‘The lovable and iconic cartoon feline Garfield is known for his hate for Mondays and love for food, particularly lasagna. While Garfield’s indulgence in food may seem like a harmless source of entertainment, the overeating cat’s unhealthy eating habits promote gluttony and laziness.”
In the 2009 cartoon adaptation known as “The Garfield Show,” an episode titled “Inside Eddie Gourmand” shows one of the supporting characters and fictional food critic, Eddie Gourmand, in a sorrowful mood. An invention allows Garfield to see inside Gourmand’s brain to find out what’s been triggering him.
While delving into Eddie’s inner thoughts, a childhood memory surfaces. The scene shows young Eddie Gourmand seated at the dinner table with his feline companion, Garfield. Eddie’s mother serves him excessive food, starting with a large turkey, french fries, and an entire pizza. To top it off, Eddie is presented with six cookies, which he greedily devours; while eating these meals, Eddie requests mashed potatoes and gravy for his next repast, indulging in his glutton. Gourmand’s mother exclaims, “Oh, Eddie, do you really think you should eat quite that much food? It’s so high in calories.” Eddie then whines, saying, “You won’t give me everything I want; you don’t love me!”
The only way to calm Gourmand was for the mother to continue feeding him more unhealthy food.
“It’s worrying to think that children who watch Garfield may start to mimic his actions like overeating and throwing tantrums when not given what they want. This leads to children developing spoiled behavior.” says local mother Elizabeth Vargas.
In a later episode, Garfield is shown dreaming about eating infinite lasagna that his owner, Jon Arbuckle, made for him. Within seconds, Garfield gains an excessive amount of weight.
Minor scenes like this shed light on how Garfield can be seen as a way to promote gluttony. Garfield’s habits of overindulging in food can easily influence impressionable young audiences. Children often imitate what they see on TV, and Garfield’s bad habits can lead them to gain an unhealthy relationship with food. Overeating can lead to obesity, health problems, and certain diseases. This is concerning, especially considering Garfield’s target audience is kids.
Another aspect of Garfield that contributes to his gluttony is his laziness. Garfield is always lounging around, sleeping, and avoids various physical activities. When children see this, it can be interpreted as a desirable lifestyle. This is worrying because children may start to think that laziness and overeating are acceptable, causing them to be less interested in physical activity and hobbies.
Therefore, ensuring that the media promotes healthy habits is vital, especially in children’s shows. After all, children are very impressionable, and gluttony and laziness are unhealthy habits that should be avoided at all costs.
