There has been a lot of controversy around the central theme of theories behind the writing and subliminal messages used in popular children television shows. Parents are now more aware of what their kids are watching and making their own assumptions on the meanings these shows have behind them. Such companies as Disney and Nickelodeon, that consistently put out new and innovative shows geared towards the young audience are said to have these hidden messages and are now in the root of legal battles.
I recently came across an article of a famous television show I used to watch when I was younger called "The Rugrats." It caught my attention because as a child I loved this cartoon and had no idea of the theories that surrounded it. Supposedly, according to this article, the whole Rugrats cartoon was written and based on non-fictional characters. It goes on to state that this cartoon is an elaborate figment of Angelicas imagination, the eldest of the main characters. Angelica grew up to be a schizophrenic bipolar that overdosed at the age of 13 which is when "All Grown Up!," the sequel to the television program, was canceled. For those who know the characters, Chaz, who was Chucky’s father, is a nervous wreck all the time because in real life Chucky had died in an accident a long time ago with his mother. Tommy, the main character of the show, was a stillborn, hence why Stu, his dad, is constantly in the basement making toys for his son that never got a chance to live. Angelica’s creative imagination was the only thing keeping her sane in a judgmental world. She was so messed up in the head, she kept these characters alive and constantly was taking hits of acid so she could relive childhood scenarios over and over, therefore, making these characters grow older as she did. Suzie the little African American girl was Angelica’s only friend, who grew up and became a psychologist and later teamed up with Nickelodeon to make the Rugrats from stories Angelica had shared with her. Whether this theory is true or not, it’s amazing how the extent of someone else’s imagination can make others believe or question things they had never even thought of. Is this theory true? Can a children’s program that I enjoyed so much as a child come from such a demented mind? Do we need to know where the idea of such program was born? This is where a creative imagination and writing come into play in English/Literature class, you have to use your creativity and vivid imagination to write, understand or just enjoy a fictional piece.
Another example the nursery rhyme, "Ring around the Rosie" is said to be about the Black Plague in the 13th century. Ring around the rosie is a reference to the black sores that would appear on peoples bodies due to the disease. A pocket full of posies is in reference to people carrying posies (flowers) around to not smell the aroma of dead bodies everywhere. Another popular cartoon, The Teletubbies, was cancelled because its writer made Tinky Winky appear to be too feminine and thus labeled him as gay. Parents did not want their children tuning in to this show after this controversy. Lets not forget the The Lion King Movie, where the letters S-E-X were written in the sky as Simba, the hero, crouches down and ponders his thoughts into the night. A childhood favorite, The Little Mermaid, has a wedding scene where a man is shown getting an erection as the bride and groom approach to get married. Some believe that writers, and in this case the cartoonists, have this temptation to slip in something that only they are aware of, until someone else deciphers it or figures it out. Then again, these hidden messages that seem to be intentional can also be portrayed as criddlers. Criddlers are unintentional symbols, designs and objects that can be found in anything when viewed from a different angle.
From Nursery Rhymes to Television Shows, almost everything seems to have a secret meaning behind them or a secret message. The viewers don't know what to believe, we can only leave it up to the hands of the author or creator. Sometimes in English Literature, writers have a specific theme and idea that they center their writing on and viewers sometimes get something else out of the piece. After reading Beyond Words, it mentions how writers shape their thoughts and ideas for specific audiences. Therefore, my question to you is: Do you think that authors and directors shape these hidden messages for children, their intended audience, to see? Do you think that these corporations are intentionally trying to attract the attention of others even if it means using sexual content? Have you ever read a book or piece of literature that you’ve found a different message or hidden message that was not part of the author’s intent?
Source: http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2003/gp13/gp13.pdf
Being a total Disney fanatic i have noticed all of these innuendos you could say, in the movies. I honestly cannot say where they stem from but i understand why they would be controversial. Sometimes i believe they are accidental and purely a coincidence but i also think how could something like this be accidental? I believe as we progress more and more, people are always trying to find ways to insert hidden messages into things. For example, as i flip through the channels i notice that the things people say in children's TV shows now are way more inappropriate than when i was a child, ranging rom the clothes they may wear or the comments they make. I believe producers and others involved in making the TV shows are just trying to keep up with children today who are growing up so fast, when in reality, they should be trying to keep children as innocent as possible in a world that is making them grow up so fast.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that tv shows have secret meanings behind them. I always loved it when my mother used to sing lullaby’s to me but when I got older and actually listened to the words I was confused. “Rock-a-by-baby” is very violent but yet people sing it to their children all the time. The line “when the bow breaks the baby will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all” talks about a baby dying. The secret messages people put behind children’s books and TV shows is appalling but yet they do it because their only audience is children and they know from the beginning that children won’t understand. They just assume the children are going to think it’s a cute fluffy thing and not think twice about it. Teletubby’s was cute and adorable but the director was probably trying to get a message across to people that the world is becoming too futuristic or something.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that authors and directors put these things out there on accident. In psychology people have an id, ego, and superego. The id is the subconscious and the greed in people. It’s the immediate satisfaction that people want and people let it out through their everyday activities without knowing, which could very well be children’s books and children’s TV shows.
So whether they realize it or not I do believe that everything has an underlying message.
Almost all artists, creators and producers have something from their past that drives them to create the writing, videos and art we see today. Sometimes it is intentional, and sometimes it is their sub-conscious presenting itself in their work. I heard that in an interview McJagger confessed that the music he was creating was calculated to drive the youth of that time to sex. Sometimes music gets us through a catchy rhythm or a great beat and sometimes characters like in the Rugrats are made out to be something they're not. We can only know if these things were initiated with the intention of subliminal messages if we go straight to the source, like in the interview with McJagger. I think most people in the world today would re-think things they support or took part in if they could dissect the real meaning behind them.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not think authors and directors shape the hidden messages for children. I never noticed any of the Disney subliminal messages until someone told me in high school. Also little kids aren't very observant and don't know sexual references. What five year old is going to be like "hey mommy, they put the word sex in the sky!" However, I do think authors and directors put in subliminal messages for the older crowd. Because if it wasn't intentional it probably wouldn't make it in the film or book. I don't do much reading, so I don't think I have read a book where there was a hidden message behind the reading.
ReplyDeleteI think that it could go both ways. Whether it being intentional and accidental. Sometimes I think they do put it in there to maybe gain the attention of the parents, but for kids it wouldn't make sense. They wouldn't get the hint so there would be no point in putting it in there. I haven't read a book where there was a hidden message that i can recall.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really hard topic to discuss because of all of the different variables. Sometimes I do feel like subliminal messages are slipped in there. I learned about this is psychology. When writers (especially commercial writers) make a piece of audio/ visual feed, they try and get below the absolute threshold. This is the below the area where you can detect the subliminal message. On the other hand, I think that sometimes people just like to stir up trouble and they like to find things that aren’t really there. I think that it all depends on how you look at things that tell you what you see. I think that there are a lot of books where something may be taken a different way, but I also think that some authors do that on purpose because they want you to think about things differently and discuss different points of view. There are topics up for debate, like in Invisible Man, there is a lot of controversy over the statue of the founder. This can be seen many ways, which was the author’s intent. And then there are the ones that are slightly suggestive, but you don’t know what the intent is. For example, in Catcher in the Rye, I have always wondered about the scene where Holden goes to his teacher’s house and the teacher starts stroking his head as he’s asleep. I never really understood that part, and I think that could be taken a lot of different ways.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of the underlying messages that people find are intentional. I think that they are just evidence that many tv shows and movies originated from other ideas that might have been a little bit more crude. The messages are probably just small details that the author or director failed to cover up when making the movie or writing the book. I think that it is weird when I find out about some of these messages that were found in movies that I watched when I was a kid. It's hard to believe that I sat there and watched all of those movies and had no idea about any of the messages that were being shown or taking place.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we will ever know the meaning of each and every hidden message that is found. We just have to watch what we want and hope that the authors and directors are doing what they're doing with good intentions and not to simply be sick and disgusting.
While I do not believe authors and directors place hidden messages and images into their work for children to see, I do believe that jokes aimed at an older age group are frequently added into children’s movies and books. Who buys books for children? Who then reads the books to the children? Who takes them to see movies and then must sit through the 60+ minutes of a movie geared towards little ones. The parents, grandparents, baby a sitter, whom ever is taking care of the kids. So logically, they are the real audience big name companies are trying to hook. The adults are the ones with the money which is the true motive of the authors and directors. Money drives everything. So yes I also believe that corporations use sexual content to intentionally attract other audiences. If the adults are entertained, they will spend their money again buying books or movie tickets. My literature class in high school encouraged...forced us to find hidden meaning in almost every book we read. While an alternate meaning can be found in almost any book, I was never sure if it was the author's intention to have an alternate meaning or if we were just pulling meanings out of thin air. I was always taught things such as rain was a sign of cleansing, a sunrise was a symbol of a new beginning, and the seasons and cardinal directions are really stages of life. But how can we ever know if the author wanted us to read deeper? Is a sunset a new start or simply the finishing touch on a romantic scene?
ReplyDeleteI think some directors and producers put subliminal messages in movies in order to capture the adult audience. They put hidden messages in a children's movie so that adults are not bored while watching the movie. However these innuendos that people are claiming to be presented in these movies are sometimes a little far fetched and I think they are looking into way too much, but some are very controversial.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of literature has hidden messages and morals to the stories hidden within the literal meaning, but I don't think they intentionally write them in most of the time.
I think that most of the subliminal messages or underlying plots that people find in shows and movies, particularly those geared toward children are far fetched to say the least. Is it possible that the producers of "Rugrats" based the characters off of people he or she knew, maybe but it seems entirely unlikely that the plot was based off of the elaborate scenario described above. In my honest opinion the producers of children's television shows and movies produce media geared specifically toward the age group, and that age group only. I will admit though in some cases certain media may be geared toward a broad age group, in which case some humor may be included that the bottom end of the age group might not fully comprehend.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed before hidden messages in kids tv shows like the ones you described above. I do think authors do that on purpose, but I do not think it is for the kids to see. I believe the makers of kids shows and movies put in a little humor for adults. since usually young kids watch movies with their parents, writer put in a little something for the parents since they have to sit their and watch some dumb kid show. This definitely draws attention to a larger crowd because it pleases more people. If the kids don't notice, I don't see a problem with them putting a little underlying humor in it.
ReplyDeleteThis blog reminded me of something I saw online on a website called imgfave.com the other day. It’s a diagram that makes fun of the huge difference between what we, as readers/an audience, see and read, what the authors truly meant to portray, and what our teachers or experts seem to think the authors meant. I used to love looking in depth at books, movies, TV shows, etc., but sometimes I feel that we, as an audience or readers, take too much time wondering what the “real meaning” is instead of just enjoying ourselves. If authors do in fact add hidden messages, why do we choose to spend all our time wondering what they are? We spent almost every day of junior and senior year in our IB English class deciphering the themes, tones, messages, and meanings of poems and different passages. Because of this, I was eventually completely turned off from reading and enjoying any type of story or poem. Hidden messages or not, I think we should just enjoy the simple, obvious, apparent messages. Angelica was a brat. Stu simply liked making toys. Chaz wasn’t a nervous wreck; children can sometimes drive their parents crazy. And little Tommy Pickles was not a stillborn – he lived his adventurous toddler years unconditionally loving that silly little dinosaur toy.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen anything like that. I have heard of corporations doing things like that but never actually seen it. But I believe they do it to attract bigger and more grown audiences.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though most were intentional subliminal messages. Some of the other few seemed more like an accidental play on words. The writers most likely inserted the jokes for the older audiences who were most likely watching the show with the kids. I'll have to admit I watched the old Porky Pig clip like five times. Nothing beats the classics.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's unintentional at all. I think that these producers add in subliminal messages to try and attract adult audiences.
ReplyDeleteI believe that many people look into things way to much. Theres no way that all the subliminal messages people come up with were thought up before hand. People have great imaginations and I applaud them for catching the unintentional subliminal messages, but I dont feel like subliminal messages are intentional for the most part. There may be a diamond in the dust, where a genius is able to fit subliminal messages into his piece, but for the most part theres too much other things a director has to worry about than fitting in subliminal messages.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough subject. i was watching a spongebob episode the other day and i did pick up on a few adult references. i am not denying there existence but if this is really true its a troubling issue. i do not know that i have read anything like this though.
ReplyDeleteI think that sometimes people pay to much attention to the little things. When you are watching these cartoons as a young child you don't even realize these things. Even now I don't realize some stuff if someone doesn't point it out. I don't know if they are doing it intentionally or not, but as long as it has no effect on the children I have no problem with the shows.
ReplyDeleteMy parents didn't have half these cartoons growing up and I can assure you my dad is 10x more perverted than I'll ever be. Honestly, I think some of those depictions are intentional. The controversy surrounding The Little Mermaid cover was actually a penis and it's because the artist didn't get paid as much as he wanted too. There are definitely intentional "innuendos" but something tells me these people weren't thinking, "Let's just fuck up these little kids minds by putting the word "sex" in the stars."
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm talking about the stars. Yes, it does say sex in the stars you see in the lion king, but was the universe thinking about making orions belt when the cosmos were shifting above us? Sometimes, it's simply you see what you want to see. You believe what you want to believe.
I do not believe that these messages were put for children - I see it more as a "game." The directors may have added the subliminal messages for the sole purpose of seeing who would notice, not to corrupt the children viewing. It is just an added touch of humour that the younger generation would not yet understand.
ReplyDeleteI believe the subliminal messages were not intended for children to develop altered on influenced personalities. Instead I think they are more of a form of entertainment so that mature adults can get a little laugh out of some subliminal risqué behavior and scenes that would almost certainly pass right over the head of their child.
ReplyDeleteI think that authors do put in messages. They are just small things that aren't supposed to be there in cartoons or movies, but I mean there aren't supposed to be taken seriously. As kids it is almost gaurunteed that we wouldn't have even noticed any innapropriate ideas or small messages, but as young adults we can see them now. These messages weren't supposed to be put into the spotlight, they are just jokes, after all, it is a bunch of adults thinking of random ideas that would be funny to put on the tv.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it matters where the content comes from because story telling is art in a way, and art can be anything. There will always be hidden messages some that we are supposed to understand and others that we are not. I don't think these messages are intended for little kids. I believe they are more for the parents of the child. I've watched many T.V. shows with my baby cousins and other children and i wouldn't be able to sit there if it weren't for the humor and subliminal messages that is WAY over the children's heads. When you look deep into disney it is kind of screwed up. All of the so called princesses well none of them have mothers and they were left as children etc. Keep going on that train of thought and you'll be amazed at how imperfect the perfect princesses actually are.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that authors and directors shape these hidden messages for children, their intended audience, to see? Do you think that these corporations are intentionally trying to attract the attention of others even if it means using sexual content? Have you ever read a book or piece of literature that you’ve found a different message or hidden message that was not part of the author’s intent?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't think that these movies or shows have any hidden messages or are trying to put any hidden messages in their works at all. The only reason that people see these so called "hidden messages" is because they are scrutinizing every detail in the movie to find something. For example, if they are looking for the word "sex" in the movie Lion King, they will find many scenes where the word "sex" will appear just because their eyes are fixed on anything similar to the appearance of the word. So people need to stop trying to look for these things that don't even exist. One thing that I've noticed is that the show Pokemon can be taken in a lot of different ways. Some people view it as a psychological mind fuck where Ash's adventures of catching pokemon and meeting people are just dreams after he had fallen into a coma from Pikachu's thundershock on the first episode. But still, these theories are only formed because one chooses to be creative and believe in them.
I believe that many subliminal messages do appear in kids shows. I also believe that some of these are exaggerated greatly. It is not necessary to know where a cartoon has stemmed from to enjoy it but it can give you another perspective on how you personally receive the message. I believe some of these subliminal messages are more for the creators enjoyment to see if they can get it past he crowd. I have never personally uncovered a subliminal message, but find them very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI believe that subliminal messages exist in some disney movies. The most obvious one to me was on the front cover of little mermaid, there is a giant golden dildo right in the middle. Humans are wired to "see" these things without actually seeing them. The words "Sex" and "Fuck" are hardwired into our minds to stir up emotions and increase interest. That's why advertising companies hide things like this in their products. I think it works just as well for children. I remember watching Lion King with my sister and she pointed that out and I did not know what sex meant. I watched that movie over and over and realized that is what he wanted to do with Nala. I mean just watch the way Nala looks at Simba in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"
ReplyDeleteI know I missed the deadline but I just wanted to add that when we were younger the shows we watched had subliminal messages themselves. Everything around us has changed and that's okay, if director's and actors, or stories and songs are more direct about their "subliminal messages" then I guess that's how the industry works now. Children are too innocent to think much of it anyways.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that authors and directors shape these hidden messages for children, their intended audience, to see? Do you think that these corporations are intentionally trying to attract the attention of others even if it means using sexual content? Have you ever read a book or piece of literature that you’ve found a different message or hidden message that was not part of the author’s intent?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that they are adding these messages for the children. I think overly protective people and people who obsess over every part of the show are the ones that are catching all the subliminal messages. Even if the writers and cartoonists are putting in these little details, the children watching the show aren't going to notice and pick up on what is "actually" being said. This may just be writers adding a little to the shows dialogue for the parents watching it, or maybe it is on accident because there are always a couple ways to take things. I don't know if I have ever read a piece of literature with those subliminal messages because its just hard to try to remember, but possibly.
I do not believe that the author and directors purposefully put in subliminal messages geared towards children. I honestly don't think the major corporation would intentionally put in sexual content into children's movies and tv programs. I do however, think the the companies would put in subliminal messages about sexual content if the audience is of a more mature age. When I read books I usually read for pleasure, and don't analyze whats truly going on, so I have never found a message hidden within the text that the author did not mean for it to be there.
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