Kids' cartoons contain 2.5 times more violence than horror/drama films for adults...

[Stacia]

http://www.medicaldaily.com/childrens-cartoons-contain-25-times-more-death-adult-horror-movies-violence-snow-314600

 

I pretty much hated/was scared of most films for kids when I was young (Bambi, Dumbo, ...) because they were so sad, scary, & horrifying. As an adult, I've never cared for them either (with the main exception being the first Toy Story film). I do love movies, though, & often watch drama/action movies that are rated R & sometimes NC-17. Rarely have those disturbed me as much as films aimed for kids.

 

Just posting really because after feeling this way about movies for years, it's nice to see that I wasn't just imagining it....

 

ETA: For some reason the linking is not working correctly. If you google "Dr Ian Colman and Dr James Kirkbride", you will see a link to the Medical Daily website that has the article.

 

ETA again: Seemingly have gotten the link to work now...

[umsami]

Didn't they make fun of this on "The Simpsons" with the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons?

 

Link wasn't working for me., so I'm hoping that the reality of the violence is somewhat different, or at least I hope so.  Maybe not so much with the computer animation, though.  Coyote getting shot out of a cannon has to be different than stuff you'd see on Game of Thrones..or at least I hope so.

 

I remember seeing some study regarding kids' behavior after watching certain TV programs.  The one that had the worst effect was "Arthur".  LOL  This might be the study..... http://anniemurphypaul.com/2013/02/is-the-cartoon-show-arthur-teaching-your-child-to-behave-badly/

 

 

 

 

 

[Stacia]

Well, it didn't specifically mention the Road Runner cartoons, but did mention many Disney films, ranging from Snow White to Frozen.

 

Some from the article....

 

Researchers watched the 45 top-grossing children’s cartoons that were released between 1937 and 2013, starting from Snow White and ending at Frozen. They recorded how long it took lead characters to die and marked down if they were rated either suitable for a general audience (G) or suggested parental guidance (PG). The on-screen deaths were either a main character or their parent (Who could forget when Bambi’s mother was murdered in the first few minutes of the movie?).
 

They compared the kids’ cartoons to the two top-grossing adult scary movies that were released the same year as each of the cartoons. The scary movies they used to compare included The Exorcism of Emily Rose, What Lies Beneath, and thrillers such as Pulp Fiction, The Departed, and Black Swan.

It was surprising for the researchers to find a child’s main cartoon character was 2.5 times more likely to die than a main character in an adult horror flick.

 

Trying to link again to see if it will work. There seem to be some board problems tonight...

http://www.medicaldaily.com/childrens-cartoons-contain-25-times-more-death-adult-horror-movies-violence-snow-314600

[Jean in Newcastle]

Eh.  There isn't the gore and exaggerated realism with cartoon deaths that there are with horror films.   Sure, they are sad, but I wouldn't equate them at all.  

[zoobie]

Eh. There isn't the gore and exaggerated realism with cartoon deaths that there are with horror films. Sure, they are sad, but I wouldn't equate them at all.

Exactly. And the Disney films are mostly sanitized versions of more intense and dark fairy tales from way back.

[T'smom]

I read somewhere that kids stories have to get rid of the parents somehow or they can't have the kids go on the wild adventures. It makes sense.

[Stacia]

Bambi's mother being shot is in no way, shape, or form as traumatizing as a rated-R horror movie.

 

Bambi was more traumatizing for me. I think because I did see it when I was a kid, as it was a 'kid-friendly' movie option. Seeing an R-rated horror movie as an adult is completely different. I know it's made up, cheesy, whatever. As an adult walking into an R-rated movie, I know what to expect. As a kid going into Bambi, I thought it would be a nice movie & it, instead, starts out with the violent death of Bambi's mom.

 

And, yes, I realize real death happens (even deer being shot regularly); I attended funerals as a child. Still, the sheer amount of violence characters face in children's movies is staggering.

[Garga]

I read somewhere that kids stories have to get rid of the parents somehow or they can't have the kids go on the wild adventures. It makes sense.

I read that, too. Boarding houses, orphans, camp, etc. Get the parents out of the picture so the kids have to solve their own problems.

[Stacia]

And I realize things like Grimm's Fairy Tales & many other fairy tale traditions of old are very, very dark. That's a different medium, though, & they were used in a different time.

 

Also, I think that fairy tales of old were more often used as teaching/warning tales (don't go wandering off in the woods by yourself...) vs. how the movies are sold in our modern society as being family-friendly & fun.

[Joker]

My parents were really lax on what we could watch. Disney movies and cartoons didn't bother me at all. Children of the Corn at the age of 8 - that scared the heck out of me.

 

 

[Farrar]

I'm sorry, but this is the biggest load of malarkey. You cannot compare the animated huntsman threatening Snow White in a Disney film with Pulp Fiction and try to tell me that somehow it's worse and make me take you seriously. This is just nonsense.

 

I'm happy to have a conversation about darkness in children's media and its purposes and comparisons to fairy tales and so forth. But it doesn't start with the idea that children's films are somehow filled with worse violence than adult horror films. The whole language and presentation of that violence is just completely, utterly different.

 

ETA: By "you" I mean the authors of the study, not Stacia...

[Stacia]

Well, kids movies are marketed to kids & rated as ok for kids. Movies like Pulp Fiction are not -- supposedly, you would have an adult audience.

 

I think age, experience, etc... do affect the impact on the intended audience, even when comparing animated movies to popular R-rated films.

[Word Nerd]

I can't take it seriously. I didn't make it any farther than "hotbeds of murder and mayhem."

[Catwoman]

I'm sorry, but this is the biggest load of malarkey. You cannot compare the animated huntsman threatening Snow White in a Disney film with Pulp Fiction and try to tell me that somehow it's worse and make me take you seriously. This is just nonsense.

 

I'm happy to have a conversation about darkness in children's media and its purposes and comparisons to fairy tales and so forth. But it doesn't start with the idea that children's films are somehow filled with worse violence than adult horror films. The whole language and presentation of that violence is just completely, utterly different.

 

ETA: By "you" I mean the authors of the study, not Stacia...

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

I think that "study" is an absolute crock. The conclusions are ridiculous.

[Negin]

I pretty much hated/was scared of most films for kids when I was young (Bambi, Dumbo, ...) because they were so sad, scary, & horrifying. 

And I thought it was just me. I remember being extremely affected by Bambi. 

 

 

Well, kids movies are marketed to kids & rated as ok for kids. Movies like Pulp Fiction are not -- supposedly, you would have an adult audience.

 

Exactly. I can't imagine showing "Kill Bill" to an eight-year-old, for example.  :lol:

[Lolly]

Eh, you can never tell what is going to set a kid's mind off. One of mine was deathly afraid of Willy Wonka. I mean, really? Wonka? Chocolate man? Then, I thought, yeah, a bit creepy. Only, it turned out that the thing that frightened her was the girl turning into a blueberry. Scary stuff there,undoubtably??? You wouldn't believe how the kid cried at the thought of watching that movie. Flipping channels and it is on somewhere? Screaming and crying. I mean, insanity. Bambi? No problem for her. The mother was a deer. People hunt deer. Not a threat to her. A girl chewing gum and turning into a blueberry? She is a girl. She chews gum......

[Negin]

I love The Atlantic. Just saw this that was posted yesterday. Looking forward to reading it. :)

[Word Nerd]

Is an off-camera death considered "violence"? I can't think of any cartoon movies where the deaths are shown on screen.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Eh, you can never tell what is going to set a kid's mind off. One of mine was deathly afraid of Willy Wonka. I mean, really? Wonka? Chocolate man? Then, I thought, yeah, a bit creepy. Only, it turned out that the thing that frightened her was the girl turning into a blueberry. Scary stuff there,undoubtably??? You wouldn't believe how the kid cried at the thought of watching that movie. Flipping channels and it is on somewhere? Screaming and crying. I mean, insanity. Bambi? No problem for her. The mother was a deer. People hunt deer. Not a threat to her. A girl chewing gum and turning into a blueberry? She is a girl. She chews gum......

 

I think Willy Wonka is creepy, but I imagine that is how the author intended him.  His books can be quite dark. 

 

One that freaked out one of my kids was Wall-e.  Now that one I don't quite get.  LOL

 

 

[ChristusG]

Meh.....no bloody mess, no gore, so horror scenes....it's not the same. All three of my girls have never been afraid of so called "scary" cartoons.

[Night Elf]

As a child, I had a lot of fears, especially fear of the dark. But I can't remember cartoons scaring me at all. Really, it was my sister who told me hair-raising tales, like how the Easter Bunny is huge and purple with fiery red eyes and who really likes to eat children. I laughed at cartoons. I thought the Road Runner cartoons were hilarious. I don't know how I was as a child, but I cry at sad things like when Bambi's mother was shot, or the parents of Littlefoot in The Land Before Time died. But those things never scared me and once I was into the story, I didn't think twice about the beginning anymore.

 

The only scary movie my kids have seen is The Shining and that was within the past year. They never saw scary movies as children. It's not a genre I think anyone should have to get used to watching so I never thought of exposing them.

[Farrar]

I love The Atlantic. Just saw this that was posted yesterday. Looking forward to reading it. :)

 

Okay, The Atlantic article makes it clear that the "study" was tongue in cheek. Thanks, Atlantic. That first explanation made it sound mostly serious.

[Negin]

Okay, The Atlantic article makes it clear that the "study" was tongue in cheek. Thanks, Atlantic. That first explanation made it sound mostly serious.

As is often the case, the comments are my favorite. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Have you read the unabridged Bambi?  It was an anti-hunting "tract'.  Disney took the bare bones of the story, including the mom's death and reworked it into a lovely story.