Mike Judge: The Animators Behind the Characters

Uh huh huh…huh…huh. Like, haven’t you heard? One day, Beavis and Butthead will be running the country. If these two rebellious teens, raised on a steady diet of fast food and Heavy Metal provided any insight into the generation that watched them, perhaps we’d be in serious trouble. Or maybe not. Before we go accusing Mike Judge of playing the part of Socrates come to corrupt the youth, let’s remember this: For one, he’s not Greek and two, he probably wouldn’t be caught dead in a toga.[divider]

Mike Judge, the Animator

[VIDEO] Beavis and Butthead –Supersize Me

Certainly, many serious critics at the time must have written Mike Judge’s show off as a collection of fart jokes and lowbrow humor, but you can’t deny the popularity, nor the continued success of the show. In a 2009 interview with Raymond Hardie for UC San Diego, where Mike Judge graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Physics, Judge commented on some early criticism he received:

“I became the scapegoat for everything that people hated about TV. And then that ended up getting a lot of people defending it like David Letterman, Stephen King and Jerry Seinfeld saying it was really a good show. That was really nice and then the pressure started coming off. But it was always really a mixed bag.”

While we shouldn’t confuse popularity as an indication of value, what it does bring to light is that perhaps value is not always so easily determined. Or better yet, it may be proof that maybe every once in awhile, it might serve us well to just stop taking ourselves so seriously and laugh. Those who came to Judge’s defense in those early years could definitely see that the show had an endearing quality to it, enough that legions of fans continue to watch his shows to this day.

Mike Judge is probably best known as an animator for his after hours comedy on MTV Beavis and Butthead, as well as King of the Hill, but there’s certainly more to this creative mind than you’d expect. Mike Judge’s resume includes work as a screenwriter for his work in films, such as Office Space and Extract, both of which also showcase his work as a director.

[VIDEO] King of the Hill -Mowing While Intoxicated

Mike Judge Finds Office Space in Silicon Valley

According to recent news, Judge even has a sitcom, Silicon Valley, slated for HBO networks in the near future. Silicon Valley will undoubtedly be a breakthrough for Judge, giving him an opportunity to comment on the idiosyncrasies of life in the Silicon Valley. As someone who once aspired to work and interviewed for a handful of tech companies, I can see the potential for great humor on the subject of tech startups. Who better to pull it off than Mike Judge? Maybe we’ll see a more updated version of Office Space in Silicon Valley, or better yet, something brilliant in and of itself.

You could say without a doubt that the world may have lost a great share of laughter had Mike Judge just decided to, well, grow up. If Mike Judge had pursued a career as a physicist, it just wouldn’t have been as cool as creating animated goofballs for the world to laugh at. Speaking of coolness, The Huffington Post even covered a story entitled, “11 Reasons Mike Judge Is Cooler Than you Ever Will Ever Be.” I’ll have to admit, Mike Judge is definitely way cooler than me. Perhaps one day I will reach the level of awesomeness required to get Huff Po to write an article about me. Until then, I’ll simply admire his coolness from afar.

I can’t imagine a world without cartoons, especially Beavis and Butthead, or King of the Hill. In fact, I would honestly have to say that despite being peddled as entertainment, they create much more than a necessary diversion. They become a part of our memories. As a teenager, I still remember staying up later than I was supposed to and watching a show that I was probably not supposed to be watching. Even now, all grown up as I am, with an impressionable son of my own in kindergarten, I still find the show hilarious.

Remember, laughter is an activity you never get too old for. Just ask dang ol’ Hank Hill, or Beavis and Butthead.