Serious Cartoons: The Underrated Medium

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm halfway through my final semester at BYU! I'm both excited and terrified. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been pretty swamped with school and work. This post is something I've been working on for a while and I finally got it ready!

So I was recently talking to someone about an anime show that I really liked. I mentioned that it was really violent, and that person just blankly stared at me and said, "But it's a cartoon." I've also heard the statement, "it's just a cartoon," which implies that it couldn't have any substance.

You would not believe how many times I've heard this idea and how I've tried to convince people otherwise. But a lot of people just can't get past the misconception that cartoons can't be violent or profound because, well, they're cartoons. They're supposed to be for kids, right?

Well, not as often as you think. A lot of people have difficulty taking animation and comics seriously.

The Joker from The Dark Knight Returns. Yep. Lot's of blood. 

To be fair, the idea of taking animated shows seriously probably feels like a joke to a lot of people. Cartoons are generally associated with kids, so people assume that if it's a cartoon, it's a kids' show. Even the word cartoony has become a definition for something seen as lighter and more childish.

But in reality, I've seen many animated shows with incredibly adult situations that no child would be ready for. The same goes for comics. Most people assume that comics are for kids when really the exact opposite is the case, particularly in the case of DC comics and Marvel. Sure, they have comics for kids, but their main stuff deals with a lot of adult themes. A hero is always getting beaten within an inch of his/her life and there's often a sexual theme going on as well. And there's blood. A lot of blood.


There's also Disney. I agree that currently Disney does cater to family-friendly movies and TV shows for the most part. But that means they make movies with kids and adults in mind. And in the beginning, Disney wasn't incredibly kid-friendly with its earlier movies. For example, Snow White, Disney's earliest movie, was quite terrifying and Bambi has a death of a significant character. So Disney didn't really contribute to the cartoon stigma in the beginning.

Monster, a very profound and dark anime. 

Besides Western animation, there's also Japanese anime. Anime has also partially fallen into the kid stigma, mainly because of popular kid shows like Pokemon and Digimon. But there are a lot of anime shows that are definitely considered for adults. In fact, the majority of anime shows I've seen probably wouldn't be kid-friendly, since they have more intense subjects and are more violent.

This is probably because a lot of Japanese entertainment is done through animation for kids and for adults. The Japanese have a wider age range when it comes to the animation medium, so they have more animated shows that deal with darker themes and more intense situations.

So why do people even today still see comics and animation as something for kids and only kids?

To be honest, I'm not sure. I'd guess that there are multiple factors playing into it, but a couple of big ones are the style of the animation and Saturday morning cartoons.

Let's look at animation itself. The cartoon style removes the audience further from reality, even more than a live-action show. Maybe to some people, it borderlines on fantasy, and should be left to children, since apparently only children can have fun with fantasy. But I think this disconnect with reality led to the inability for some to take animation seriously. So the style itself may have helped to create this juvenile stigma that cartoons have found themselves saddled with.

But I don't think it was necessarily animated films that caused this misconception. In fact, it was probably television that really brought the idea that cartoons are meant for kids. With the arrival of Saturday morning cartoons, companies started coming out with cartoons geared specifically towards kids. These cartoons became popular and so ingrained into entertainment that they are now what people think of when they think of the word "cartoon" or "animated." As a result, animation now had a label that has stuck over the years.

So why do I have a problem with all of this? Is it a big deal that people associate animation with kids?  Does it matter whether comics can or can't be considered "real" books?  Who cares whether cartoons should be taken seriously?

Well, maybe we should care.

Maus: an incredible graphic novel about the holocaust

Have we thought about the potential that we're wasting by trying to keep animation and comics to one type of audience? Besides the DC and Marvel hero comics, I've read some incredible short stories in graphic novel form that could easily win awards in "serious literature."

I've also seen some beautiful and poignant animated movies and TV shows that were just as thought-provoking as any of the other great movies. We're depriving people of another potentially vibrant medium of literature and film if we refuse to take animation and comics seriously.

Now I know there are groups that agree with me, and do recognize the value of these incredible mediums, and that's wonderful. But I think more people should be aware of their value and potential. They can create a new type of aesthetic with unusual moods and messages in different and incredible ways.

Animation and graphic novels can show you ideas through a new medium and thus, in a new light you never considered before. They add another layer of elements, because not only are you looking at the words and how they relate, but you're looking at the images, how they relate to the words, how they relate to each other and the list goes on.  They can even change your whole outlook on life. But you have to get past that idea that "this is for kids" and immerse yourself in that incredible world.

Well, there's my little spiel. I really do love comics and animation, and I hope other people can see what I see when I look at those shows and novels.

Until later, folks!