JMcInnis "Placeholder"


The Portrayal of Ninjas in Popular Culture 

(or Ninja Internet Meme)

 

 

 

History

 

 

The Ninjutsu hand-to-hand fighting system dates back to the feudal age of Japanese history.  Practitioners of ninjutsu incorporated various techniques of fighting, hiding, jumping, running and evasion to form a specialized skill set well suited to tasks of espionage, reconnaissance and assassination.
Though ninjas are best known for their stealthy abilities, most accounts of mystical powers and disappearing acts are exaggerations grown over time or by the elusive order themselves.

 

 

Impacts on Internet Culture

 

  Ask a Ninja
Ask a Ninja is the supposed web diary of a modern day ninja.  The idea is that fans ask the ninja questions relating to modern day life and culture via email.  The ninja then answers the questions in the video blog.  Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine are the original creators.  It is estimated that they make over $100,000/month in advertising and merchandise revenue! 
   Pirates vs. Ninjas
The debate over who would win in a fight to the death is at the core of this internet phenomena.  The side one takes may someday tell volumes about the type of person they are.  For now, it just makes for good reading.
 

 Ninjai:  The Little Ninjai 

Ninjai is described as "...an online action/adventure series".  The series currently consists of 12 riveting episodes portraying the chance encounters Little Ninjai has while traveling through ancient lands.

 

 

Ninjas in Popular Television and Film

 

GI Joe

The GI Joe franchise got its start from a 1940s comic strip called "Private Breger".  GI Joe is best known for their line of action figures.  Two of the most popular GI Joe characters were a pair of ninja brothers called Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

1985 saw the release of the GI Joe cartoon series.  The cartoon starred all the popular action figures and introduced many new ones.  In recent years, a live-action GI Joe movie hit theaters to the delight of a new generation of young children.

Though entirely unrelated to ninjas, GI Joe Public Service Announcement parodies (GI Joe PSA) took internet pop culture by storm.  They consist of the original GI Joe cartoon PSAs with hilarious and often completely random voice dubbing.


 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Ninja Turtles debuted in 1984 with their own comic book series.  Three years later a television cartoon series followed depicting the anthropomorphic amphibians as defenders of the New York City sewers from the denizens of the evil ninja warrior named The Shredder.

Addional animated and live action television series followed in the late 80's and 90's.  Several full length movies and videos games emerged as well.


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

"MMPR is a live action childrens television show based on Japan's Super Sentai franchise."  The show burst onto the American scene in 1993 with actors wearing brightly colored costumes engaged in highly choreographed fights against large rubber suit monsters.

There were a number of videos games and straight to DVD movies achieved by the franchise.



 

 

 

Ninjas in Comics

 

 

Pure Meme!