Tom and Jerry: The Household Comedy of Brutality

Tom and Jerry are one of the most iconic, recognizable duos in all of cartoon history. The charming, animated, domestic ultraviolence of the age-old cat versus mouse tale has weaved its way into the hearts and minds of the last five generations or so. It relies heavily on simple, slapstick scenarios, often involving the pain of Tom the cat and pleasure of Jerry the mouse. Slapstick humor is defined as “comedy based on deliberately clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events.” This means that anything from The Three Stooges to Blazing Saddles has indulged in a bit of slapstick every now and then, even if it is considered to be childish and cheap to most critical audiences. However, despite the negative connotation associated with slapstick, Tom and Jerry has managed to not only create a formula that performs remarkably well, but also one that stands the test of time. Tom and Jerry continues to be a relevant series down through generations, constantly getting reboots, reruns, and selling merchandise like nobody’s business. This is due mostly to the comedy being delivered at face-value. The jokes are not at all clever, and in fact do not utilize words at all. The jokes are simply: Cat forms plan to catch mouse, mouse bludgeons cat with kitchen object, cat concedes defeat, mouse laughs from afar. It is ultimately a savage showcasing of good vs. evil, though the ethics of Tom and Jerry is something on which I could write an entire separate paper. The point is that the simple, easily digested humor of Tom and Jerry is exactly why this remains timeless classic of childhood nostalgia. It does not make the audience think, or keep them guessing, or question anything about themselves or their surroundings. Humans simply enjoy watching cartoon characters get bashed in the head with a frying pan, and this is fine.