Scuba Diving Cartoons, or how diving found its way into popular culture? Humans have been diving underwater in the seas and oceans for thousands of years to gather food, but the greatest potential of underwater exploration, has been used for military purposes. From that it was a pretty short way to recreational diving and all that our dive center does.
However, how do you know what diving is? I’ll bet that in the first place just from popular culture, and that includes scuba diving cartoons. So let’s see what diving looks like in mass culture.
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Scuba diving in popular culture
The diving community has always played a key role in discovering and reporting on underwater findings, and they continue to play a key role in raising public awareness and appreciation of underwater heritage. As divers have the opportunity to experience this heritage firsthand, they are also among the main stakeholders invested in protecting and preserving our shared aquatic heritage for future generations.
This magic associated with being underwater, and the apparent inaccessibility of this leisure activity, has created the image of a strong James Bond-style diver, or special forces commandos. While in fact diving is literally for everyone. At our authorized PADI dive center, we even train kids. This, of course, doesn’t take away the magic you experience underwater, it’s just that this unique experience is becoming available to almost everyone.
However, I must admit that diving has entered the public consciousness thanks to movies or TV series, but also thanks to books, comics and also scuba diving cartoons. As a parent, I now have a greater overview of the reigning cartoons, and I must admit that the theme of diving comes up surprisingly often. So what cartoons come to my mind?
Bernard Bear dives with a shark
This cartoon is quite funny and really well done, and I have to admit that I have just as much fun watching Bernard the Bear as my kids. In this particular episode Bernard dives with a shark, and the only reservation I might have is that the shark is portrayed as an aggressive animal that wants to harm our hero at all costs. This is not true, and such a perpetuating image of sharks in the public opinion is simply harmful, as these animals are very necessary in the environment and actually not that aggressive at all.
Octonauts and the Deep Water Dive
This fairy tale is definitely more educational and can actually leave some good infromation in the mind, not only of a child but even of an adult. As a diving instructor, I might say that the technical part is “a little bit” different from reality and the actual equipment used, but hey…. this is a children’s cartoon and not training material. By the way, I’d like to see what it would be like to dive with that glass ball on your head.
Fireman Sam and Penny’s Scuba Diving
Fireman Sam is perhaps one of the more popular cartoons of recent years. And he had an adventure in which the help of a professional diver was necessary. Fortunately, Panny showed up and saved everyone from trouble. It turned out that an old fishing net had become entangled in the boat’s propeller and simply had to be cut out. While such a situation can happen, the one thing I would like to point out is that it would be a bit irresponsible to dive alone, especially on such a task.
Scooby-Doo and Spooky Scuba Diving
Older kids like me certainly remember the adventures of Scooby Doo. It’s a cartoon unlike any other, where there were monsters and haunted houses, but where in the end it always turned out that there was nothing to be afraid of. So our heroes also wandered into the sea depths with scuba gear. And I must admit that, monster issues aside, the diving equipment was depicted quite well.
Popeye The Sailor – Dizzy drivers
For even older kids we have something really classic. Who remembers a gentleman like Popeye? There is a diving cartoon starring him, in which he fights against adversity to recover a sunken treasure. Despite the fact that this cartoon is already years old, it is really funny and worth watching.
Scuba Diving Cartoons in Popular Culture
These are just a few examples of cartoons about diving, but as you can see, the theme of underwater adventures has permanently established itself in popular culture and the motif is often used. This is very good, because, as I mentioned at the beginning, diving is for everyone and even a child, can get a lot of pleasure from it.
Of course, a very important thing is proper training and pleasant diving conditions. Believe me, diving in cold water with poor visibility will not be the best way to start your diving adventure. It is definitely better to choose a safer and more comfortable place, especially when it comes to young diving adepts.
I think it’s a good idea to introduce children to various forms of recreation, not just scuba diving, in a fun way. In this way, maybe you will grow a future diving instructor at home. You never know 🙂
