Script for Documentary

(intro)

Saturday morning cartoons were the highlight of the week for many of us
growing up, especially before there were entire channels dedicated to
animation, and as weve grown up, so has our love of all things
animated. So Its no surprise that adult-oriented cartoons have increased
in popularity in recent years, pushing the boundaries of what we
expected from animated shows that were typically child or family
focused.

Even then, these family and childrens cartoons had tendencies to

include mature humour and references for an older audience. Even
family-oriented animation like Shrek and Ratatouille have structured
comedic methods to appeal to adults as well as children.

But with the rise of adult-oriented cartoons, we get shows that focus on
mature humour, often satirical in nature, and heavy themes such as
sexual violence, murder, and genocide. However, these shows can also
explore philosophical, political, or social issues through experimental
storytelling.

(First point)
The development of adult cartoons stem from improved computer
graphics and technological advancements. This has brought a revolution
in all forms of animation in both comedic style and writing, leaving
behind slapstick and more juvenile humour but bringing in risqu
themes, graphic violence, profane language, sexuality, or dark humour
that tends to up the ratings.

(Second point)
Despite making similar jokes on the same topics, it seems like comedians
face more backlash from their audiences and the general public than
what cartoons tend to face. Jim Jefferies has built his career on
controversy, right from his first solo tour of the UK in 2007 when an
audience member at the Manchester Comedy Store became so angered
by a child abuse gag, he jumped out of the audience and began punching
Jefferies repeatedly in the head.

So why does this happen?

Cartoon writers and animators have a general facelessness in their line

of work, as there are often multiple people working on one show or one
particular segment. As characters in cartoons can range from sentient
food to talking animals its difficult to take offensive jokes seriously.
Comedians dont have the same facelessness as these creators and are
publically known, this can put them in danger as they can be heckled in
their daily lives.

Often for cartoons, a viewer is watching in the privacy of their own home
however for comedians, their audience tends to be live. This large
gathered group of people can make others hesitant to laugh at jokes they
know are morally wrong but a cartoons audience can morally distance
themselves due to the simple fact that its a cartoon.

(Third point)
In a survey taken, 95% felt that cartoons did get away with
addressing controversial issues more than comedians.

As cartoons are fabricated from digital media and therefore exist on a different plane of existence
from comedians, The public will perceive a cartoon differently compared to a real person. The
production team from the cartoon may be fined, but a comedian will have to shoulder all of the
blame from an offensive joke.
They make fun of everyone

(Fourth point)
However thats not to say that these shows get away with it entirely.
South Park faced controversy for an episode in which Indiana Jones was
raped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, based on a controversial
scene from the Deliverance. This scene isnt given any weight and is
used mostly for shock value, rather than plot or character development.

In contrast, profanity, sex and violence runs through the core of Rick and
Morty. While it's generally approached in an off-the-cuff manner, takes
things to a much darker, shocking place.
Having complained their adventures are too dangerous, Rick allows
Morty to take control. This leads the protagonists to the Thirty Steps
Tavern, where Morty encounters King Jellybean.

Seemingly friendly on the outside, King Jellybean approaches Morty in

the Tavern and attempts to rape him, before Morty fights him off and
escapes, clearly traumatized.

Although shocking, the creators treat the assault with the seriousness it
deserves, using the scene as a device that serves the plot and not
glorifying the incident. It also illustrates how the show doesn't shy away
from taking on dark themes in a mature manner, rather than treating
Mortys abuse as a joke.

Since the show first premiered in September 2009, FX's espionage

comedy Archer has centered around the International Secret Intelligence
Service. As in, the same acronym used by an active Islamic militant
group.

While the team erased the ISIS name from the Season 6 premiere, they
didnt remove it from all other seasons of the show, so the signage will
still appear in Seasons 1-5. Of course, Archer being a pretty popular TV
show, simply erasing the ISIS name isnt the end of this. FX is now stuck
with ISIS-branded merchandise that nobody will ever want to buy.

Conclusion

While adult-oriented cartoons do get criticized for some of their content,

it is still only some and most often its the more extreme segments that
are pin-pointed, compared to a live comedian whose entire show is
subjected to widespread criticism.
Unlike comedians, shows benefit as they often have seasons that feature
different content so even if one episode is extremely controversial its not
to say that the whole season will be. However, comedians often have the
same routine with minimal changes as they tour and if this proves
controversial this could affect the comedians publicity for better or
worse.
So, its been shown time and again that animation gets away with more
controversial content due to the style and presentation of its humour.