movies/tv How seriously do you take cartoons?

[Titan Rising 2,156]

Well, not just cartoons, but fiction like MLP, Teen Titans, Naruto, Hercules, etc- pretty much any story with a hero - stories that depict good and the struggles of good vs evil in particular.

 

I have loved watching animation all of my life, and I probably take it a lot more seriously than most. Some people, a lot of people (probably the vast majority of people) watch them for entertainment, and it seems to me like that's about as far as it goes for them, and I find this extremely disheartening because I see them as something much much more.

 

I see them as a way to express moral truths. I think there is a reason why we idealize traits like Naruto's unwavering spirit or the characters of MLP and that's because we all really wish to have the strength of character to hold on to these moral truths (if you'll allow me to use that term) but it's often very hard in our world to act the same way, in fact it's sometimes so hard that I believe a lot of times we convince ourselves it's impossible or even unnatural to act akin to the virtues of heroes in some cartoons/fiction/animation/whatever.

 

I have always struggled in believing in anything that wasn't right in front of my eyes (as I believe almost everyone does), but I tried my best in order to cling on to whatever hope I had left that life meant something more than just living and dying. These stories - the depictions of heroes with unwavering virtues and the way we have idealized the virtues not only at this point in time but for thousands of years has largely served as my proof that there is some moral truth to these ideals and in turn provide me with evidence that life does mean something more than just living and dying .

 

And so I have elected to live my life by them, to be good for the sake of being good - not for any final reward that God may or may not give me but out of some divine sense inside me that there is right and there is wrong. As a result, my status with God nor my own happiness are of any particular importance to me any longer

 

The reason I am so disheartened that other people don't appear to look at these things more seriously is because I don't understand why other people would not want to be more like these characters they idealize (or pretend to). Is entertainment all you get out of watching these cartoons? Why is it that sex jokes and cussing is so rampant on so many MLP videos? - a show that is supposedly praised for its innocence in our otherwise corrupted world. Do people just have no hope that our world could be like that or do they even want our world to be like that at all?

 

Am I crazy for thinking this way?

 

Anyway, do you get anything other than entertainment out of watching cartoons/animation/etc? And sorry for the extra long essay haha

Edited May 22, 2012 by Hollowshield

[Doctor XFizzle 8,651]

I was seriously invested in cartoons that had a strong cast of characters and a decent story arc: DBZ, Digimon, Pokemon, and various other anime.

MLP, while not having a long story arc per se, definitely has great characters and episodes

 

Then there are non-episodic cartoons I just enjoy for entertainment/comedy, like Spongebob.

[DashPony 359]

You definitely are not crazy for thinking that way. I share the same views.

 

It bothers me when people say "It's just a cartoon".... MLP:FiM has made me a better person in several ways. It made a big impact on my life, and if it's wrong for a "cartoon" to do that, then that's fine. I'll gladly be wrong.

 

The way I see it is this... the world we live in is a pretty messed up place. Seeing the determination and perseverance of characters in animation/movies, ect. Kind of gives me hope. It helps me remember to always keep pushing forward even when it seems hopeless.

 

If that didn't make any sense I apologize. I'm extremely tired right now -_-

[NavelColt 22,876]

Morals and themes and emotions that are put into the characters are not 'just cartoons', so no, I'd say people who say that are retarded. it's not real life, but especially things like anime and rare delicacies like MLP, is full of amazing stuff that qualifies it as needing to be taken seriously. If you didn't take any cartoons seriously, nobody would ever bother with themes, morals and actual human emotions. It'd just be mindless violence like, no offense, Tom and Jerry xP

[roomforapony 285]

I really don't take cartoons all that seriously. I probably take Spongebob seriously more than MLP or even dramatic animes due to the social commentary. It's all entertainment to me.

[Evilshy 5,089]

I do invest a lot of thought into cartoons, but in a more... technical way, for lack aid a better term.

 

Just look at my posts in a few threads in show discussion (the one shed I explain my thoughts on the power levels of various characters is a good example, as is my analysis of the villains in the "who's your favorite villain" thread) and you can easily see that I over think these things. Well, maybe not OVER think, but I do put a lot of thought into them, more than the average person would.

 

You mentioned naruto. I too follow it (the manga, not the anime). And while I do like to point out flaws, I am always ready for a nice long argument over why X would beat Y in a fight to the death. Or why a certain jutsu would work in a certain situation where another wouldn't. Or why the Bleachverse would completely shit all over both the narutoverse and onepieceverse combined without even trying. And various other things like that. I like taking a more informational, almost scientific approach to fiction. Obviously I can't use the scientific method to determine power levels of fictional characters, but I can damn well present arguments based on their feats, statements by other characters, inferences on how certain things work, and wild guesswork

[Otter 1,942]

I usually don't watch cartoons for deep moral lessons or large, intertwined plot lines. I'm just bored, so I think "Oi blimey! That there bit of animated entertainment sure does look tantalizing!" or something to that effect.

[Fire_Fly 499]

I wouldn't say I regard cartoons with much severity. I mostly watch cartoons purely for reasons of criticism and distraction. Although, there have been a few (and I do mean FEW) exceptions that have actually mentally impacted me, which pretty much explains my brony-ism.

[Titan Rising 2,156]

Well I can't say most of the comments have made me particularly happy but thanks for the responses anyway... I'm glad some people are getting something more than just entertainment out of watching cartoons.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Hollowshield

[Lostwanderer 366]

I take anime and other cartoons very seriously, but they happen to occupy about a third of my life. I've been socially akward and have tendencies to overanalyse things, so it often ends up with me taking the shows seriously, people say too seriously...

[cyber126 6]

i dont really take cartoons seriously they are cartoons

[Whiteshade 1,426]

Generally I only watch cartoons for entertainment/violence, but I do enjoy deeper morality wise animes, such as Angel Beats! Elfen Lied, Shiki, Shigofumi, Kuroshitsuji, etc. I also enjoy comspirational/psychological centered, such as Darker than Black, Death Note, Code Geass etc. Finally there's the cuteness/randomness category, MLP being most prominent in that.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

"Oi blimey! That there bit of animated entertainment sure does look tantalizing!"

 

I actually say that out loud whenever I find a new anime to watch. people give me rather strange looks though!

 

Generally I only watch cartoons for entertainment/violence, but I do enjoy deeper morality wise animes, such as Angel Beats! Elfen Lied, Shiki, Shigofumi, Kuroshitsuji, etc. I also enjoy comspirational/psychological centered, such as Darker than Black, Death Note, Code Geass etc. Finally there's the cuteness/randomness category, MLP being most prominent in that.

 

Ever watch "Mnemosyne" That's some violent fun there! Sexy, too!

Edited May 22, 2012 by cuteycindyhoney

[The Awesome One 1,314]

I don't usually take cartoons seriously,

 

But when I do....I do it with the ones with a moral at the end of the story.

[SrFrog 926]

As a child I once did and I'll be honest here by saying that some of the actions help set some of my moral aspects. Perhaps that's the reason I enjoy this show so much, because it has that moral aspect of it.

[Chill Mists (Chilly) 801]

I take MLP far more seriously than real life. Some think I'm stupid for doing this, but they're boring and I don't really care. If someone insulted me I wouldn't care. If someone insulted Fluttershy I'd be pissed.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Chill Mists (Chilly)

[Discordian 6,013]

I feel the same way. People look at cartoons as just childish and cheap entertainment but they are far more than that. More often than not they express a world as people want it to be rather than just pandering to the views of children who don't know the corruption of the world yet. But why is it so wrong to want a world that is free of corruption such as we adults know it? I mean, cartoons have their good guys and bad guys and stuff like that but is it wrong to wish our world was like a cartoon's where there's always a hero to save the day so we can all live our normal lives? Or perhaps where even one of us could become that hero?

 

Hell, I take more inspiration of character from characters in cartoons and comics because those people are the type of person I wanna be, like Ozy's dad in Ozy & Millie (A webcomic)

 

I have only recently found people in real life who resemble this type of person but for the most part the world is full of bitter people who would rather judge you than be courteous to you.

[Jemboi 127]

I take cartoons as seriously as they take themselves.

[Yurusumaji 33]

In some ways I take my cartoons seriously. In other ways, not so much.

 

I take them seriously in the fact that I seriously love them and I stand up for my right to decide to continue watching them, despite the fact that I'm a grown and married woman. My mother particularly doesn't really care for my habit of still loving cartoons and "childish" video games (Pokémon), but I never back down on the fact that these are the things that I like and no one will ever be given the means to make me feel bad about it.

 

I don't take them seriously enough to, say, think of it realistically. I will pursue light-hearted debates about shows and characters, but ultimately I treat it as a loved hobby and not necessarily a major part of my personality (at least, no one single show ... being a fan girl is a major part of my personality, but being a fan of one specific show isn't).

 

That said, I think it's fine to take a cartoon seriously if you have proper reason to do so. If it's something that has greatly affected you and is a large part of who you are, then who is to say you can't take it seriously?

Edited May 22, 2012 by Yurusumaji

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

There are wealths of good things to be taken from many animated works, seeing as the hosthood of good ones that exist are the collaborative effort of creative and talented people wanting to express themselves.

 

Subtext failure is often the result, in my mind, when they try to teach deep principles, seeing as the world is a conflicted one.

 

Smile Smile Smile and the Moral Aesops of The Lion King for example, fit within the same folder in my mind: "Live for others." Ultimately, everyone turns into dirt. The soul is the real thing to be after, and thereby one is forced to face far less simplistic and inextricably complicated facets of reality, or otherwise be better off not mentioning.

I could cite other examples that I have arguments with their metalogical subtext, but people typically won't like me for that since people seem to have issues with genuine Christians for some strange reason. In addition, lots of minds would complain "Why would you even think about something like that after listening to Smile Smile Smile?" Pardon my candor but it's either a tic or problem I have of reading too much into physiological motivations for narrative, regardless how innocuous. Someone says "I'm happy", I ask "Why" on more levels than one.

 

The escapism of cartoons is another subject entirely, when we invest ourselves to the fantasies of our invention. While wonderful and pleasurable, my personal stance is far too confused to have any absolution on where I stand between indulgence and the grounding in reality that would absolve such.

[Cosmic Charlie 129]

In general I'll let the show inform me on how seriously I should take it as I watch it. If a show makes me go "oh, damn, that's kinda deep for this" then kudos, right? Happens all the time with MLP. I appreciate a good story being told or smart writing as much as the next guy. It seems like most of the time, cartoons just don't have that kind of gravity, but there are always exceptions.

[letterone 1,203]

I don't usually take cartoons or anime too seriously unless the situation is very dire. For instance, pretty much all of Naruto (excluding the cartoony-type episodes).

[Guest]

When this:

 

Changed to this:

 

I became legitimately interested in TTGL.

 

Then, when this happened:

 

I decreed TTGL my favorite anime. So far, it's been the only cartoon/animation/story I've seen/read/heard of that actually killed off the best protagonist to progress the narrative. Holy shit, it's the best anime ever created. It's the only anime that's made me ever search for merchandise with the intention of buying something.

 

No doubt about it, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is best pony.

P.S. Yeah, I love animation more than the average bear.

[~Sugar Sprinkles~ 637]

I kinda do a lot, like on MLP, im all like "Oh I hope she's okay" and stuff and I act like it's for real, this is same for any other cartoons i like, and its funny, im 18, and im such a kid, mwaaa!!!