What I learned from Courage the Cowardly Dog

Somewhere in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas lives a diminutive, shy, seemingly weak, and cowardly canine named Courage. He isn't the conventional cartoon hero who seeks out adventure, takes charge, and conquers villains. Rather, Courage finds himself time and time again having trouble come to him, his will and determination tested to seemingly insermountable heights. From evil Wheremole's, to a sinister "CREATURE ON THE WALL" (I laugh every time when I see this episode), the purple dog sets out to save his masters, Muriel & Eustace Bagg from constant danger.

Why do I love this show?

Before I get into the show itself, I think it's important to establish the palette of emotional experiences I've had in order to appreciate Courage the Cowardly Dog.

I was around 10 years old when I first saw Courage. It was featured on the Cartoon Network evening slot right after anime specials like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball(Z), and Yu-Yu Hakusho would end. Riding the bus from Franklin elementary school back to our rundown apartment, my brother would sketch and sketch pictures of muscled men with giant volumes of hair that were supposed to be Goku or Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. I look back at those times, remembering how my mom would put vaseline on our hair each morning and look at the smudges of petroleum jelly on the bus window when ever I was done leaning my head after a nap. It was a time when children like my brother and our friend Nick treasured and valued color print outs of anime characters and would often trade them, even selling a few; there were no materials that could replace the dreams and artistry of children who worked toward humble goals.

My brother drew often and I would always watch outside the window people, places, and things happening, and have these amazing visceral dreams, until it was time to get off the bus to go back home. The children on that bus: we all had family's who were struggling. Nick came from a poor Chinese family, Vladimir who couldn't speak a word of English in ESL but would cry out "Babushka, Babushka!" (almost running away in tears one time); Soc and her sisters were Cambodian immigrants, Clarisse had her cuacasian father who had cans/bottles of beer on the floor of their home, Hector's Mexican family working hard with him alone at home often, while Malcolm was teaching us about his black family struggles. And we were there, Pacific Islanders, a mystery to our friends who had no idea people like us existed. The bonds we had for the love of art, music, exploration, and Pokemon kept our friendships strong among adversity.

Those years between 1999 and 2002 were huge transition years in my family's life (every year seemed to be). We moved from a very run down apartment in the heart of Tacoma's ghetto neighborhood in Martin Luther King Jr. Way to the finer side of life in comparison to Lakewood at Golden Givens mobile homes, back with Uncle Joe and Aunt Aifua.

Y2K had just passed, and I was yet again thrusted into unfamiliar surroundings with a new school at Harvard Elementary, complete with its own school circus, a neighborhood of children with interesting stories and experiences, a community of new home owners, and a television set with actual cable! It was at this point where I began to regularly view Courage the Cowardly Dog.

So Why do I love this show?

Why did I take the time, at this point of my life to note my experience with Courage the Cowardly Dog? Why now? And why do I want you to know about it?

I wanted to recognize and acknowledge that what I learned about character and what I know about courage, what it truly means, was fastened to my young mind from those animated shows.
For the length of 52 episodes, director John Dilworth and his creative team crafted an experience that was so mind opening to my imagination and explorative in the nature of character that I am to do this day thankful for. Courage explored themes that I could relate to as a child; I was so scared of new experiences. Taking my shirt off in public, learning to ride a bike, doing a sermon in front of a congregation, and learning to swim were things I did. Being at the scene of a murder, seeing kids my age dead on the floor, watching my mother being abused, being abused, attending funerals, and watching a once strong and happy church community fall apart were things that happened that I thought about and couldn't fully wrap my head around.

But I believe that when I watched Courage the Cowardly Dog, that I was learning how to deal with my fears, not to avoid them, and to deal with them honestly. Courage makes known how greatly he is afraid of the obstacle before him. He screams in horror, shouts in terror until his eyes pop out or something reflective of showing fear manifests itself into his physical appearance. He doesn't hide the fact that when he sees a demonic shadow with red eyes and sharp teeth approach him, that he is so afraid, but what he does afterward, this is where Courage earns his name. Instead of relenting to his initial fears, Courage does his very best to save his owner Muriel from the terrors of life. Love in these scenarios overpowers the great fears of the doggish condition, and is met with the scrappy will of a purple pup who keeps trying despite being blasted, burned, cut up, and bitten at to protect the ones he loves.

Courage rises up and reminds himself, "I do this for love!" In this way, I too found a part of my life's foundation for living honestly, and facing my fears.

What more can you find in a show that story wise, places the subject of great fear and placing it into a dog who must go through some pretty damn scary situations?

Hilarity. The writers of the show write the horror of the day for Courage, and does it quite intelligently, quite hilariously. Courage's sarcastic computer really kicks the humor in.

The art itself is something to speak of:

The episode "So In Louvres Are We Too", gives a taste to children/adults alike the great masterpieces of the Louvre in 2-D animation and sees the action of Mona Lisa and The Thinker literally come to life. It's a great episode to watch and a wonder to see that the artists who animate Courage are filled with great talent and love for impressionist, expressionist, dadaist, and other art movements.

One of the most moving Courage episodes is The Last of the Starmakers; if you listen to the score for the show, you will fall in love with its originality and quirky sound. The composer Jody Gray fills in the art with his amazing sound. (To this day I sing "The Half Time Show" song by the alien duck twins, or think of ways to remix the music of Courage with the 'Dun_ Dun_Dun_DunDunDun' beat.) No less, the genuine tears from fans who watched Last of the Starmakers was just as much as the first episode of Glee.

What have I learned now about courage? What do we know about it? How do we live with information imparted to us, learn from, and use it? I think the answers to these questions will take its own kind of courage. Something akin to a little violet dog who could.

~m~