Not only does the show Reboot provide fun entertainment and a chance to observe Dot (reason enough to watch), but it provides us with certain life lessons. I am not being facetious here; the show clearly has certain messages and values that run through all the episodes, ten of which I discuss below. There is a book out there that suggests we learn all we need to in kindergarten; my philosophy is that even if we stay home and watch cartoons, we will get basically the same education as twelve years of school. Admittedly, if you live in certain places, this is not saying much.
(1) Friendship: A core value of the show is the value of friendship, especially the need to help your friends, care about their feelings, and remember how important they are to your life. The characters of Reboot are not only willing to give up time and effort to help their friends, but risk their very lives (even for grouchy loners like Old Man Pearson or pain in the necks like Mike the TV, both who show such efforts are worth it). Friendship is more important to them than money, adventure, or personal gratification, though it took a few a bit of time to realize it. Friendship has its trouble spots (see "The Tiff"), but can be saved by remembering what is important. This friendship took many forms, in some cases it reached the level of love, but no matter what way it showed itself, it was what made them (and keeps us) whole. No sprite was to be an island in Mainframe, it is not the supercomputer, friends stick together, and as a result they got through many a rough and scary time, and helped to pursue their goals of happy and fulfilling lives.
(2) Duty: Close to friendship, and perhaps more pressing at times, is an overriding sense of duty. After all, the hero of the show is clearly Bob (or Matrix, serving as a replacement when duty called for it), who is a Guardian with the job to "mend and defend" -- similar to the duty of police to "protect and to serve." It is not just a duty to him, but an instinct to go to the game cubes to beat the user -- the fate of his domain, home, and friends demanded it. He even felt the need to protect viruses, who he knew were out to harm him, because it is part of the guardian protocol. Instinct aside, one knows that he had a special respect for his duties to mend tears, beat the user, and to in general protect his friends. Others on the show also had duties to fill, to family, friends, and the community itself. For instance, Dot did not want to be the command.com when the city was at war with Megabyte, and many parts of the job upset her greatly. Nonetheless, as Mouse and Phong reminded her, she had a role and duty to fill, much like we all do in many ways, whether we like it or not.
(3) Life and Death: Time passes differently inside the computer, thus the saying of "wait a nano[second]," reflecting how quickly life passes, though it seems quite ordinary to them. Nonetheless, they are realistic about the fragility of life, especially with the possibility of games nullifying whole sectors, and the fact that the parents of Dot and Enzo died before they were able to see their son grow up and their daughter real the apex of her success. Furthermore, though all had some role to play, life and death were often up to powers beyond their control (the user) or to a few select people with the responsibility (good - Bob or bad - Megabyte and Daemon); all involved also could not be assured their power would be strong enough to carry out their desires. Their fate was often ultimately up to arbitrary factors, though complete chaos (symbolized by Hexadecimal) was to be and could be resisted.
(4) Freedom: One overriding good in the Reboot universe was freedom, even if freedom was to be tempered by responsibility and duty as set into their programming or necessary for the good of the society. The importance of the freedom to act as an individual with power of one's own destiny and how fragile this liberty is dealt with in "Identity Crisis," where power over personal identity is shown to be basic to freedom. This freedom included such things as freedom of speech, to travel through sectors, and the right not to be confined for unjust reasons. When others try to or do threaten such freedom, it was the duty, nature and right of inhabitants of the Reboot universe to resist. Though Megabyte might say "Resistance is futile," the sprites and binomes (and numbers) of Mainframe resisted him, even after their Guardians were taken from them. This also led them to realize that they could not solely entrust their safety and freedom in the hands of one person (even if he was blue), but had a role to play as well, since the good of society was ultimately their responsibility as well. Thus, growing out of freedom, is equality (symbolized by the fact that color of one's skin, what number one was, or being a sprite or binome was not a matter for discrimination), which brings with it certain responsibilities -- you can not have the rights of the more powerful and elite, if you do not wish to fulfill their duties as part of the bargain.
(5) Crime does not pay: The flip side to the importance of freedom is the fact that crime does not pay, evil is not just wrong, it is not worth it. Note the unpleasant lives of Megabyte's henchmen, aside from Hack and Slash, who are basically good at heart and too stupid to do much harm. Dot early on shows the Crimson Binome that piracy does not pay -- honest business is much more profitable, and later he realizes neither is as important as friendship. As in the movie "Princess Mononoke," evil is sometimes seen as a disease, as when the Web Creature pollutes Hexadecimal and Megabyte; the very term "virus" symbolizes the fact that these two are a type of disease that is infecting Mainframe. Also, as with many diseases, evil has a tendency of spreading unless it is resisted, even if some of the means are unpleasant. At times crime and evil might seem worth it (e.g. the traitor in the "Identity Crisis"), but it tends eventually to bring bad things to those who deal in it. After all, when do we truly see Megabyte happy -- he might have a certain satisfaction when his misdeeds appear to be bearing fruit, but can this be compared to the basic pleasure he had in playing a guitar in "Talent Night?"
(6) Equality of the Sexes: Reboot is admirable for its complex strong female characters. Dot is a good foil to the carefree nature of Bob (though his serious side shows itself at times, especially in the third season) in that she is basically a serious, hard-working sprite, but one who also at times allows herself to have fun. Not only is she a successful businesswoman, but she shows her mettle in battle when it comes to that, as well as having a sensitive side in her relationship with her younger brother. Mouse is a more adventurous character, an independent mercenary who clearly can handle herself with a flavor of danger always around her. Dot is an attractive sprite, but not quite in the way of Mouse, who has a more colorful beauty about her. Nonetheless, Mouse also is a complex character, has limits to the type of jobs she would do ("I don't do toast"), and is willing to fight to help her friends, even if it is not a matter of personal gain to herself. AndrAIa grows up to be a (well one has to say it) rather sexy woman, but what one really admires about her character is her courage (she is a match to anyone in a battle), loyalty to her friends, concern for others, and free and open nature. One can not forget the complex nature of Hexadecimal (see "Painted Windows" for an interesting example of this), definitely dangerous, but willing to trust Bob, and eventually able to be saved. Such brief explanations obviously do not do the characters justice, but the complexity of the female characters and the important roles they play in the lives of the men is clear. They also have lives of their own (it is true AndrAIa is tied closely to Matrix, but the reverse is true too -- their lives are intertwined; also, Dot is her own sprite as well with her own concerns and at times with the responsibility to go it alone without Bob or Enzo/Matrix).
(7) Animals: The importance and concern given to pets can be seen in the Reboot universe as well After all, Enzo's best friend for the longest time was his dog Frisket, and the two had a very close relationship. Hexadecimal also had Scuzzy, not only as a spy, but as her only companion, besides the nulls that were drawn to her. Megabyte even had his Nibbles, if one wants to call it him a pet.
(8) People Change: One thing that is interesting about the show is the changes that the characters go through, as well as the struggles they undergo adapting to the changes. This is most clearly seen with the maturation of Enzo to Matrix (under less than ideal conditions, not as fast as he would have liked then faster than he was ready to handle) as well as the struggles of Dot to let him move from childhood to adulthood. The show also showed us how forces beyond our control often compel us to change when we may not want to or feel we are ready to: note how the entrance of Bob to Mainframe changed Bob and Dot's life and the changes everyone had to undergo during the Web Wars. Finally, the Reboot universe showed how we all have second chances in life, as shown by Old Man Pearson, AndrAIa, and Hexadecimal, all who underwent major life changes with the help of the Mainframe community -- the final episode is perhaps the complete example of this. The possibility of change is often a scary and troubling thing, but also is exciting and opens up many great opportunities.
(9) Humor: Life without humor is a dull and dreary existence. Humor not only amuses us during the best of times, but allows us to survive the trouble spots. Reboot has its share of humor from Bob's witty banter, Enzo's childish antics, and Hack and Slash's enjoyable stupidity. The show continually puts its characters into trouble with another game to threaten them just over the horizon, but not only reassures us that good will prevail, but amuses us as well. This does reflect the fact that it is a child’s show (with censors breathing down the writers’ necks like in "Talent Night"), but "real" life is really not much different. [I am told the show is fiction and Dot and company does not exist -- I resist such a thought, so there Mouse] No matter what enemy we resist in real life, we need to believe we will prevail and must use humor and other similar pleasures to keep our faith and sanity, to truly enjoy life, not just live it. This is true in day to day existence as well. We need to be like the characters on the show who know what is at stake, but still have fun playing the games . . . of life.
(10) Dot Rules . . . enough said!
Credits Thanks to Mouse for her picture :)
