Thursday, March 21, 2013

Power Rangers and Crime: Bulk and Skull: Part 1: Bullies


There is no doubt the impact Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy had on the impact on the franchise, having roles in episodes for over half a decade with the franchise.
However, imagine if their roles remained the same in the beginning? A little bit darker, a little less campy?
In the Day of the Dumpster pilots and the first few episodes of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, Bulk and Skull were portrayed as misogynist bullies, foils for the weakling athletically deficient Billy even though he knew a few flips or two to portray. They constantly got in fights with the Rangers, with a sort of homage to the 50s greaser 80s punk rock homage delivered in the 90s. (Guess we can't blame out of college writers who don't have kids or are in high school to actually know how being there actually was.) The homage was supposed to be inspired by Laurel and Hardy, Saved by the Bell bullies (capturing SBTB's tone even if the show was not known to have bullies outside of possibly Tori's brother). Sure, even the Rangers themselves were overconfident, flawed in culture, but Bulk and Skull were supposed to give kids the lessons that bullies are not supposed to be cool, (even if you can meet Bulk and Skull really is at Morphicon!)
Would the show not been revolutionary if they had shown that Bulk and Skull had dysfunctional parents, or some sort of social deficiency that made them into these terrible teenagers?) I guess the show did not want to get too Public Service Announcementy with their 90s Fox Kids friendly material. (lots of censors had already took away the fights from the pilots and the 80s punk gangster tone of Bulk, Skull and friends.)
It does however as mentioned before demonstrate the formation of bullying.
However, the rangers do counter bullying from Bulk and Skull with counter bullying of their own against them. They do not try to understand or empathize with them, but keep them as their enemies, defending themselves from gangs like people growing up in the urban 90s would experience.
Heck, the Power Rangers actually promote bullying through name calling against their monster enemies. It is not self defense in this case, but rather a circumstance of dealing with their own hierarchy of needs to build some sort of militaristic form of confidence. Oddly enough, does Skull's parents not where militaristicish garb inspiring Skull. This might have been possibly what inspired him to join the highest form of civil service that Rangers do not join, the police. 
Also, according to wikipedia, the silent treatment is also a form of bullying. So what do people do?
Oh well, one can only hope the future of the franchise as a Terrence Malick film.
Till then, we'll just have to enjoy this:
(Was Bulk an influence on Skull or the other way around?)

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