What has become of cartoons for children? They are split into two catagories: the really stupid (The Fairy Odd Parents, Two stupid dogs, Ed Edd and Eddy, etc.) and Japanamation (Dragonball Z, Pokimon, Digimon). We expect our children to turn out to be responsible and respectable adults, but yet we sit them in front of this crap. Granted cartoons have never been the greatest, but at least they used to teach children lessons.

I konw they are getting kind of stupid.I do like King of the Hill, and The Simpsons.

Yes, many of today's cartoons are very bad. One thing though, in Japan children are expected to be much more mature than are expected of areas outside of their country. DB/Z/GT is laced with blood, gore, nudity, and cursing but you don't see any of that here...... because of censors. DBZ is marketed as a children's show when in reality it isn't so that could explain why it isn't as good as you'd hope. Anime, which previously was Japanamation, which originates from Japanese Animation, is what us Westerners(Basically outside Japan) use to call any animated show that originated in Japan. When thinking of Anime i like to think of Trigun, Hellsing, Argentosoma, Neon Genesis Evangelion, etc., etc. Yes, Digimon, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh(which originated as a GBA game), etc. are marketed for children but it's basically there to create a fantasy world for the children, to take their minds off of everyday nonsense that goes on all around them. The same goes for any other cartoon on the market, though not all of cartoons actually create a fantasy environment. Well, i hope that you all enjoy posting and have fun gaming.



Oh, and i should mention that if "we" expect them to learn lessons from tv then we're very mistaken. Personally i learned about life by my experiences, not from Garfield & Friends. Granted i didn't have much of a family structure until i was almost 10 and even then it was iffy but to tell you the truth, i have always done better when i do things independently, including live my life.

*Disclaimer - Pay no attention to the last sentence if you don't know what i'm talking about.

Most children over the eight watch more satrical cartoons such as The simpsons, fururama and so on, and most over 10 watch adult stuff like South park, which is really popular.

Of course there are going to be really wacked out cartoons: Rocco's Modern Life was the most weird thing that i've ever seen, but it did wonders to my imagintion.

Some others also try to tackle sriou issues with bad jokes, and they don't turn out too bad, like Recess.

There are the anime ones, and fantasy, and finally, the classic ones with bugs bunny, etc... which actually are hardly shown on TV any more, or st childerns times. They've all been taken over by 'cooler' more modern stuff, but no, they become like specials...

A lot of ‘modern’ cartoons seem to have all the marketing stuff set up before the cartoon is even aired!

"Mommy, mommy buy it for me all my friends have all the cards and figures and next week the diamond, ruby, gold, silver, paper, scissors and stone expansion packs are coming out and i've just gotta have 'em otherwise i'll cry and cry.", rants the kid.


merchandiseamon and the rest of those low grade pieces of crap should rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.

Tom and Jerry (before the modern politically correct bullsh!t version was released) and Roadrunner et al are still quality even today.


<_<

No I would never use my TV as a babysitter, granted I am a new parent. The way I see it is, if someone is mature enough to have a child then they should take responsiblity for the child. Everyone needs a little peace and quiet now and again, but the TV is not the answer. Give them an educational toy or give them a game to play.

I don't mean this as an offense to anyone, it is only a personal opinion.

I agree to some extent, except for the last part. I agree, what they call cartoons nowadays is pure crapola! Animated piles of steaming sh!t!

What ever happened to Huckleberry Hound, Tennesse Tuxedo, Underdog, and the good ol' Warner Brothers cartoons?

When I was a child, the cartoons were great, AND they didn't "teach" a lesson...why should they. Cartoons are for pure enjoyment...there should be no hidden meaning, no life-lessons...just plain old fun.

...anyone who thinks a cartoon should "teach" a lesson to kids might want to consider signing up for "Basic Parenting Skills" at thier local community college.

So in Japan DB/Z/GT has plenty of Blood, guts and Nudity. (whistles softly). I wouldn't mind seeing that version as I'm 18 and I think cartoons like that are great. I'm forever wathing CNX ast my friends house. In fact she says she'll start charging for the sky but I don't believe her since she's threatened before and she's never went through with it. However even if she did I'd pay just to see the cartoons. Oh and cartoons as in animated ones are most definately not educational. If you want something educational let them watch reruns of Sesame Street and that kinda thing (but most definately NOT Teletubbies as it is such a load of pi$h, I was forced to watch it whilst babysitting a couple of very young relatives). Oh well that's all I've got to say right now apart from cartoons are most definately not cr@p.

<span style="color:red">Please forgive my inability to put words together, I phrased my words wrong. I was not meaning for it to come across as though a parent should not pay attention to a child nor neglect their responsibilities. I was merely meaning that cartoons are somewhat able to provide a little bit of "peace and quiet" that you were speaking of every now and then.</span>

Why should I need a parenting class because I want my child to learn from his favorite shows? Excuse me for saying but, isn't it every parent's wish for their child/s to grow up to be a moral and respectable person? Not saying that TV has all to do with that, but most people use their tv as a babysitter. Tell me, how is the tv gonna teach them any thing if they always watch those empty cartoons all the time?

Well I dont even watch cartoons that often anymore, i mean yeah acasionally I will watch Spongebob I mean if there isnt anthing else on. And actually the simpsons is still really good, and should be.
But I still watch southpark, for anime, im just waiting for march 7th, i think so toonami puts on there new episodes of dbz.....or mabey it was march 27th I for get.

First of all,
if your kids watch TV all the time, then right there is an indicator that you might need parenting class.
A child shouldn't find the TV more interesting then their parents (unless they are over 13 and getting attacked by killer bees is the preferable option to hanging out with your parents)

Having a wish that your kids should learn from TV is another.
Why havn't you taught them what TV might have to offer?
How is the TV gonna teach them anything else but what things are like on TV?
You can't teach proper values and morals through TV if the parents doesn't.
Kids do as their parents, they are the ones to teach them how to act.

Personally I do find it convinient to sometimes use the TV as a kids parkinglot instead of trying to cook dinner with a 1,5 year old climbing the stove screaming for attention.

Ain't that the truth? Just kidding, I still don't mind being around my parents, but I agree with ya manne, TV shouldn't be substituted for the morals a parent can impart. Oh, gotta run,

Later all,
Darkraider

Yes, it is every parents' wish for thier children to have morals and respect...but at one time that was the parents' job, not the TV's.

Allowing children to watch television is one thing, and I think it is a good escape for many children. But to think that by plopping them in front of the tv to let them learn what a parent should be teaching them is another.

That's not what I am saying here at all. I don't do that to my son, well how could I? He is only 5 monthes old. Anyhow, I was just saying that what little time children do spend in front of the tv should be both fun and educational. Because, isn't it a known fact that kids imatate what they see, whether it be their parents, a friend, or their favorite character on tv? No,I don't think that anyone should need parenting classes for only wanting their children's influences to be some what model.

Yes, I do think that in the future it will be a convinient thing for me to turn on the tube when I need to cook.