Hello!
Now,
I know this section is mainly about child programming, and I’ll have tons to
say on that at a later date, but lately I’ve been thinking about adult cartoons
and why they are how they are.
Many
people would say, myself included, that children’s cartoons are dealing with
subjects more real to life lately. Steven Universe, in addition to being about
a kid who’s half human half space rock who saves the Earth, also deals with the
loss of loved ones, how manipulation is hurtful, and that families come in all
shapes and sizes. When I grew up, cartoons for my age seemed to be more on par
with Netflix’s “The Day my Butt Went Psycho!” (Yes, that is an actual, real
show on Netflix. Look it up, you’ll be pleasantly disappointed).
Anyhow,
my point is children’s cartoons have been taking a huge step forward as of
late. But, have adult cartoons taken a step back?
In
the previous reading, C.S. Lewis said that the common way to write
entertainment for adults is to throw sex into the mix. Sex has become less and
less taboo over the years, but it still is used as a common theme to draw in
adults. Now, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you sex in media is bad. It’s not.
Sex is a part of life, if not the instigator of life. But, I think adult cartoons
can abuse the idea of sex.
The
humor of adult cartoons is almost primarily based on sex. Anyone ever watch the
Simpsons? Anyone know Mr. Burns’ assistant Smithers? He’s gay. That’s the joke.
Smithers is gay, particularly for his boss. His sexuality and person of
preference is what’s supposed to make him funny. Also, Bart’s teacher, Ms.
Krabappel, is funny because she’s promiscuous. The list goes on. I don’t think
the Simpsons is a bad show, I actually like it. I’m not saying I don’t like
adult cartoons either. Two of my favorite cartoons ever are Futurama and Rick
and Morty (if you hang around me long enough you’ll hear way more about those
shows than you want and I’m sorry in advance).
But,
why do adult cartoons rely on, for lack of a better word, adult themes? Why don’t
they usually have lessons at the end or teach us anything? Because adults are done
learning, or at least we think we are. We’re adults, we don’t need to learn
lessons anymore. We don’t have to use our brains to enjoy things because that’s
what Bill Nye the Science Guy and the Magic School Bus were for when we were
little. I think that can be adult’s biggest folly: thinking we know everything
already. We’re the big kids now, we went to school and learned that the Mitochondria
is the powerhouse of the cell, so we’re done with all that kid stuff. Adult
cartoon creators know that, and they play their viewers like a harp. Don’t want
to learn? Then don’t. Sit back and enjoy some silly “adult” jokes.
It is
definitely okay to enjoy shows and humor for the sake of enjoying them.
Everybody’s got guilty pleasures, even me. But, that shouldn’t be all we enjoy.
I think, to fully experience entertainment, we have to open ourselves up to all
kinds of media. I may love Rick and Morty to bits, black humor and all, but I
also love to watch shows made for young children. Anyone ever watch Rolie Polie
Olie as a kid? That show was like an obsession for me an I still own and watch
the movies from it because it’s just that enjoyable.
Enjoying
“adult” jokes is all well and good, I guess you just shouldn’t make it your bread
and butter of entertainment.
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