Jun 212010
I’ve long felt betrayed by the Berenstain Bears. For all their talk about self-responsibility, not a single Berenstain ever took a good hard look in the mirror and asked, “Am I a magic bear? No, I am just a regular bear. Maybe then I shouldn’t talk and wear clothes like a human being!!!” How about it, Berenstains?
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Tem Jhoenz is a bona fide librarian, blogs eponymously here/there, and collects smiles. Tem is an alum of Second City's Writing Program and has studied improvisation at The Annoyance in Chicago. You would like Tem if you met him. He's good people.
Perhaps it’s a glimpse into the future, ala Planet of the Apes, where the bear has replaced humanity as the dominant species on Earth. They have evolved the ability to use tools, build domiciles, wear clothes, speak a language (which is one thing I never understood about Planet of the Apes…the apes can speak, but why English?) I’m not sure why they haven’t evolved enough to have actual names, though, and not be identified only by their position within the nuclear family.
Hmmm, you know I had never thought about it, but you might be onto something with the Planet of the Bears scenario. If we can figure out why the apes spoke English, maybe we can figure out why the bears do as well. As far as nuclear family names, you raise a whole host of other questions. While the Berenstains do self-identify by familial roles, it’s true, other bears in their community often do not. What could explain this? It seems almost cultish, although I’m unwilling to go that far just yet.