Why do these cartoons need a warning?!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I picked up a DVD from the cheap bin at walmart. It has some older cartoons like Popeye, Casper, Woody Woodpecker, etc. On the back is a warning; Please be aware that these cartoons represent the values and attitudes from another era, and may contain content for mature audiences that may not be appropriate for children.

 

Really?! Am I missing something? What say the hive?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I assume they have things in them that would be considered racist. For example, I can think of a scene from Tom and Jerry where a firecracker blows up in Tom's face and Tom looks like he's in blackface. Obviously that would not be ok today. We watch them but if there is a scene like that I tell the kids why it would not be allowed today and why I consider it disrespectful to a certain race. I also remember some with stereotypes of Native Americans.

[Murphy101]

I'm with you. I think it's stupid.

 

ETA: I don't know that it's anymore racist than The Simpsons or Southpark. Just a different racist.

 

Usually it's because characters smoke or drink alcohol.

Edited August 15, 2012 by Martha

[newlifemom]

Plus these cartoons were originally written for movie goers in the 30s and 40s. Most of which were adults. There are quite a few with adult references. :D

[Catwoman]

I assume they have things in them that would be considered racist. For example, I can think of a scene from Tom and Jerry where a firecracker blows up in Tom's face and Tom looks like he's in blackface. Obviously that would not be ok today. We watch them but if there is a scene like that I tell the kids why it would not be allowed today and why I consider it disrespectful to a certain race. I also remember some with stereotypes of Native Americans.

 

 

:iagree:

 

The first time I saw the warning information, it was on a Looney Tunes collection, and I was wondering if there was some sort of creepy Wile E. Coyote porn video that I'd never heard of :D, but when I looked up some reviews, it turned out that the episodes were the same ones I remembered watching as a kid, but because they contained a few politically incorrect snippets here and there, someone got the brilliant idea of putting a warning on the box.

[stripe]

I watched an old Mr Magoo. There was a sequence with a "Chinese" man with buck teeth talking in a fake dialect. It was so so bad. (I also hate the yellowface in Breakfast at Tiffany's.)

 

In high school a classmate brought in some propaganda pieces with Mickey Mouse, I think, any these awful German and Japanese characters.

[dansamy]

That's ok. I grew up with Scooby and Shaggy seeing things and being constantly hungry and scarfing down "Scooby Snax".

[newlifemom]

That's ok. I grew up with Scooby and Shaggy seeing things and being constantly hungry and scarfing down "Scooby Snax".

 

Uh-huh, right. ;)

[Carpe]

That's ok. I grew up with Scooby and Shaggy seeing things and being constantly hungry and scarfing down "Scooby Snax".

 

If you have strong google-fu you can totally find a recipe for "scooby snacks". Cookies made with ingredients that will make you hungry :P

 

Hopefully that's descriptive enough to make sense but not enough to get "snackers" here from searching.

[dansamy]

Uh-huh, right. ;)

 

If you have strong google-fu you can totally find a recipe for "scooby snacks". Cookies made with ingredients that will make you hungry :P

 

Hopefully that's descriptive enough to make sense but not enough to get "snackers" here from searching.

 

;) That's what I was getting at. I was a lot older before I figured out that Scooby and Shaggy had recreational pharmaceuticals in that Mystery Machine.

[Katy]

There's also a warning on the old Sesame Street dvds! Apparently Big Bird's imaginary friend Snuffy might be confused with mental illness. :001_huh:

[Carpe]

;) That's what I was getting at. I was a lot older before I figured out that Scooby and Shaggy had recreational pharmaceuticals in that Mystery Machine.

 

How could they not! Shaggy seems like a walking "snack"er stereotype.

[Carpe]

There's also a warning on the old Sesame Street dvds! Apparently Big Bird's imaginary friend Snuffy might be confused with mental illness. :001_huh:

 

Well that's ... something, isn't it?

[Murphy101]

;) That's what I was getting at. I was a lot older before I figured out that Scooby and Shaggy had recreational pharmaceuticals in that Mystery Machine.

 

Holy moly!!! What?! No way?! Ya'll are blowin my mind. Seriously. I never ever made that connection.:confused:

 

Just yelped because I snorted wine through my nose and dh asked wth? I told him this and he agrees no way. :001_huh:

[kwg]

There's also a warning on the old Sesame Street dvds! Apparently Big Bird's imaginary friend Snuffy might be confused with mental illness. :001_huh:

 

:001_huh::lol: How did we ever survive????? :lol:

[Bluegoat]

There's also a warning on the old Sesame Street dvds! Apparently Big Bird's imaginary friend Snuffy might be confused with mental illness. :001_huh:

 

IIRC they were also very concerned about showing kids riding bikes without helmets, playing in a junk-yard, and Gordon - a stranger - showing a new kid around the street and inviting her home for milk and cookies.

[Catwoman]

There's also a warning on the old Sesame Street dvds! Apparently Big Bird's imaginary friend Snuffy might be confused with mental illness. :001_huh:

 

Well, that's just stupid. :glare:

 

I'm too old for Sesame Street, but I remember watching it with my nieces and nephews when they were little, and Snuffy was cute and sweet and lovable. If people were looking at Snuffy like that, perhaps they were the ones with the mental illness issues.

 

It's truly pathetic when people have nothing better to do with their time than over-analyze the characters on children's shows.

 

Remember when people said Bert and Ernie were gay?

 

And Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies was gay, too, because he carried "the bag," which was obviously a handbag (but not a single little kid in the Teletubbies target age range would EVER have made a s*xual connection between Tinky Winky, his "bag," and s*xual preference.)

 

It's just plain ridiculous.

[AdventureMoms]

DD recently found popeye on Netflix and honestly? It was pretty inappropriate. I would have thought it appropriate for a young child, but apparently I forgot what it was like or missed a lot when I was a kid. There's over the top violence constantly, innuendo, racism, sexism, etc. Thankfully she didn't like it much and it was not hard to convince her to go for something better the next time.

 

We also have the old Sesame Street with the warnings on it. That one I'm happy to have her watch.

[sourpatchbaby]

I saw an episode of popeye where he spanked the baby. that's not allowed to be seen anymore.

[Ruby Rose]

;) That's what I was getting at. I was a lot older before I figured out that Scooby and Shaggy had recreational pharmaceuticals in that Mystery Machine.

 

WHAT!?! I'm so sheltered! :lol:

[Barb_]

 

Remember when people said Bert and Ernie were gay?

\

 

This one, actually, I can see. They fought like my grandparents.

[Catwoman]

This one, actually, I can see. They fought like my grandparents.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[SunnyDays]

My son is totally into Tom and Jerry and Pink Panther. And I'm happy to have him watch those over most of the things on TV today!!

 

I didn't make the connection between Scooby and Shaggy and their bliss until I was quite a bit older... I was a pretty naive kid!! ;)

[LibraryLover]

There's also a warning on the old Sesame Street dvds! Apparently Big Bird's imaginary friend Snuffy might be confused with mental illness. :001_huh:

 

 

Nope.

 

I vividly remember why they made Snuffy 'real'. It was during the mid 80's, with what turned out to be 'witch hunts' of day care providers; when folks assumed day care existed to to sexually abuse little ones. Snuffy was Big Bird's 'secret'. Snuffy was 'exposed', so children would not get the message that they should not keep

'secrets' from their parents.

Edited August 16, 2012 by LibraryLover

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I'm with you. I think it's stupid.

 

ETA: I don't know that it's anymore racist than The Simpsons or Southpark. Just a different racist.

 

Usually it's because characters smoke or drink alcohol.

 

No. Just no.

This clip is an example of some of what was prevalent in cartoons in that era. This is ugly racism on display.

 

South Park is in a different class as it is satirical in nature and the intended audience is not children.

[Guest]

Well, I readily admit that, though I plowed through endless hours of Warner Bros. and Looney Tunes as a child, watching them as an adult is quite eye-opening. Nearly every show was about one character's endless quest to "kill" another character, except for the skunk, who only wanted to constantly have s*x with a housecat. (Pepe Le Pew). Tom wants to kill Jerry. Coyote wants to kill RR. Elmer wants to kill the "scwewy wabbit," Bugs. There was that rooster and the baby chicken hawk. Sylvester and Tweety. And whomever else.

 

Characters smoked and drank alcohol. Racial themes are pretty disgusting, seen with my adult eyes. And how about "sexy" girl characters, like the snow bunny Bugs would go nuts over?

 

Even watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was so surprising to me. Rudolph's father is horrible! "No son of mine is going to go out with a red nose!" and he tries to hide it from Santa, who is bitterly disappointed that he would sire such a defective fawn. The "other reindeer" laugh and call him names because Coach Donner openly rebukes his glowing nose.

 

Really, it's quite astounding the stereotypes and poor modeling that passed for entertainment decades ago. The warning label may seem a bit too far, but it's still shocking and awful what passed for children's entertainment several decades ago. Come to think of it, the warning label makes sense to me.

[Catwoman]

Well, I readily admit that, though I plowed through endless hours of Warner Bros. and Looney Tunes as a child, watching them as an adult is quite eye-opening. Nearly every show was about one character's endless quest to "kill" another character, except for the skunk, who only wanted to constantly have s*x with a housecat. (Pepe Le Pew). Tom wants to kill Jerry. Coyote wants to kill RR. Elmer wants to kill the "scwewy wabbit," Bugs. There was that rooster and the baby chicken hawk. Sylvester and Tweety. And whomever else.

 

But no one ever actually gets killed, the violence is obviously fake, and while Pepe LePew is a huge flirt, that's as far as it goes on-screen (and besides, he's a cute cartoon skunk -- how s*xy is that? ;))

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, because I still love Looney Tunes cartoons, and so does my ds!

[ChocolateReignRemix]

But no one ever actually gets killed, the violence is obviously fake, and while Pepe LePew is a huge flirt, that's as far as it goes on-screen (and besides, he's a cute cartoon skunk -- how s*xy is that? ;))

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, because I still love Looney Tunes cartoons, and so does my ds!

 

Eh, Pepe engages in what would be considered unwanted sexual contact, or at the minimum sexual harassment, by most reasonable people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEdBndu0YUM

[deacongirl]

No. Just no.

This clip is an example of some of what was prevalent in cartoons in that era. This is ugly racism on display.

 

 

South Park is in a different class as it is satirical in nature and the intended audience is not children.

 

:iagree:

[justLisa]

I think we have created more problems than helped. My kids would not pick up on the things the adults are worried about.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I think we have created more problems than helped. My kids would not pick up on the things the adults are worried about.

 

I disagree. Some things are minor, but the stereotypes in some of the old cartoons are disturbing.

 

Look at how the *only* African American characters in those cartoons are portrayed.

[celticmom]

;) That's what I was getting at. I was a lot older before I figured out that Scooby and Shaggy had recreational pharmaceuticals in that Mystery Machine.

 

I never made this connection until now, I'm not sure I wanted to know.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Well, I readily admit that, though I plowed through endless hours of Warner Bros. and Looney Tunes as a child, watching them as an adult is quite eye-opening. Nearly every show was about one character's endless quest to "kill" another character, except for the skunk, who only wanted to constantly have s*x with a housecat. (Pepe Le Pew). Tom wants to kill Jerry. Coyote wants to kill RR. Elmer wants to kill the "scwewy wabbit," Bugs. There was that rooster and the baby chicken hawk. Sylvester and Tweety. And whomever else.

 

Characters smoked and drank alcohol. Racial themes are pretty disgusting, seen with my adult eyes. And how about "sexy" girl characters, like the snow bunny Bugs would go nuts over?

 

Even watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was so surprising to me. Rudolph's father is horrible! "No son of mine is going to go out with a red nose!" and he tries to hide it from Santa, who is bitterly disappointed that he would sire such a defective fawn. The "other reindeer" laugh and call him names because Coach Donner openly rebukes his glowing nose.

 

Really, it's quite astounding the stereotypes and poor modeling that passed for entertainment decades ago. The warning label may seem a bit too far, but it's still shocking and awful what passed for children's entertainment several decades ago. Come to think of it, the warning label makes sense to me.

 

:iagree:

 

 

;) That's what I was getting at. I was a lot older before I figured out that Scooby and Shaggy had recreational pharmaceuticals in that Mystery Machine.

 

Really? It never occurred to me. :eek:

[Excelsior! Academy]

Just asked dh and he said, "well he did talk. Or at least they heard him talking. I mean they did drive around in the Mystery Mobile."

[pitterpatter]

Oh, gosh...have you seen the old Disney ones? They totally need warnings. Uhm, smoking, smoking, smoking, drinking, shoving a shotgun in ones own mouth and pulling the trigger, cutting off heads, hanging, all kinds of racist and sexist stuff...

Edited August 16, 2012 by pitterpatter

[Murphy101]

No. Just no.

This clip is an example of some of what was prevalent in cartoons in that era. This is ugly racism on display.

 

South Park is in a different class as it is satirical in nature and the intended audience is not children.

 

:001_huh: Myself, dh and 3 teens watched it and thought it was a hilarious black Elmer Fudd? Why is Elmer Fudd okay as long as he is white?

 

Really, it's quite astounding the stereotypes and poor modeling that passed for entertainment decades ago. The warning label may seem a bit too far, but it's still shocking and awful what passed for children's entertainment several decades ago. Come to think of it, the warning label makes sense to me.

 

You have got to be kidding. Like media, of any kind, isn't chock full of stereotypes and poor modeling now?:001_huh:

 

But no one ever actually gets killed, the violence is obviously fake, and while Pepe LePew is a huge flirt, that's as far as it goes on-screen (and besides, he's a cute cartoon skunk -- how s*xy is that? ;))

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, because I still love Looney Tunes cartoons, and so does my ds!

 

Us too.

 

I think we have created more problems than helped. My kids would not pick up on the things the adults are worried about.

 

I agree. All three of my teens never ever would have thought that cartoon was racist. They thought the same as me, it's just a black Elmer Fudd. *shrug*

[ChocolateReignRemix]

:001_huh: Myself, dh and 3 teens watched it and thought it was a hilarious black Elmer Fudd? Why is Elmer Fudd okay as long as he is white?

 

Wow.

 

 

I agree. All three of my teens never ever would have thought that cartoon was racist. They thought the same as me, it's just a black Elmer Fudd. *shrug*

 

All I can say is...I am not surprised.

[AdventureMoms]

Well, I readily admit that, though I plowed through endless hours of Warner Bros. and Looney Tunes as a child, watching them as an adult is quite eye-opening. Nearly every show was about one character's endless quest to "kill" another character, except for the skunk, who only wanted to constantly have s*x with a housecat. (Pepe Le Pew). Tom wants to kill Jerry. Coyote wants to kill RR. Elmer wants to kill the "scwewy wabbit," Bugs. There was that rooster and the baby chicken hawk. Sylvester and Tweety. And whomever else.

 

Characters smoked and drank alcohol. Racial themes are pretty disgusting, seen with my adult eyes. And how about "sexy" girl characters, like the snow bunny Bugs would go nuts over?

 

Even watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was so surprising to me. Rudolph's father is horrible! "No son of mine is going to go out with a red nose!" and he tries to hide it from Santa, who is bitterly disappointed that he would sire such a defective fawn. The "other reindeer" laugh and call him names because Coach Donner openly rebukes his glowing nose.

 

Really, it's quite astounding the stereotypes and poor modeling that passed for entertainment decades ago. The warning label may seem a bit too far, but it's still shocking and awful what passed for children's entertainment several decades ago. Come to think of it, the warning label makes sense to me.

 

Yes. exactly. I started looking at the "classic" cartoons and suddenly modern cartoons start looking a lot better! I had the same reaction to Rudolph, especially the bit with the Coach. I don't see how it's a great idea to have kids watch an authority figure pick on a child because he looks different! It seems like ALL the female characters in the looney toons universe have no purpose but for the male characters' entertainment. Or another reason to kill each other.

[AdventureMoms]

Oh, gosh...have you seen the old Disney ones? They totally need warnings. Uhm, smoking, smoking, smoking, drinking, shoving a shotgun in ones own mouth and pulling the trigger, cutting off heads, hanging, all kinds of racist and sexist stuff...

 

We saw Pinocchio, which was pretty bad. Which other ones, so I know which ones to not even try with my rather sensitive kid?

[AdventureMoms]

But no one ever actually gets killed, the violence is obviously fake, and while Pepe LePew is a huge flirt, that's as far as it goes on-screen (and besides, he's a cute cartoon skunk -- how s*xy is that? ;))

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, because I still love Looney Tunes cartoons, and so does my ds!

 

The violence is obviously fake to an adult, but not to a young child. The fact that no one actually gets killed makes it worse, to me. The kid sees that it is super funny to try to crush people, drive them off cliffs, blow them up, or shoot at them, and none of those things ever actually hurts anyone!

[Farrar]

I'm with you. I think it's stupid.

 

ETA: I don't know that it's anymore racist than The Simpsons or Southpark. Just a different racist.

 

 

 

But these old cartoons are meant to be silly, broad humor for a mass audience. When The Simpsons and Southpark tackle race, it's in the context of satire for adults. Huge difference.

 

I think we have created more problems than helped. My kids would not pick up on the things the adults are worried about.

 

Because they would instead just internalize the idea that black people are like the way they're portrayed. The media studies about this are pretty clear.

 

I'm flummoxed that people don't see the problem with some of these. Just :001_huh:

[Farrar]

We saw Pinocchio, which was pretty bad. Which other ones, so I know which ones to not even try with my rather sensitive kid?

 

Well, there's scary violence in Disney movies all the way back. I think we may disagree about what's right and wrong there, as I don't have a big problem with most cartoon violence and you seem to be saying you do. But nearly all the Disney movies have some scary part - Snow White is downright gothic dark for example.

 

But in terms of messed up racial messages, other than the obvious Song of the South (not available anyway), Dumbo has the crows and the pink elephants. But there may be others...

[Murphy101]

Wow.

 

All I can say is...I am not surprised.

 

:glare:

 

You see a black guy on a silly cartoon and see racism.

 

I see a black guy on a silly cartoon and see a guy.

 

Someone said they would not have made ANY of the connections some of the adults here are making. All I did was agree, call in some teens, and do a quick experiment to see if they would see what you did in it. They didn't. I'm still horrified that shaggy was supposedly getting his dog high on pot.

 

Personally I'm annoyed that it seems ALL men are portrayed as bumbling idiots in media these days and apparently it's nothing new.

[AdventureMoms]

I think we have created more problems than helped. My kids would not pick up on the things the adults are worried about.

The point is not that they would consciously pick up on it, but rather the effect of repeatedly watching negative stereotypes. It forms those same stereotypes in the child's subconscious. If they frequently see, say, that we all laugh when Pepe LePew inappropriately touches a female, and we laugh again when she gets angry about it, then they internalize the notion that the behavior is funny.

[AdventureMoms]

:glare:

 

You see a black guy on a silly cartoon and see racism.

 

I see a black guy on a silly cartoon and see a guy.

 

Someone said they would not have made ANY of the connections some of the adults here are making. All I did was agree, call in some teens, and do a quick experiment to see if they would see what you did in it. They didn't. I'm still horrified that shaggy was supposedly getting his dog high on pot.

Personally I'm annoyed that it seems ALL men are portrayed as bumbling idiots in media these days and apparently it's nothing new.

 

I do agree with you on that one, completely. That doesn't mean that portraying all black men as slaves or all women as sexual objects "back in the day" is any better.

[Joker]

I guess my siblings and I were just super smart that we knew the violence and such was pretend, even when we were young. Many people (even children) don't take what happens on screens so seriously.

 

My dh is the only caucasion child in his family and they watched, and laughed, at these cartoons. They allow their children to watch these same cartoons.

 

My kids enjoy Tom & Jerry much more than a lot of the junk on tv these days.

[Catwoman]

Eh, Pepe engages in what would be considered unwanted sexual contact, or at the minimum sexual harassment, by most reasonable people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEdBndu0YUM

 

Oh, please. Who cares? He's a cartoon skunk! :D

 

I think political correctness has gone way too far when we're worried about how a cartoon skunk and a homicidal-yet-clueless coyote are poisoning the minds of our nation's youth.

 

I don't think kids even pick up on things like s*xual harassment unless their parents take the time to specifically point it out to them.

[Farrar]

But the warnings are clearly not about the violence, you guys. Isn't that just a separate conversation? Otherwise there would be warnings like that on a lot of children's cartoons from today and there isn't anything more than a Y7 rating slapped on them. It's clearly the racism, the drugs, the smoking, etc. that has garnered this.

[Catwoman]

The point is not that they would consciously pick up on it, but rather the effect of repeatedly watching negative stereotypes. It forms those same stereotypes in the child's subconscious. If they frequently see, say, that we all laugh when Pepe LePew inappropriately touches a female, and we laugh again when she gets angry about it, then they internalize the notion that the behavior is funny.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with that at all.

 

It's a cartoon skunk. He does stupid and inappropriate things and he gets in trouble for doing them. And he's funny.

 

Most of us -- at least the older members here -- probably grew up watching Looney Tunes cartoons, yet I'm sure the vast majority of us are completely against s*xual harassment and inappropriate touching.

 

Maybe we're just the brilliant ones who were able to see past the inherent evil of Looney Tunes :rolleyes:, but I know I know I'm just an ordinary person who never thought of Looney Tunes as having any basis in reality. I thought the cartoons were funny then, and I still do. And my ds12 has watched them since he was little, and believe me, he hasn't turned into Pepe LePew as a result of watching some DVDs.

[Joker]

But the warnings are clearly not about the violence, you guys. Isn't that just a separate conversation? Otherwise there would be warnings like that on a lot of children's cartoons from today and there isn't anything more than a Y7 rating slapped on them. It's clearly the racism, the drugs, the smoking, etc. that has garnered this.

 

My kids will see people smoke and drink in public. Seeing it in cartoons isn't really that big of a deal. Some think there are drugs in other cartoons, but I can't say it's anything that's jumped out at me or my kids. Dds also know about racism, especially since their family is very diverse. I watched these same cartoons, and I didn't grow up to be someone who smokes, drinks too much, does drugs, or who is racist. I'm extremely confident my kids won't either.