What Have We Done To Cartoons

America, what have we done? We've ruined cartoons, that's what we've done. Look around at the cartoons today. With the exception of Adventure Time and Regular Show would you watch any of the stuff. Maybe my family is weird but on Saturdays the whole family watched cartoons, no matter the age. Nobody wants to watch this stuff today. Where's the excitement? The action? Thrilling soundtracks? Crossovers? Movies?

The golden age of cartoons is gone. When was the golden age of cartoons. The mid 90's - early 00's. Most of the cartoons from the 90's have withstood the test of time and are still watchable. In actuality the cartoons from the 90's bring in the highest ratings. Batman Beyond, Power Puff Girls and Dragon Ball Z (I know it's an anime chill I'm in the middle of a ridiculous rant right now, don't ruin it) are still rated higher than most new cartoons.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, we need to stop being pussies. Do you know why America is loosing it's place of power? Because we're pussies. Parents are afraid to even let their children play outside because the world is "dangerous." The world is no more dangerous now as it was when my parents were growing up. The only difference is we have a more extensive media to display the issues. Parents are afraid of pedophiles. Do you think we didn't all have the neighbor Phil who was always trying to give kids candy and visit? We did but our parents didn't keep us from outside they said "Don't go near Phil's house, I ain't trying to catch a murder charge" and what did we do? We stayed away, We didn't know if they were going to kill us or Phil. Why? Because parents used to spank kids. Not beat kids. Spank. Parents don't even spank kids anymore because it's child abuse. Sorry, I've never had bruise from a belt, and I've had plenty of run-ins with belts. What I'm saying is this culture of fear has even corrupted our cartoons, and that ain't right.

Everything is marked as too violent these days. Video games, music, and of course cartoons. Despite the fact that seeing violence depicted between real people is more likely to teach children violent behaviors we still place the blame on other things. You're ok with your kid watching UFC but not South Park.

We need to take back the TV. There is no reason that Sponge Bob should have the most intense action sequences on TV. American children are still fascinated by super heroes. Super Heroes fight. So a poorly drawn Green Lantern TV show where they engage in old time fisticuffs briefly then talk their problems out just won't cut it.

Maybe we want our children to hold their flaws in until they explode in a fit of rage only to realize their were more people just like them after it's too late. Cartoons are fictional but they need to be grounded in reality. Why do you think Anime is more popular with Americans now, because the characters have flaws. Sure Light Yagami had a notebook that could kill anyone but he had flaws we could relate to. We've all felt the pressure of having a lot expected from us.

Static sure did have a lot of problems in his cartoon. Even though the cartoon was toned way down from the comics it still showed the world wasn't perfect. Gangs, single parents, sexual awakening, drugs, alcohol, and intolerance were all constant themes. It wasn't like Static Shock was the only cartoon doing this either. Batman The Animated Series, Superman The Animated Series, Justice League, Power Puff Girls, and even Hey Arnold acknowledged these issues.

I'm not saying we should scrap all of the cartoons on TV and start again. I'm just saying we need to take another look at what we are showing kids. We can't expect them to be fully functional adults if they never see what the world is really like. Cartoons are the first step to seeing the world for what it is. There is good and Bad. It's not all black and white, it's multicolored and multidimensional just like cartoons.

You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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