Renaissance Meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)

Interesting fact:

The fictional characters of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are named after prolific figures of the Renaissance Period.

• Leonardo (Leo) the courageous leader and devoted student of martial arts, Leonardo wears a blue mask and wield two Katana. Leonardo was named after the Italian polymath, scientist, engineer, inventor, anatomist, and painter, Leonardo da Vinci.

• Raphael (Raph) the team’s bad boy, Raphael wears a red mask and wields a pair of Sai. He is named after the Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.

• Michelangelo (Mike or Mikey) easy-going and free-spirited, Michelangelo wears an orange mask and wields a pair of Nunchaku. He is named after the Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer, Michelangelo Buonarroti.

• Donatello (Don or Donny) the knowledgeable scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius, Donatello wears a purple mask and wield the staff. He is named after the early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi.

It is amazing how cartoon characters can actually be named after important figures of the Renaissance Period. Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi are crucial figures in the history of rhetoric because they had immense influence in the way people communicate and think. Therefore, development and progress of rhetoric during that period of time (400-1600 _A.D.) pivoted around their work and achievements.

During the Renaissance period, the style of rhetoric differed to that of the Classical period; the work of rhetoricians and Renaissance leaders focused on religion and afterlife. Rhetoric held religious meaning and shifted the paradigms of the mass. Even though many are amazed at the achievements of the Renaissance period, rhetoricians and communication theorists were critical and found that rhetoric became fragmented and lost its distinct and defining characteristics it had in the Classical Period. Rhetoric became prescriptive.

So what do you think, the naming of these cartoon characters, is it a form of appreciation or mockery?