Where did the minions live? Poisoned cartoons - the truth about minions

Those who watched the popular cartoon “Despicable Me” or its sequel “Despicable Me 2” probably remember the little smart assistants of the main character Gru, whom he calls minions, but not everyone knows who the minions were in reality.

In 16th-century France, this term was used to describe the favorites of noble persons, who at court could serve as advisers, guards, retinue, and in some cases, lovers of high-ranking nobles. Often, the fate of a minion (French mignon - baby, cutie) was entirely in the hands of his patron. “Favorites” fulfilled any whim of the nobility, so the word “minion” soon became synonymous with sexual promiscuity and corruption.

Perhaps the most notable successes in their difficult “service” were achieved by the minions of Henry III of Valois, who excited the royal entourage with their recklessness, daring antics and countless intrigues. Some of the king’s subjects claimed that Henry had far from friendly relations with the young people, but there is no confirmation of this in historical documents, so it is likely that these are just rumors.

The somewhat feminine outfits of the minions were the object of constant ridicule of the courtiers, but at the same time they were envied, because the king generously presented his favorites with all sorts of titles, land holdings and other “tokens of attention”, and when two of Henry III’s favorites died in the famous duel of the minions, the monarch ordered build a luxurious crypt for them.

By the way, the morals of Henry III’s minions served as the basis for the works of Alexander Dumas the Father, such as “The Countess de Monsoreau”, “The Forty-Five” and “The Court of Henry III”.

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There is a lot of debate on the Internet about whether this is a good or bad character - a minion from the cartoon "Despicable Me". They paid attention to the fact that minions serve the villains and do all sorts of reckless, dangerous and hooligan things. Again, their gender is completely unclear - sometimes they are boys, then suddenly they are girls. Well, whether it’s worth showing the minions to children is a topic for a separate conversation and discussion.

Who are minions anyway and why were the animated characters called that?

In 16th-century France, this term was used to describe the favorites of noble persons, who at court could serve as advisers, guards, retinue, and in some cases, lovers of high-ranking nobles. Often, the fate of a minion (French mignon - baby, cutie) was entirely in the hands of his patron. “Favorites” fulfilled any whim of the nobility, so the word “minion” soon became synonymous with sexual promiscuity and corruption.

Perhaps the most notable successes in their difficult “service” were achieved by the minions of Henry III of Valois, who excited the royal entourage with their recklessness, daring antics and countless intrigues. Some of the king’s subjects claimed that Henry had far from friendly relations with the young people, but there is no confirmation of this in historical documents, so it is likely that these are just rumors.

Coming from not the most noble families, they were known for their love of luxury, elegance, feminine manner of dressing, combing their hair and decorating themselves. Everyone wore earrings, which, even in an era of love for jewelry, was a little strange. And Henry himself wore precious earrings, after meeting Elizabeth of England - large, large, ornamental and more than one.

Minion portrait. Kept in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. Artist Lucas de Heere, circa 1570 Painted in oil on a natural slate board. Henry is about twenty at this time, and the minions are also about that age.

The somewhat feminine outfits of the minions were the object of constant ridicule of the courtiers, but at the same time they were envied, because the king generously presented his favorites with all sorts of titles, land holdings and other “tokens of attention”, and when two of Henry III’s favorites died in the famous duel of the minions, the monarch ordered build a luxurious crypt for them.

By the way, the morals of Henry III’s minions served as the basis for the works of Alexander Dumas the Father, such as “The Countess de Monsoreau”, “The Forty-Five” and “The Court of Henry III”.

And there is more minion lamps:

These are low power incandescent lamps with a small base diameter.

Font - minion:

small font used in mini-books, advertisements, notes.

Filet mignon:

Record - minion:

Minion Dance:

Minion Abraham

Dutch Artist of the 17th century, master of still lifes.

Mignon is also the name of a French composer, a Belgian sculptor, the name of a river in France and a street in Paris.

At the height of the summer holidays in 2010, the cartoon “Despicable Me” was released. The film told young viewers about a supervillain who had to become a foster father for a while, which is why he changed and became kind. The main idea of ​​the cartoon, however, was the funny assistants of the main villain - “minions” (from French - servant).

Thousands of little yellow men speaking an incomprehensible language immediately attracted the attention of the audience. As a result, Despicable Me got a sequel, the minions became a brand, and on July 9, 2015, a spin-off of Despicable Me, dedicated to the minions themselves, was released in Russian cinemas.

It would seem that what could be harmful about little funny people? But if you think about it, the “minions” brand itself and their history are full of very ambiguous hints and meanings. Let's figure it out.

Who are the minions?

If in the first cartoons it was not yet clear who the minions were and where they came from, then the trailer for the new full-length film provides answers to these questions: according to legend, minions have been on earth since time immemorial, starting at least from the era of dinosaurs. Since the trio from Despicable Me also participated in the events of the 17th century, it becomes clear that they are immortal. Wherein, they live only for one purpose - to serve the villains. Without submission to the villain, the minions become depressed. They find the most evil one and entrust themselves to his leadership, serving him faithfully until he dies, then they look for the next one. They cannot be called a people, because minions do not have children, old people, or women. And now we invite you to watch the trailer for the new cartoon.

What was shown in the trailer?

The trailer is quite telling. In addition to what we already know about minions, we were also shown in three minutes: several deaths in a row (0:50-1:20); dressing the minions as a woman with a prominent bust, which she showed off to a passerby (2:29); a minion dressing up in a women's swimsuit (0:36); a mustachioed father of the family in a bright red dress and makeup (1:50); mocking a sick person and hitting him in the groin (2:19); a colorful demonstration of a torture chamber and a game with a gallows (2:56); a minion in a thong (3:13) and a minion kissing what he perceives to be two women in a jacuzzi (3;16).

But the most impressive thing is not even that the main characters of the children's cartoon portray either boys or girls and consciously serve evil, but that they are shown as positive, cheerful and funny characters, from whom children will certainly want to take an example.

It is already known from previous cartoons that minions not only commit evil, but also do good. Throughout their entire existence, they helped the villains of all eras, but accidentally served as the reason that the villains most often died: they burned Dracula, they shot Napoleon. They fight, and then they perform cutely at the wedding, funny eat ice cream and go to steal the moon.

They obeyed the villain and showed great delight in his villainous plans, and later admired his plans to save the world with the same delight. Try reading this to-do list to your child, and then ask a question that often torments children when watching movies and cartoons: are minions good or bad, kind or evil?

A child will not be able to give you an answer, and it will also be difficult for an adult to decide on this issue. Thus, in the child’s psyche, and the cartoon is intended for an audience of “6+”, the concepts of good and evil will be blurred. You can be a sweet and funny hero, but fight for a banana with someone you’ve known for many years, take what belongs to others and help the villains.

And one more thing - the word “minions,” as already mentioned, comes from the word “servant,” and their unquestioning submission to the villain, who in one situation may well be engaged in the production of murder weapons, and in another - ice cream, only confirms this name. They are servants, created only to serve, they wear work uniforms, they do not think about orders and only in the evening allow themselves to go about their business, which most often are fights, cruel jokes and mockery of each other. Isn’t this the image of a typical representative of a consumer society that is actively imposed on us by modern mass culture that came from the West? Identical creatures who have neither their own opinion, nor the meaning of life, nor any moral qualities and only want to serve.

Now let’s ask one more question: what gender are the minions?

Judging by the names, the main characters - Stuart, Bob and Kevin - are clearly men, and they also have more masculine character traits. Sometimes they even “fall in love”: in the cartoon Despicable Me 2, Minion Stewart fell in love with a woman. However, the authors deliberately often focus on the fact that, if desired, the minions can be a girl.

In the new trailer, the minion comes out of the water and, seeing that everyone is wearing swimming trunks and he is not, in fear he rushes into the water and comes out of it - in a bra (0:36). Having received a blow to the groin area (2:23), the minion is at first surprised, and then simply laughs, demonstrating that he is not hurt at all.

The authors clearly make it clear that the minions are bisexual; if they wish, they can be both a boy and a girl, as they wish, as it suits them. Let us remind you once again that the main target audience of such cartoons is children, and it is in their consciousness through such images that the idea is implanted not only about tolerance for perversions, but also that changing your gender is absolutely normal.

At the height of the summer holidays in 2010, the cartoon “Despicable Me” was released. The film told young viewers about a supervillain who had to become a foster father for a while, which is why he changed and became kind. The main idea of ​​the cartoon, however, was the funny assistants of the main villain - “minions” (from English - servants).

A million little yellow men, speaking an incomprehensible language and behaving rather strangely, immediately attracted the attention of the audience. As a result, Despicable Me got a sequel, the minions became a brand, and on July 9, 2015, a spin-off of Despicable Me, dedicated to the minions themselves, was released in Russian cinemas.

It would seem that what could be harmful about little funny people? But if you think about it, the “minions” brand itself and their history are full of very ambiguous hints and meanings. Let's figure it out.

Who are the minions?

The trailer is quite telling. In addition to what we already know about minions, we were also shown in three minutes: several deaths in a row (0:50-1:20); dressing the minions as a woman with a prominent bust, which she showed off to a passerby (2:29); a minion dressing up in a women's swimsuit (0:36); a mustachioed father of the family in a bright red dress and makeup (1:50); mocking a sick person and hitting him in the groin (2:19); a colorful demonstration of a torture chamber and a game with a gallows (2:56); a minion in a thong (3:13) and a minion kissing what he perceives to be two women in a jacuzzi (3;16).

But the most impressive thing is not even that the main characters of the children's cartoon portray either boys or girls and consciously serve evil, but that they are shown as positive, cheerful and funny characters, from whom children will certainly want to take an example.

It is already known from previous cartoons that minions not only commit evil, but also do good. Throughout their entire existence, they helped the villains of all eras, but accidentally served as the reason that the villains most often died: they burned Dracula, they shot Napoleon. They fight, and then they perform cutely at the wedding, funny eat ice cream and go to steal the moon. They obeyed the villain and showed great delight in his villainous plans, and later admired his plans to save the world with the same delight. Try reading this to-do list to your child, and then ask a question that often torments children when watching movies and cartoons: are minions good or bad, kind or evil?

A child will not be able to give you an answer, and it will also be difficult for an adult to decide on this issue. Thus, in the child’s psyche, and the cartoon is intended for an audience of “6+”, the concepts of good and evil will be blurred. You can be nice, but fight for a banana with someone you've known for many years, take someone else's and help the villains.

And one more thing - minions, as already mentioned, come from the word “servant”, and their unquestioning submission to the villain, who in one situation may well be engaged in the production of murder weapons, and in another - ice cream, only confirms this name. They are servants, created to serve, they wear work uniforms, they do not think about orders and only in the evening allow themselves to go about their business, which most often is fights, cruel jokes and mockery of each other. Isn’t this the image of a typical representative of a consumer society that is actively imposed on us by modern mass culture that came from the West? Identical creatures who have neither their own opinion, nor the meaning of life, nor any moral qualities and only want to serve.

Now let’s ask one more question: what gender are the minions?

In the new trailer, the minion comes out of the water and, seeing that everyone is wearing swimming trunks and he is not, in fear he rushes into the water and comes out of it - in a bra (0:36). Having received a blow to the groin area (2:23), the minion is at first surprised, and then simply laughs, demonstrating that he is not hurt at all.

The authors clearly make it clear that the minions are bisexual; if they wish, they can be both a boy and a girl, as they wish, as it suits them. Let us remind you once again that the main target audience of such cartoons is children, and it is in their consciousness through such images that the idea is implanted not only about tolerance for perversions, but also that changing your gender is absolutely normal.

Behavior patterns

In this excerpt you can see (Video 3) how one wants to hit the other with a club, then one laughs at the other, then they fight, and at the end of the scene, while one is kidnapped by an unknown evil, the other lets him go and sees him off into the unknown with a malicious grin.

How will the child behave after watching such a scene? What do they teach? Clearly not friendship, care or mutual assistance. Despite the fact that these yellow characters can join forces in certain situations, for example, when they need to commit some kind of crime, we are not talking about teamwork, because even here there are attempts to set up a friend and stand out from the rest. During one cartoon, they fight at the controls of the plane, at the computer, and the rest, seeing the conflict that has flared up, pick up the cry of “fight-fight” (fight-fight) and watch with pleasure. During a fight, minions can not only hit each other with thin arms, but also hit their heads on the table and use improvised objects.

Words such as honor, conscience or dignity simply do not fall within their range of concepts. Minions are loyal only to the evil master and their ego and are more like a ball of rats, ready to devour each other for a bonus and any handout from the owner. It is precisely these behavior patterns that this cartoon fosters.

Summarize. The Minions brand is aimed at:

Blurring the concepts of good and evil: the minions are villains and help villains - this is the meaning of their immortal existence, but they are depicted as cute and funny, doing both good and bad deeds, thereby blurring in the minds of the young viewer the concepts of what is “good” and what is wrong" .

Propaganda of perversions - minions can be both boys and girls according to desire or mood.

Cultivating unquestioning and thoughtless obedience. The minions themselves are simply servants, and, as noted above, they do not care what ideals they serve. It turns out that the brand of new idols for children being promoted all over the world is a “funny servant” without any moral guidelines.

Fostering individualism and competition in the viewer for petty goals. Minions are very cocky and boastful, they fight with each other just to show off in front of the owner or for fun. Despite the fact that the minions have known each other for thousands of years, they do not have friendly relations.

Propaganda of vulgarity. The minions are extremely immoral guys; in the frame they hint at things that do not fit into the “6+” rating.

Don’t take your child to see this cartoon, tell your loved ones about its harmfulness to the child’s psyche and get involved in the work of reviving morality in the media!

Be brave, comrade, publicity is our strength!

At the height of the summer holidays in 2010, the cartoon “Despicable Me” was released. The film told young viewers about a supervillain who had to become a foster father for a while, which is why he changed and became kind. The main idea of ​​the cartoon, however, was the funny assistants of the main villain - “minions” (from English - servants).

A million little yellow men, speaking an incomprehensible language and behaving rather strangely, immediately attracted the attention of the audience. As a result, Despicable Me got a sequel, the minions became a brand, and on July 9, 2015, a spin-off of Despicable Me, dedicated to the minions themselves, was released in Russian cinemas.

It would seem that what could be harmful about little funny people? But if you think about it, the “minions” brand itself and their history are full of very ambiguous hints and meanings. Let's figure it out.

Who are the minions?

If in the first cartoons it was not yet clear who the minions were and where they came from, then the trailer for the new full-length film provides answers to these questions: according to legend, minions have been on earth since time immemorial, starting at least from the era of dinosaurs. Since the trio from Despicable Me also participated in the events of the 17th century, it becomes clear that they are immortal. Wherein, they live only for one purpose - to serve the villains. Without submission to the villain, the minions become depressed. They find the most evil one and entrust themselves to his leadership, serving him faithfully until he dies, then they look for the next one. They cannot be called a people, because minions do not have children, old people, or women. And now we invite you to watch the trailer for the new cartoon.

The trailer is quite telling. In addition to what we already know about minions, we were also shown in three minutes: several deaths in a row (0:50-1:20); dressing the minions as a woman with a prominent bust, which she showed off to a passerby (2:29); a minion dressing up in a women's swimsuit (0:36); a mustachioed father of the family in a bright red dress and makeup (1:50); mocking a sick person and hitting him in the groin (2:19); a colorful demonstration of a torture chamber and a game with a gallows (2:56); a minion in a thong (3:13) and a minion kissing what he perceives to be two women in a jacuzzi (3;16).

But the most impressive thing is not even that the main characters of the children's cartoon portray either boys or girls and consciously serve evil, but that they are shown as positive, cheerful and funny characters, from whom children will certainly want to take an example.

It is already known from previous cartoons that minions not only commit evil, but also do good. Throughout their entire existence, they helped the villains of all eras, but accidentally served as the reason that the villains most often died: they burned Dracula, they shot Napoleon. They fight, and then they perform cutely at the wedding, funny eat ice cream and go to steal the moon. They obeyed the villain and showed great delight in his villainous plans, and later admired his plans to save the world with the same delight. Try reading this to-do list to your child, and then ask a question that often torments children when watching movies and cartoons: are minions good or bad, kind or evil?

A child will not be able to give you an answer, and it will also be difficult for an adult to decide on this issue. Thus, in the child’s psyche, and the cartoon is intended for an audience of “6+”, the concepts of good and evil will be blurred. You can be nice, but fight for a banana with someone you've known for many years, take someone else's and help the villains.

And one more thing - minions, as already mentioned, come from the word “servant”, and their unquestioning submission to the villain, who in one situation may well be engaged in the production of murder weapons, and in another - ice cream, only confirms this name. They are servants, created to serve, they wear work uniforms, they do not think about orders and only in the evening allow themselves to go about their business, which most often is fights, cruel jokes and mockery of each other. Isn’t this the image of a typical representative of a consumer society that is actively imposed on us by modern mass culture that came from the West? Identical creatures who have neither their own opinion, nor the meaning of life, nor any moral qualities and only want to serve.

Now let’s ask one more question: what gender are the minions?

Judging by the names, the main characters - Stuart, Bob and Kevin - are clearly men, and they also have more masculine character traits. Sometimes they even “fall in love”: in the cartoon Despicable Me 2, Minion Stewart fell in love with a woman. However, the authors deliberately often focus on the fact that, if desired, the minions can be a girl.

In the new trailer, the minion comes out of the water and, seeing that everyone is wearing swimming trunks and he is not, in fear he rushes into the water and comes out of it - in a bra (0:36). Having received a blow to the groin area (2:23), the minion is at first surprised, and then simply laughs, demonstrating that he is not hurt at all.

The authors clearly make it clear that the minions are bisexual; if they wish, they can be both a boy and a girl, as they wish, as it suits them. Let us remind you once again that the main target audience of such cartoons is children, and it is in their consciousness through such images that the idea is implanted not only about tolerance for perversions, but also that changing your gender is absolutely normal.

Behavior patterns

And now about how minions communicate with each other. Despite the fact that the main characters have known each other for, without exaggeration, a thousand years, their relationship cannot be called friendly. They constantly argue, mock each other, laugh at any mistake or failure of their comrade.

In this excerpt, you can see how one wants to hit the other with a stick, then one laughs at the other, then they fight, and at the end of the scene, while one is kidnapped by an unknown evil, the other lets him go and sees him off into the unknown with a malicious grin.

How will the child behave after watching such a scene? What do they teach? Clearly not friendship, care or mutual assistance. Despite the fact that these yellow characters can join forces in certain situations, for example, when they need to commit some kind of crime, we are not talking about teamwork, because even here there are attempts to set up a friend and stand out from the rest. During one cartoon, they fight at the controls of the plane, at the computer, and the rest, seeing the conflict that has flared up, pick up the cry of “fight-fight” (fight-fight) and watch with pleasure. During a fight, minions can not only hit each other with thin arms, but also hit their heads on the table and use improvised objects.

Words such as honor, conscience or dignity simply do not fall within their range of concepts. Minions are loyal only to the evil master and their ego and are more like a ball of rats, ready to devour each other for a bonus and any handout from the owner. It is precisely these behavior patterns that this cartoon fosters.

Summarize. The Minions brand is aimed at:

Blurring the concepts of good and evil: Minions are villains and help villains - this is the meaning of their immortal existence, but they are depicted as cute and funny, doing both good and bad deeds, thereby blurring the concepts of what is “good” and what is “bad” in the minds of the young viewer.

Propaganda of perversions– minions can be both boys and girls according to desire or mood.

Cultivating unquestioning and thoughtless obedience. The minions themselves are simply servants, and, as noted above, they do not care what ideals they serve. It turns out that the brand of new idols for children being promoted all over the world is a “funny servant” without any moral guidelines.

Fostering individualism and competition in the viewer for petty goals. Minions are very cocky and boastful, they fight with each other just to show off in front of the owner or for fun. Despite the fact that the minions have known each other for thousands of years, they do not have friendly relations.

Propaganda of vulgarity. The minions are extremely immoral guys; in the frame they hint at things that do not fit into the “6+” rating.

Don’t take your child to see this cartoon, tell your loved ones about its harmfulness to the child’s psyche and get involved in the work of reviving morality in the media!

Be brave, comrade, publicity is our strength!

Elizaveta Efremova