Poll: Ninja Turtle Naming Argument.

[The Heraklitus]

A friend of mine and I got into a debate on whether or not naming the Ninja Turtles after famous artists was considered "tangential learning". After I won that debate, he went on to argue that the creators did not intend to teach kids about renaissance painters through tangential learning. To which I responded with quote I found after some digging:

"The names Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo sound silly to children, unfamiliar with those of the names of their friends. Since the names are unfamiliar, some children may have had the urge to inquire about them with someone older. If a child asked an adult familiar with the artists, the child was able to take something more from a show that seems intellectually lacking from a quick viewing."

He responded by saying that that was hearsay and I needed to find an actual video of author(s) of the Ninja Turtles saying that they intended the name to facilitate tangential learning. I felt as if he was just being difficult and petty so I suggested we get the help of some strangers to help end our stalemate. So here we are.

Edit: The forum ate my poll.
It is supposed to read: Do you feel that the creators of the Ninja Turtles choose famous artists' names to facilitate tangential learning.

 

[Stasisesque]

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2997-peter-laird-interview

It's nice to think they were trying to teach us some history, but everything I've ever heard mimics Laird's response there: That they wanted Japanese names but couldn't think of any.

 

[The Heraklitus]

Thanks for the link! It is very informative.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'm almost positive that picking the names had nothing to do with teaching kids history. The original comics were aimed more at older teens and adults [footnote]well, for the first few arcs -- once the cartoon was on the air, the comic gradually got sillier and siller, kind of a reverse cerebus syndrome.[/footnote] than they were at kids. The cartoon was something that just sort of happened; the comic was so popular, they got approached about turning it into a cartoon, and the rest is history.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'm almost positive that picking the names had nothing to do with teaching kids history. The original comics were aimed more at older teens and adults [footnote]well, for the first few arcs -- once the cartoon was on the air, the comic gradually got sillier and siller, kind of a reverse cerebus syndrome.[/footnote] than they were at kids. The cartoon was something that just sort of happened; the comic was so popular, they got approached about turning it into a cartoon, and the rest is history.

If you're going to mention Reverse Cerebus Syndrome [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReverseCerebusSyndrome] you need to include a link for the unitiated.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'm almost positive that picking the names had nothing to do with teaching kids history. The original comics were aimed more at older teens and adults [footnote]well, for the first few arcs -- once the cartoon was on the air, the comic gradually got sillier and siller, kind of a reverse cerebus syndrome.[/footnote] than they were at kids. The cartoon was something that just sort of happened; the comic was so popular, they got approached about turning it into a cartoon, and the rest is history.

If you're going to mention Reverse Cerebus Syndrome [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReverseCerebusSyndrome] you need to include a link for the unitiated.

I... I didn't know there was actually a trope for /Reverse/ Cerebus Syndrome, I was just talking about the logical opposite of Cerebus Syndrome. It makes sense that it exists, though.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'm almost positive that picking the names had nothing to do with teaching kids history. The original comics were aimed more at older teens and adults [footnote]well, for the first few arcs -- once the cartoon was on the air, the comic gradually got sillier and siller, kind of a reverse cerebus syndrome.[/footnote] than they were at kids. The cartoon was something that just sort of happened; the comic was so popular, they got approached about turning it into a cartoon, and the rest is history.

If you're going to mention Reverse Cerebus Syndrome [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReverseCerebusSyndrome] you need to include a link for the unitiated.

I... I didn't know there was actually a trope for /Reverse/ Cerebus Syndrome, I was just talking about the logical opposite of Cerebus Syndrome. It makes sense that it exists, though.

They've got a page for anything, don't they?