Anna Daniels
Power Rangers is often mocked for its formulaic structure, and it’s a completely fair criticism. The rangers fight a monster, they win, the monster grows, the Rangers call the Megazord, they beat the monster again. You can set your watch to it. For this reason, the question was often posed on the schoolyard, “Why don’t they just use the big robot from the beginning?”
Believe it or not, the show actually addresses this. In the first episode, Zordon tells the teens there are three rules for being a Power Ranger: never use your power for personal gain, never escalate a battle unless you are forced you to, and keep your identity a secret.
The first and third rules are pretty standard superhero fair, but let’s talk about that second one. We all know the show is about martial arts, but that second rule reminds us that Power Rangers is also, philosophically, about self-defense. When bullies Bulk and Skull join Jason’s martial arts class because they want to learn to “beat people up,” Jason tells them, “Martial arts was not developed to hurt others.”
In addition to giving the show some deeper themes, Power Rangers‘ constant emphasis on protection rather than violence also explains why the heroes don’t ever, for instance, launch a pre-emptive attack on Rita’s moon palace. It also probably isn’t an accident that this message would’ve given the show’s creators a reasonable defense in court if two kids hurt each other while “playing Power Rangers” and the parents decided to sue.
Written by: Looper
