Smut On The Cartoon Network
At 2 a.m. during my nightly round of insomnia, as I was watching The Bourne Ultimatum and wondering who would win a fight-Jackie Chan or Jason Bourne, Jessica came into the room saying her ear hurt.
I gave her some medicine, told her to lay on the futon in the play room, and watch some cartoons until she fell asleep.
The only thing she could find remotely cartoonish was on Cartoon Network.
OK. Fine.
I finished watching the movie, ventured into the playroom to check on her, and sat at the computer to tweak some links on my blog's sidebar per her request to stay in the room until she fell asleep.
As I'm hypnotically sitting at the computer, I hear the droning of the TV in the background and all of a sudden, PENIS jumps out at me.
I couldn't have heard that right, so I turn to see what cartoon is playing.
I half heartedly listen, but PENIS jumps out of the dialogue again.
WHAT??!! I can't believe they're saying PENIS on the Cartoon Network!!
So I pay closer attention and quickly look at Jessica, who to my relief is sound asleep.
And realize it's an adult cartoon!
Apparently, the jackasses who are in charge of programming decided that it's totally appropriate to show adult cartoons on a network geared toward kids. And apparently, although it was after primetime, these programming "geniuses" don't have kids otherwise they'd realize that there are kids who are up at ungodly hours for ungodly reasons needing to watch TV to give their parents an ungodly smidgen of sleep....especially during those times when kids are sick.
I also hear:
"If you don't tell me where the goods are, you're going to be thrown in jail where big men will cornhole you in the pants."
Wow.
I'm not a prude by any means, but let kiddie cartoon stations be strictly for kids no matter what time it is.
I gave her some medicine, told her to lay on the futon in the play room, and watch some cartoons until she fell asleep.
The only thing she could find remotely cartoonish was on Cartoon Network.
OK. Fine.
I finished watching the movie, ventured into the playroom to check on her, and sat at the computer to tweak some links on my blog's sidebar per her request to stay in the room until she fell asleep.
As I'm hypnotically sitting at the computer, I hear the droning of the TV in the background and all of a sudden, PENIS jumps out at me.
I couldn't have heard that right, so I turn to see what cartoon is playing.
I half heartedly listen, but PENIS jumps out of the dialogue again.
WHAT??!! I can't believe they're saying PENIS on the Cartoon Network!!
So I pay closer attention and quickly look at Jessica, who to my relief is sound asleep.
And realize it's an adult cartoon!
Apparently, the jackasses who are in charge of programming decided that it's totally appropriate to show adult cartoons on a network geared toward kids. And apparently, although it was after primetime, these programming "geniuses" don't have kids otherwise they'd realize that there are kids who are up at ungodly hours for ungodly reasons needing to watch TV to give their parents an ungodly smidgen of sleep....especially during those times when kids are sick.
I also hear:
"If you don't tell me where the goods are, you're going to be thrown in jail where big men will cornhole you in the pants."
Wow.
I'm not a prude by any means, but let kiddie cartoon stations be strictly for kids no matter what time it is.
posted by Shannon at
10:37 AM
22 Comments:
Half of the stuff they show during the day isn't even appropriate for little kids (ie. the way the anime shows clothe the female characters). I'm glad we didn't have cable when I was that age, I can't even imagine how much mature content would have been in my little mind. They need a 24 hour Arthur channel.
By
Jillian, at 2/17/2008 11:58 AM
Adult Swim cartoons have been around for a long time on there. And like, Jillian said, even regular daytime stuff is questionable.
(and yes, I like some of the Adult Swim cartoons. Cartoons aren't just for kids anymore!)
By
If not a mother..., at 2/17/2008 12:15 PM
I don't mind adult cartoons either, but have a separate station for them. I don't like them being shown on the channels kids watch.
Nothing on TV is necessarily appropriate for kids anymore unless they watch PBS or Noggin.
By
Shannon, at 2/17/2008 12:21 PM
Team America was on lastnight too at around 1 am (2am your time).
"going to save the mother fucking world...fuck ya!"
Wow.I hear you on that one. Talk about desensitizng our children.
By
Chris, at 2/17/2008 3:52 PM
Shannon,
That's pretty bad. Perhaps Jessica feel asleep quickly & didn't hear much of it. You should be able to trust the Cartoon Network. But I guess you can't trust any of them anymore.
I hope her ear gets better in a hurry. I remember having earaches a lot as a child. No fun.
By
Donna, at 2/17/2008 4:20 PM
Wow. I didn't even think they were allowed to say that on TV.
Noggin is on 24 hours a day now - you could try that. Or Nick Jr. I think they run Nick At Night stuff in the overnight hours, which is generally pretty mild (I think - I have watched Nick At Night in ages.)
By
Major Bedhead, at 2/17/2008 5:56 PM
I pretty much agree with Shannon--and a separate network would be great--but I personally think it's okay for Cartoon Network to air adult-oriented cartoons at night. Their Adult Swim programming maintains a separate website that isn't even found on the main Cartoon Network site. Before every show on Adult Swim comes on, they air a screen that says the show contains mature content, and of course there's always a rating at the beginning of each show. In the bottom right hand of the screen, it also always says "Adult Swim" when the shows themselves are airing. I really think they're doing all they can, and I guess Cartoon Network itself expects parents to be savvy enough to know that after 11pm, Cartoon Network is no longer child-friendly.
Honestly, I didn't think there could be that many kids watching TV after 11pm. That's generally the time my parents made me go to sleep when I was younger, if I wasn't already in bed. ;)
Of course, maybe someone out there thinks I'm nuts because I'm 26 and I like to watch "Camp Lazlo", "Spongebob" and "Powerpuff Girls". (Is that even on regularly anymore?)
By
Unknown, at 2/17/2008 7:31 PM
Not to be argumentative, but if the Cartoon Network is geared toward kids, how would a parent like me ever expect to know that after 11 p.m. they switch to adult content? I would assume that the station is like The Disney Channel or Noggin where it's for kids, 24/7.
She had turned on the TV by herself, and I had come into the room in the middle of the show. I assumed the cartoon playing on the network was a children's cartoon, not an adult one. I didn't take a close look at the screen to see that it had the Adult Swim logo in the lower right hand corner until I heard "penis" being said.
They're on a slippery slope with switching up the content with such heavily vulgar content (which I have nothing against in and of itself...it's just on the wrong channel, IMO).
By
Shannon, at 2/17/2008 7:54 PM
Yeah... just another reason why we don't have more than basic cable.
(But I miss food network and HGTV, sniff sniff).
By
Naomi, at 2/17/2008 9:02 PM
Wow Shannon, thanks for posting. I would have had no idea. Thats like the Food Channel justifying showing live cannibalism after 9pm because it has something to do with eating.
By
Brett, at 2/17/2008 11:12 PM
Shannon,
I'm with you. If you're going to have adult cartoons then don't put them on the kid's channel.
By
Penny Ratzlaff, at 2/18/2008 9:40 AM
I agree with you on this one - it should be on a seperate channel. I don't care if they make adult cartoons - just have an adult channel for them.
My kids are addicted to Treehouse (Canada's version of Noggin). It's 24 hrs of pure child safe cartoonage. I know it's ok to turn that channel on at any time of the day or night. YTV (youth televion) Cartoon network and even Family television can sometimes push the limits on little eyes late at night.
Oh the lessons we learn, huh?
By
Jamie, at 2/18/2008 12:04 PM
Crap I can't spell today ... that word is supposed to be TELEVISION.
I should go back to bed I think....
By
Jamie, at 2/18/2008 12:05 PM
Could it be that the real problem is that parents are expecting television to babysit their children for them? I mean, let's face it, the most wholesome children's television programming is still worse for a child than getting out and getting some exercise or reading a good book. You wouldn't hire a babysitter without talking to the person first; why would you leave your child in the hands of television programming at 2 in the morning without first watching the program yourself? Television is an advertising tool for businesses to make money, not a free, public babysitting service so we can program our kids to stay indoors and get fat.
By
Unknown, at 3/02/2008 12:13 PM
This comment has been removed by the author.
By
Nicole P, at 3/02/2008 5:05 PM
Ninja - Do you even know Shannon? Or her kids? Do you know that they're bright, funny, active, athletic? Your comment is ignorant in this context - because Shannon's children aren't "babysat" by the television.
I can remember my mother leaving me with the TV after medicine when I was sick in the middle of the night. In order to be rested enough to take care of me and my brothers the next day. And would you suggest next time Shannon send the kid out for a quick jog when she wakes up with an earache?? Come on.
Just saying.
- Nicole
By
Nicole P, at 3/02/2008 5:05 PM
Okay I don't want to be a flamer or a jerk, but the TV ratings were developed for a reason get your owners manual and set the ratings on your TV unless it is over 10 or 15 years old it has a VCHIP. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for your children quit leaving it up to everyone else. If u need help setting this you can email me at
christopher@christophercraigallen dot com
By
Unknown, at 4/01/2009 4:46 AM
Cartoon Network isn't for kids, it was never meant to be a children's channel and it never will be. Like CNN is for news, Cartoon Network is for animation enthusiasts. I'd also like to point out that cartoons aren't just for kids. Its a common misconception because Walt Disney (one of the men responsible for animation becoming a big hit) created family-oriented cartoons in his time. Sadly, the misconception has stuck.
By
Anonymous, at 4/18/2009 2:43 AM
agreed, rmakoto. Cartoons are a medium that can entertain any audience, kids and adults. Cartoon Network is a channel for cartoon enthusiasts. Although the daytime hours are meant for kids, at night they cater to more of an adult nature.
That being said, they all they can to warn you: there are ratings after every commercial break and they have a little blurb at the beginning of the switchover out of the kiddy stuff. Their thinking (and frankly it's my thinking as well) that kids shouldn't even be up that late at night. It's unfortunate you weren't aware and this happened, but that's the way it is.
By
Funk82, at 4/18/2009 8:55 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
By
James Sutton, at 4/18/2009 10:12 AM
Didn't you notice the little logo at the bottom of the screen that said "Adult Swim"? It has "ADULT" right there in the title. I don't understand how that tends to go right over parents' heads.
By
CheezNapkin, at 4/18/2009 1:12 PM
Its NOT a kids network, its a CARTOON Network. That was a cartoon.
By
justinkhaire, at 4/18/2009 10:32 PM
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