![]() It was a solemn and simple incantation that helped me make the few yards between the mean girls and the building’s front door. That’s when I’d repeat in my head, “More than meets the eye,” one of the catchphrases from the credits reel in the Transformers cartoon. On school days, I’d rarely make it around the corner as I headed toward our five-story walkup before hearing someone call out one of the odious nicknames they’d bestowed on me. I, too, strategized how to avoid my enemies-namely the English-fluent, U.S.-born Puerto Rican girls on my block. He deftly avoided or countered attacks from Megatron, his nemesis. Optimus’s tactical intelligence rang true to me. At least, that’s what I’d like to think three decades later as I look back on the singular influence a Japanese animated robot had on my childhood and well beyond. Optimus reminded me that all of us have within us the basic elements for a meaningful life: intelligence, strength, courage, beauty, creativity, and love. ![]() Optimus Prime-the formidable and honorable alien robot who’d landed in a new planet and was charged with ensuring the survival of his clan of Transformers and protecting planet Earth from the evil Decepticons-was the perfect alter ego for a slightly less alien but still-foreign girl eager to know her new country and discover her new self. There was so much about the idea of being someone other than the person everyone saw that appealed to my nascent sense of wonder. Joe-the standard menu for after-school programming then-once I came upon futuristic robots that shapeshifted on will. ![]() I easily dismissed My Little Pony, Care Bears, and G.I. It was the mid-1980s and cable was a luxury that few in my neighborhood could afford. I first encountered Optimus while scanning afternoon cartoons on the four local channels on our television. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |