How Have Cartoons Changed

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Sit any generation down to discuss cartoons and many will go on and on about their favorite cartoon show. On the surface many of the shows will sound alike, but as each generation goes in-depth many will see how much cartoons have changed.


Televised cartoons have a history dating back to the 1920s and at that time there was barely any dialog between the characters in the episode. Cartoons were comparable to Steamboat Willie, starring Mickey Mouse, which were mainly action filled and in black and white. As time progressed cartoons increased in dialog and in color. The dialog between the characters was kid friendly and treaded lightly on certain topics such as first loves. There was no abusive language or topics that made parents feel uncomfortable. …show more content…

Cartoons such as The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-head rolled out into mainstream television and soon parents were in an uproar about the language and the message it sent to kids. Cartoons continued to explore the use of language as well as topics such as drugs and drinking. Cartoons appeared more for adults than for children. The violence once expressed through just hitting with various objects is now threatening each other with guns. Parents now feel uncomfortable watching these cartoons with their children because they feel as though cartoons have hidden messages and jokes for adults, but they are in cartoons that are meant for children. With all the controversy now with cartoons and T.V. shows in general, they now have what is referred to as a television rating system. Now children have to be age appropriate to watch cartoons in their age …show more content…

Cartoons are still colorful, entertaining, and a great pastime for children but at what cost. When you compare the language of cartoons from early times it is extremely different. The words used are chosen to make the target audience laugh, but one is left to question who is their target audience is it kids or adults. Words like "shut up" and "stupid" are light compared to certain cartoon shows. There are cartoon episodes that censor or "bleep" curse words out, for example let's take SpongeBob SquarePants, in an episode called Sailor Mouth the topic was about bad words and Patrick and SpongeBob, characters on the show, learned the bad words and began to use them. The 'bad words' were bleeped out each time they used a curse word, but if we go back to before the 90's no cartoon episode would dare use such language in a cartoon. Violence in cartoons is still present today, but different in aspects of severity. They now show guns and knives and characters using them in a threatening manner. We can still say cartoons are entertaining for both children and adults, but parents are finding that cartoons are, not how they once were. Cartoon are now rated from general audience to parental guidance. The episode of SpongeBob SquarePants with the cursing was rated "G" which means parents can trust that this cartoon program is suitable for all ages. A quick lesson to the children about using bad words and how to use

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