A friend of mine at work asked me the other day if I had played with G.I. Joe toys when I was a kid. I had, of course, and quite fondly remembered them. Unlike many small boys, I did not indulge in morbid acts of violence against said heroes. No, I had a respect for the plastic bodies. I even went as far as repainting areas that had worn away. So this friend tells me to go check out a website in which G.I. Joe is reanimated to silly story lines and voices. I cannot offer you the link because I don’t want to be responsible for the results. Turns out that the [wildly popular] videos are the most vile, offensive material you can possibly imagine. Or, if you are the sheltered type, things you could not imagine. I would surmise that they’re not intended for anyone under 13, over 21, black, jewish, gay, military, Harry Potter fans, et al.
In a related note, Darren Barefoot posted about an article from Slate.com regarding the homoeroticism of He-Man. I don’t know that I agree with the conjecture, but it is really funny to put it all together in fashion supporting this idea. He-Man, if nothing else, was at least a really ghey cartoon; not as bad as Dungeons & Dragons (which I also enjoyed wholeheartedly), but still pretty weak. For the He-Man article from Slate.com, there’s a great podcast of the same so you don’t have to read like a sucker.
Mock G.I. Joe? Oh THE TRAVISTY! Though you must admit, the one with Leatherneck offering to make sandwiches for a couple of kids was kind of amusing.
That site also has some funny clips from lots of other shows.