When we are kids, Tom and Jerry feels simple.
Tom is the villain. Jerry is the clever underdog. The cat chases, the mouse tricks, justice is served — usually with an anvil. We laugh because the world makes sense. Power should be punished. The smaller guy should win. Tom deserves it!
But something strange happens when you revisit Tom and Jerry as an adult. As I often do, since my kids love the show. The moral flips.
You find yourself wincing at the traps instead of cheering. You start noticing how often Tom is minding his own business when the episode begins. Sleeping, eating, relaxing, just existing. And then Jerry shows up.
As children, we see Tom as a bully because he is larger, louder, and visibly aggressive. He chases, he lunges, he schemes. Meanwhile, Jerry runs, hides, and outsmarts him. Our sympathies follow the one who appears the underdog.
But adulthood changes what we notice.
Jerry taunts. Jerry baits. Jerry escalates. He could leave. He often has the opportunity to leave. But he doesn’t. He pokes. He waits for Tom to fall asleep so he can pull something unnecessary and cruel. The goal isn’t escape — it’s domination.
As a kid, that reads as cleverness. As an adult, it reads as harassment. And it dawns on us that Tom isn't the bully at all: Jerry is.
If you’ve watched enough episodes you realize Tom’s greatest desire is not to catch Jerry, but to be left alone. Peace is the unattainable prize.
- Tom eats his meal, Jerry steals it.
- Tom relaxes, Jerry interferes.
- Tom ignores him, Jerry escalates.
Tom reacts badly, yes, but reaction is not initiation.
There’s something deeply adult about recognizing how often Tom tries to disengage. He tries to relax, but Jerry won't leave him alone. He tries to be alone, but Jerry punishes him for simply existing.
Anyone who has ever attempted to ignore a troll, de-escalate a conflict, or simply set boundaries will recognize the pattern. Silence is treated as permission. Restraint invites escalation. Mercy is read as weakness.
Jerry thrives on that imbalance.
And the cartoon, unintentionally, becomes a parable about what happens when misbehavior is endlessly rewarded with laughter and applause.
Ok, well, maybe I'm reading too much it to it. It is just a simple kids cartoon, after all. A simple cartoon where the supposed hero is an asshole.
Anyway, I think it's funny how our view of this show changes with age. I know I'm not the only one. I remember when I was a kid, my grandma commenting about how "mean that mouse is".
But what do you think?
[Meme at the top from Reddit. Stumbling across it was what triggered this post]
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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |