Essay/Term paper: Transformers: more than meets the eye

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Culture

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye


When I was younger, I loved to watch cartoons. Although I watched many
cartoons, there was one cartoon in particular that caught my attention the most.
This cartoon was a science fiction story about robotic lifeforms called The
Transformers.
At that time, The Transformers was the most exciting and important thing
in my life. It came on everyday, and I tried not to ever miss an episode. If I
knew I would miss an episode, I made sure I had someone record it for me so I
could watch it later. I even recorded many shows just to be able to watch them
over and over again.
One day when I was away somewhere, I had my mother record it for me.
After returning home, I immediately began to view the tape only to find out that
the tape ran out about half way though the show. I remember I was so incredibly
angry over not being able to completely watch the episode, that I threw a
childish tantrum by crying and yelling at my poor mother.
I later began buying The Transformers action figures; which were
developed by Hasbro from the television series. Over the years, I accumulated a
collection of about thirty different characters; which I still have stored in my
room. I don't think I could ever get rid of them. Also, each Transformer came
with a stat card on the back of the box he was sold in that described his
various skills and attributes. I used to always cut these stat cards from the
back of the boxes, and tape them onto large sheets; which I hung on my bedroom
wall. Along with the action figures, I also had Transformer books and
Transformer bedsheets. I couldn't get enough of the Transformers. I saw about
every episode, and I knew about everything there was to know about them.
The Transformers were intelligent robots with the ability to transform
from a robot shape to some other shape. The very first Transformers were the
Autobots and the Decepticons. The Autobots, who transformed into cars, were the
heroes, while the Decepticons, who transformed into jets, were the villains.
The two groups originated over a millennia ago. A race called the
Quintessons were the heads of a huge galactic corporation. They built the
planet of Cybertron into a huge factory in which to build robotic slaves. They
created two basic models: household and entertainment robots, and warrior robots.
Whenever one to the slaves began to show signs of intelligence, the Quintessons
destroyed them to be used as materials for new robots being created.
Eventually, however, more and more of the robots began to gain
intelligence, and they started a revolt against the Quintessons. This revolt
ended in the Quintessons fleeing the planet of Cybertron, and the robot slaves,
which become the Autobots and Decepticons, take control.
Sometime later the planet of Cybertron begins to die, and hostilities
arise between the Autobots and Decepticons. Both groups flee their planet in
search of energy, and they end up crashing on the planet Earth. This is where
the television series actually begins. Both groups search for the energy needed
to return to Cybertron, and to save their home planet. Meanwhile, the Autobots
must also protect Earth and its inhabitants from the evil Decepticons. The
story and plot become more complex as new Transformers and advancements in
technology are developed by both sides.
I constantly watched the show for about three years from its first
episodes in 1984. My interest in the show slowly died because most of the
original Transformers were killed off, and a new generation of was created;
which I didn't care for as much.
In writing this paper, I have discovered that there is still an interest
for Transformers within me. I recently spent many hours looking at old
Transformer photos and scripts from the internet. Maybe I'll try to complete my
collection of action figures, and even try to get a hold of the episodes on
video. They are becoming rare, and will probably be worth a quite a bit of money
someday. Collecting Transformers may become an interesting hobby in my future.