I think another thing that’s annoying in the discussion about children’s media is that some people cannot comprehend that age appropriate complex themes exist and don’t make the media they appear in somehow “adult” when it was clearly made with a younger audience in mind. All Dogs Go To Heaven, The Incredibles, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Batman: The Animated Series all contain dark themes and subtext, but they were all clearly made to fit within the restrictions of children’s media and be age appropriate. They all contain on screen or heavily implied character deaths. Some of them contain suggestive jokes, character moments, or plot beats, but it’s never explicit or undigestible to a child’s mind.
I think this attitude we have about children’s media that it needs to be sanitized and safe is why we have so many kids who can’t handle the truly adult presentation of some of these themes and concepts when they get older, and why the vast majority of children’s media coming out currently is frankly bland, boring, and borderline condescending. Because as a culture we’ve okayed this talking down to children as if they cannot comprehend certain concepts like culture clash, or the passing of a beloved pet, or the sudden loss of a parent, or the feeling of powerlessness, or the idea that evil exists period.
It’s like media for kids has become something that isn’t just training wheels for kids to build upon so they can graduate to more complex and explicit things, but it exists to keep them sheltered away from hard concepts at all. It’s like not letting them onto the bike with the training wheels because they might fall off and then they never actually learn how to ride. Same for playgrounds btw.
snowghoul
germansingergirl
romaincrisis
stormborns
gummygunk
turnnoffyourmind
