moral constitution. The more bullshit you allow into your life the more it’ll stink. If you want to improve yourself, start by making better entertainment choices.
Caleb James K. 