Cartoon Humor Under Fire

All types of people saw cartoons in the early 20th century. They would see shorts before seeing a film in theaters. Eventually, most of these would find a home on television and video. Once the 1950s came along, did the stigma of being for kids came into play. That is something that will come into play when the modern generation cry about humor that was done from before their time. This is in response to the hoopla surrounding Looney Tunes and its Pepe Le Pew character.

Quick backstory, The New York Times ran an article by Charles Blow (real name, by the way) about how the skunk was responsible for rape culture. I'll add that this guy is an agenda seeking person and will do anything to skew it into a political spiel. The thing is, this is not new. You hear rumblings at times. Dave Chappelle did a bit for a stand up special in 2000 regarding Pepe. Also coming out is him getting cut from the new Space Jam sequel, which I'll get to.

I'm not the hugest on these cartoons of Pepe, but Blow is "les incompetent". I get it, but it's never him winning. He always got comeuppance in the end. And it's not like Warner Brothers stuck to this formula every time, either. You can evolve a character. The Space Jam 2 scene is something I don't get. It was supposed to show, according to reports, him getting beaten up for hitting on a woman and told a lesson. Given how LeBron James is with his "activism", you'd think he would have fought for that. Makes no sense. 

Was anyone ever inspired to be like Pepe? Or even Fifi from Tiny Toon Adventures? Even if you don't care for the cartoons, it's a parody of French lovers. It's built on stereotypes seen in various forms of media. Granted, it's humor that hasn't aged well, but Blow doesn't grasp the exaggeration. There's no real way to use the character and change him to a different type of parody. With that in mind, he should not be banned. If that does happen, it opens up a whole new can of worms because there are tons of cartoons from different studios that are for kids, but have some "risque" stuff that wouldn't fly by with today's group of snowflakes.

We can't erase every "bad thing" about the 20th century. But we can learn on how to improve and to change for the better. This whole Pepe situation comes at a really bad time. I understand the issue, but we also lose sight of what the original intentions were back in the 40s and 50s. Let him disappear for a while until WB thinks its safe to use him again. Until the stigma dies off, cartoons will always be looked at as kids programming. Not everything has to be a lesson like a PBS show. 

Going Against Loved Stuff

Like everyone, I have stuff I don't like, but others do. Most of the time, people act like I committed the worst crime if I don't like what they like.

Cartoons is a great example. I hate Animaniacs, and it bothered a handful of people and a couple berating me for having bad taste. Even when I explained my reason (obnoxious characters, tried way too hard to be funny), it was for naught. I prefer other Spielberg cartoons over it. Frankly, I didn't watch kids networks (TV in general ) until 1996/97 and even then, I watched other channels like TBS. I think cartoons get many offended if you don't love them the same way others do. I think part of it is nostalgia and being big fans of said programs. But they are the ones that suffer from age most of the time and don't hold up.

Movies is a bit different. For a lot of the really loved ones, I can see why. Part of it is the high bar that is set for movies like The Godfather Part II, and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. I watch those and I feel underwhelmed. I can find enjoyment and say they are good, but that good? I don't think so. Definitely watchable, though. One I watched recently was the first Gremlins. I like the Gremlin design and set up. It had funny moments, but I didn't find it that scary. Not that good, but still pretty good.

Video games fall in the same thing as movies, but way worse. There is a very high bar set and if I don't agree, regardless of if I love the game or not, it would hypothetically bother many. My big example is The Legend of Zelda for the original NES. A lot of people view it as a masterpiece. I don't see it as being more than just a good game. I think nostalgia is heavily involved as it has its share of flaws like the grinding and the health system as get a bigger life meter. You can't ignore small things that hurt a game, regardless of age.

I don't try to be different for the sake of being different. Just understand that the opposite opinion can occur unless someone is being different on purpose or trying to hate something on purpose.