cartoons I watch. Being an only child my attention began to focus, not on reality, but the

Transcription

1 All childhood memories derive from somewhere. Mine, for instance, derive from the cartoons I watch. Being an only child my attention began to focus, not on reality, but the cartoon fantasy that revealed itself through my television set. With many different reasons and in many different ways, children of my generation and many generations after mine have become more and more focused on television and the entertainment that it provides. Many believe that it is this source of entertainment that has a molding effect on children s minds. Even the cartoons themselves hint at this. A good example of this is Fairy Odd Parents: Channel Chasers. In this mini movie, Timmy Turner (The main character) runs away, trying to find a new life for himself within the cartoons he watches after his parents punish him for imitating dangerous stunts from an action cartoon that he watched. The fact that even animators and cartoon creators recognize this manipulative ability on children is rather scary for two reasons. First, it makes it much easier for the people working on a show to get children to believe in their ideology. Sure a parent can tell their children otherwise, coach them in other beliefs, but in the end what would you think a child would prefer to believe: a lecture from mommy and daddy, or bright, shiny, colorful cartoons. Second, with the shows that are airing now, with the stupidity that is shown through out Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network (the three largest cartoon franchises so far), what hope could there be for future generations, what kind of mindset would future generations of children have about themselves and of others? I am not a psychologist, but I know children s minds. I take care of children, and I have, multiple times, stopped them from climbing up chairs and drapes like spider monkeys so that they can be like Spiderman or Hulk, I ve stopped them from putting pots on their heads and ramming them into thing, trying to be like Ironman, or grabbing mallets from God knows where and

2 trying to hit each other like Thor, All because they were watching Avengers cartoon and other brain rotting shows. I cannot tell you with 100% detail about the effects of cartoons from different generations on children because I have not dedicated my life to that kind of research, but I can, from experience, sat that it does have an effect. There is a five year old little girl who, because our parents are so passive towards us, calls me mommy instead of big sister, who only watches old reruns of Betty Boop, Hello Kitty, Popeye, Little Lulu, Gumby, and all those old black and white cartoons that our parents watched and that we barely got a chance to watch thanks to a little channel called Boomerang. Compared to the other kids I take care of who are her friends she is a saint. If I tell her to sit down, she will sit down, and if I say stay still, she will, unless she had a butt-full of sugar and even then I can rest assured that at least she won t move from that spot. Sure you could say that culture, discipline, and lifestyle could be to blame, but then I ask, How could they imitate what they wouldn t know? it all comes back to what they watch, and Cartoon Network is a big reason for the disappointing cartoons and upsetting shows that run the airways. Then lies the question, if there is that much of a problem with how Cartoon Network is running things, why not just watch Boomerang or Cartoon Planet, don t they host all the old shows? Though this may be true, those channels are almost inaccessible. To be able to receive those channels, an incredible amount of money must be paid, and, for a middle class family like mine, it s not worth it. Cartoon Network, in the 90s prided itself on being, The best place for cartoons. For a time, this was its motto and constantly clamed itself to be just that. For a long time, this was

3 true. The only thing that aired were quality cartoons, and only cartoons. In 2006, a show by the name of Zixx aired to Cartoon Network. This show changed Cartoon Network forever. Zixx was a show about a computer game gone horribly real. The show itself was, in my opinion, pretty good, but it contained one major problem. It was the first live action show Cartoon Network ever aired. Because the vast majority of the show was done in a virtual world where the characters were computer generated, Zixx was able to pass off as an animated show even though live actors were used. This gave Cartoon Network a new (BAD) idea, As long as there is some animation, live action shows can air on the network with the idea of the channel still maintaining its cartoon only status. Later, shows like Out of Jimmy s Head arose with the live/animation dual status (though, now it was more live than animation). Finally, in 2009, completely live action shows began to air. These shows consisted of: Bobb'e Says; BrainRush, Destroy Build Destroy; Dude, What Would Happen; The Othersiders; Run It Back; Tower Prep; Level Up; and Incredible Crew. Due to these shows being aired cartoon network showed its unfortunate downturn. If it weren t for shows like these the idea of the best place for cartoons would have been preserved. The live action shows marked a dive in cartoon network s quality of shows. It was not that the shows themselves were bad, and if they were shown in other channels they probably would have gotten better ratings, but the fact that live action shows were airing in a channel that is specifically made for cartoons with its title being a network for cartoons just shows that the animators, creators, and all others who work within the system have lost sight of the reason that cartoon network was created. In 1992, Ted Turner bought out Hanna-Barbera s library and use the cartoons to create cartoon network. His goal was to make a channel specific to cartoons like CNN was specific to

4 the news. With Hanna-Barbera s library at hand, cartoon network was given plenty of shows to air. The quality of shows that Hanna-Barbera provided prove to be the best quality of cartoons, even to this day, and I think everyone would agree that nothing can surpass the original cartoons that was provided at that time. Being a visionary, Ted Turner saw which cartoons would be best qualified for this channel. He saw such greatness in Hanna-Barbera s cartoons that he even refused to fund for other cartoons to be made. For the longest time these cartoons aired showing audiences the beauty and family entertainment that a simple cartoon, with good quality, could provide. Ted Turner saw potential in this new network and worked diligently to provide programs that he felt personally would provide the best in containment for children and their parents. When he joined Time Warner and became vice chairman of the company, cartoon network only seem to see more greatness. The cartoons provided by Time Warner and only aspired to further improve the quality that cartoon network was starting to create, and it was only when, 2003, Ted Turner resigned from his post as vice chairman of Time Warner that cartoon network began seeing its greatest downfall. Ted Turner, being the backbone of the only all-cartoon network, had left said network to those who he believed would further improve what he began. For a short time it was seen that he did not make a bad choice, his values were still employed within the network, cartoons that aired seem to have a similar quality to what he had originally envisioned, but because his vision was no longer a solid existence within the company, the quality of work slowly began to deteriorate. I cannot say that Time Warner had left cartoon network because that s not true. Cartoon network and Time Warner still work together, that you can see the separation, can tell that there s a difference. Warner Brother s cartoons that had once thrived on cartoon network began to dwindle.

5 Cartoons like Animaniacs, the new Adventures of Batman, and many other Warner cartoons began to disappear. They still shows that coincided with Time Warner, but that closeness that was when shared when Ted Turner was around was gone. To compensate for the lack of vision, cartoon began to be imported. Though not all of the importing shows and bad it does not have that spark that was previously seen in the older shows. That image that cartoon network had previously created itself was starting to change and it wasn t for the better. So, what is it about these current shows that seem to hold such a native feedback within the viewers? The thing about cartoon network is that it isn t just a network for children anymore, it has grown to be in network for teenagers who like reminiscing and their childhood, and who like to feel like the stress of their life doesn t exist and want to live that time where they didn t have to worry. It is true that some people don t like certain things, for example were so many people like adventure time, I think it s pointless, ridiculous, and shouldn t exist, but there s more to it than that. Because the network is getting a larger variety of viewers, that means you also have people that can t let go of the past. So shows like courage the cowardly dog, the looney tunes, and other 90s cartoons become extraordinary missed. People who go back to cartoon network try to relive their childhood and comeback disappointed at the massive change that derived from cartoon network s quality work. But even with that it is still bad. If you look back on the shows that used to air, there wasn t one cartoon that didn t have a subtle celebrity or sex joke in it, but, regardless of that those shows had good moralities to them. Those shows taught a lesson to children; be a good person, be more courageous, loosen up and have fun, and my favorite of all, You gotta cheer up, and never ever give up hope. When of looking at the shows that are going on now, I cannot see these forms of morality, all I

6 can see is the stupidity that these cartoons provided. It is the same brain rotting junk that pollutes children s minds into doing those stupid stunts that are presented in that very program. That s one of the reasons that the former cartoon network was so special. Ted Turner, being a visionary, was also an environmentalist. On September 11, 1993, the new adventures of captain planet was created to teach children the importance of being environmentally friendly. Children who imitate what they see, would begin to imitate being environmentally friendly. Now all that s being imitated his violence, stupidity, and rude behavior. Sure, back then there was plenty of violence, I cannot deny any form of violence within shows like Tom and Jerry, the looney tunes, and other shows of the like. They were there, but I must admit that they were not the same as the violence that exists in a cartoon now. Even when Warner Brothers cartoons began to populate cartoon network there was still an air innocence. DC shows that were guided by Warner Brothers, though still considered violent, still seemed innocent enough can properly air on a child s network. How could a network be proud to air a show of that was created during an acid trip? What prideful thing could come out of something that was created from an acid trip? Even with all the violence that was created in the past shows, nothing, violent nor stupid could equate to the ignorance of animators and cartoon creators when creating a show based on an acid trip! Whether or not children know what an acid trip is, is not the problem. The problem is the method that was used to create the show. What happens when these children become older, and they realize that this cartoon that the enjoyed so thoroughly as a child was based off of an acid trip? Teenagers are always trying to find an excuse to do stupid things, regular show just gave them another excuse.

7 Because of the fact that things began to go downhill for cartoon network around the time that Ted Turner resigned from his place in Time Warner, it was easy to see what was holding cartoon network together. Ted Turner was that link that bonded Time Warner and cartoon network so closely. Even though they still have a slight connection to each other, it is obvious that Time Warner s close relationship with cartoon network was the only thing that kept the channel decent. I don t believe that cartoon network should go back to doing what it did 10 or 15 years ago. Times change and it is just proper for the networks to adapt to that change, but I want to see cartoons that I would be OK with a five year old watching. I want to see a show that would entertain my five year old sister, and it would have her doing good things with her spare time. At one time, Time Warner and cartoon network hosted amazing shows together. Before then, Hanna-Barbera and cartoon network hosted amazing shows together. They created it amusing commercial bumpers, that we re both innocent and well thought out. It created a real world with imaginary characters. As a child, it gave me an easy access to an escape. I could really imagine myself being there, and now I wonder how can a child, who wishes for an escape from reality, find it? Today, cartoon network does not host cute little bumpers. They show random boxes, stupid people, and ridiculous talking Logos. How can a child find an escape in that? References (2005). Business heros ted turner: The man behind 24/7 news. Business Strategy Review

8 Time Warner Inc. SWOT Analysis. (2012). Time Warner, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 1-9. Anonymous. (Unknown). Hanna-barbera cartoons Inc. history. Retrieved from (Anonymous, Unknown) Romano, T. (2011, May 16). [Web log message]. Retrieved from (Romano, 2011) LightEcoJak. (2013, February 08). [Web log message]. Retrieved from (LightEcoJak, 2013) Foster, V. (2008). Cartoon network tackles a children's issue by making activism and volunteering fun. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 27(2), doi: /joe Fletcher, A. D. (2002). The cartoon network: Promotional products and the introduction of a new cable television service. Journal of Promotion Management [Web log message]. (2012, December 29). Retrieved from