14 DAY TRIAL // Just think South Park or Family Guy or even Better Drawn Together. Cartoons used to be just for kids?until not so long ago. Today they are the coolest available TV series. The most outrageous. The most blasphemous. The most too much over the top. The wittiest. The most idiotic. The meanest. But? should the kids be exposed to such cool things that contain violence, extreme misbehavior, adult jokes and sadistic acts? Well, if you consider that sadism and ?ber-violence have always been one essential feature of the cartoon universe (from Tom being tortured by Jerry to Tweety's acts of pointless and painful punishment of Sylvester), it is absolutely pointless to blame the TV for all felonies, crimes and murders children have been involved in (caused, committed or supported). What is really worth looking into is the social and political observations, quotations, mocking and statements that have suddenly developed in all the major cartoon series of the late '90s.
In the cartoon universe things didn't spin out of control because of 9/11. The aftermath of that day just raised a certain level of social and political awareness that was there.
It started in December 1989 as the first episode of Matt Goering's The Simpsons was aired; the portrait (and deconstruction) of an average American twisted (yet funny) small town family turned on millions of fans. Now, 16 years, 17 series and 366 episodes later, the Simpson family is still funny... what has changed are the matters the characters deal with: gay marriages, war, secret services, genetically altered products...
1997: Matt Stone and Trey Parker blow up all the taboos as their "crappy animated" South Park TV series are aired and those once shocked by Homer Simpsons' memorable quote "I'm not a religious man, but if you are up there, help me, Superman!!!" remain speechless.
Parker and Stone's trashy flamboyant extravagant way of asking all the right question on all the huge issues and throw all the wrong answers at a exhilarated yet shocked audience had to deal with the ruling principle of America's TV networks: political correctness. They dealt with it exquisitely, by throwing it in the latrine. The Simpsons' easy way of dealing with life and all the problems that made the headlights were so over.
The fist cartoon ever to question everything of importance for the American way of living had its hardcore cynicism and brutal satire wrapped in the trashy-est and campy-est covers ever.
Just read these episode titles: Terrence and Phillip in Not Without My Anus, Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut, Butt Out, Scott Tenorman Must Die, Cripple Fight, The Passion of the Jew... nothing is sacred in the small remote town of South Park.
Jesus is reduced to a talk show host, a powerless fraud who fights Satan and loses, a statue of Virgin Mary bleeds through the ass, Christopher Reeve sucks fetuses in order to regain power, the crippled and mentally challenged are severely discriminated against, a mob shouts "Tom Cruise, get out of the closet!", Scott Tenorman doesn't die but he eats his own parents (whom have been especially killed and cooked for this pay-off).
South Park is cynical and honest enough to define America as it is seen from the outside: "a country that says one thing and does another, but whose protesters will show the world that the American people are not to be hated for their country's actions".
A few last words about how the big issues interfere in cartoons? Well, the brand new sensational series of Drawn Together hijacks a reality show (Brig Brother like) format and fills it with cartoon characters that stand up for all the major cartoon trends and all the sin and guilt of society:
The super-hero era Captain Hero, a self sufficient s&m fan; Wooldoor Sockbat a Sponge Bob less fortunate clone, a total retard; Xandir, pc game hero and utterly gay; Foxxxy Brown, the missing member of Josie and the Pussy Cats or Jabberjaw cast, a total lust expert; Spanky Ham, emoticon-like pig whose main virtues are his greediness and lack of respect for others; Toot Brownstein, Betty Boop copycat of the early ages of the cinema, greedy, nymphomaniac overweight and disgusting; Ling Ling, a Pikaciu alike creature, walking clich? of the stereotyped "Asian People", and last but certainly not least Princess Clara, Disney look alike creature that has an enormous stock of discrimination and hypocrisy to shower the others with (she also has cursed genitalia- see the uncanny Ogtopussoir).
