Childs' play meets social commentary
Ours is a generation which has grown up with cartoons that deal with real issues and adult themes, as a source of entertainment.
The introduction of social commentary into cartoons creates a popular, accessible way of observing current events and the integration of serious issues within the cartoon format can amuse, while simultaneously aiming a kick at society-at-large.
Sure, hard-hitting satire South Park may have resulted in your younger brother spouting profanities, but then again, the show is actually aimed at adults.
The creators, alongside all the other animators, know their audience and what sort of jokes they will enjoy – jokes which regularly defy taste and decency, confining the shows to the late-night slots.
Animator Ralph Bakshi explained in The Los Angeles Times in 1971, the reason for the need to alter the storylines of animated TV-series. He said that, “[the idea of] grown men sitting in cubicles drawing butterflies floating over a field of flowers, while American planes are dropping bombs in Vietnam and kids are marching in the streets, is ludicrous.” Today’s animated entertainment seemingly followed this very notion.
The Simpsons, is in essence, an update of the working-class family image portrayed in the 1960s hit show The Flintstones.
Origins
The Stone Age-set series was the first animated, primetime series aimed at adults, and in 1961 it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Fast-forward three decades and we find their yellow counterparts – The Simpsons. In the US, the show is broadcast on the notoriously conservative Fox Television Network. A fact the producers of The Simpsons use to great effect, appealing to a largely liberal audience, with regular jokes at the expense of their own network’s right-wing leanings. Though far from damaging Fox, this approach makes them seem less conservative, bringing in a broader range of viewers.
Then there is the crude and dark humour of South Park, poking fun at an umbrella of taboo matters such as religion and sexual preference, mocking both right and liberal leanings, and laced with profane language, sex and violence.
However, the show has received recognition in a somewhat unprecedented manner. Writing for The New York Times in November 2000, Lisa Zeidner noted that South Park has resulted in college students writing essays and doctoral theses analysing the show, and a 2008 New York Post article highlights that Brooklyn College offers a course entitled “South Park and Political Correctness”.
More recently, a story in the Wall Street Journal in May this year referred to a South Park episode to explain the apparent lack of planning by Barack Obama in closing Guantanamo Bay, and subsequently what to do with all the detainees. It stated: “Sometimes it takes South Park to explain life’s deeper mysteries. Like the logic of the Obama administration’s policy proposals.”
Sexist and racist
Moving on to Family Guy, in 2009 it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, which is the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. In the celebratory 100th episode of Family Guy, creator Seth MacFarlane interviews people about their opinions of the show.
They all conclude that it is sexist, racist and derogatory to Americans in general. The point being missed, which is just what MacFarlane is trying to illustrate, is that the show portrays a highly stereotypical view of the traditional, right-wing American household, highlighting a fundamental prejudice towards ethnic minorities (such as ‘Asian reporter Tricia Takanawa’), elderly and impaired people, and social class divisions.
London College of Communication BA animator Mariano Melman, 32, lends his view on adult animation: “I think that for the most part, this can be linked to the ‘Peter Pan syndrome’: us not wanting to grow up just yet. We grew up with classics like Tom & Jerry, but with shows such as South Park and Family Guy, it lends itself to, sometimes, covert social commentary actually making it educational as well as entertaining.”
Perhaps there is more to the ‘Peter Pan syndrome’ than first meets the eye – enabling us to hold on to our youth just a little bit longer, through animated escapism. On one hand, it could be viewed as scathing satire of social issues blended with celebrity gossip, parodying American culture but on the other, it could just be seen as childish burp-and-fart humour.
Nevertheless, it serves the purpose of captivating an audience, with its sometimes-juvenile lingo, highlighting topical matters in society – yet cleverly avoids the preachy tone of an adult.
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