Apr 14, 2016

Anime that may not be appropriate for 2016: 'Animaniacs'

It was 23 years ago that Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs aired.

The show's outdated sensibilities (and botched attempt to insert "adult" content into a children's cartoon) can now be seen again on Netflix. And it is the subject of a thought-provoking article recently published on Medium in the form of an open letter to Steven Spielberg. The writer, Charlene DeGuzman, who was a fan of the show in her youth, explains her objections as follows:

Sexy music. Sexy music. Sexy walking. Sexy nurses. Helloooooo Nurse!" chimes in Yakko and Wakko. Panting. Drooling. Tongues rolling on the floor. Dot approaches their tongues and puts them back in her mouth. Boys," she finishes with a smirk.

"Trigger!" I said to the pile of stuffed animals next to me.

I am a recovering addict. Specifically, I am a sex and love addict. In my 12-step meetings, if I feel triggered by something someone says, I can raise my hand and say, "Trigger!"

I see. I see. I see.

What caught me off guard was realizing that when I watched this movie as a kid, this crap didn't consciously affect me or catch my attention. Because it was just normal to me. That's how the world was. Curvy beautiful blonde women in tight dresses and high heels and boys commenting on them. In front of my sister. That was normal. And that's fine.

As Dot said, "Boys."

Stephen, I TMI'd because I want you to be fully aware that this crap probably affects me more than anyone else because of personal experience and trauma. I know that my reaction is a manifestation of my "stuff" and has nothing to do with you or your cartoons.

Regardless of how you feel about the show's naughty nurse character, DeGuzman's criticism of Netflix's classification of the series is spot-on: Netflix classifies "Animaniacs" as "Kids' TV Ages 2 to 4" and 5 to 7" classifications. By blatantly objectifying women in the form of adorable cartoons, children (and adults!) are being told that objectification is OK and acceptable. ) that objectification is OK and acceptable. Women should be gawked at and called cats. Boys should be excited and have something to say about it. Women are helpless and don't have much to say. To be liked by boys, they should be like Hello Nurse. A hello nurse is the ideal woman. This is the kind of idea you portray to your children.

It highlights how rapidly cultural values are evolving in the United States, and for the better. In a few decades, how will viewers react to the animated series being produced today?