Dec 22nd, 2020 Heritage
Administrative Assistant, CommunicationsDouglas is an administrative assistant for Communications at The Heritage Foundation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Regardless of your opinions on LGBT issues, Cartoon Network is now a far cry from the network that aired apolitical content like “Pokémon.”
Cartoon Network has dipped its toe into the woke cause of “anti-racism.”
Parents need to be aware of what their children are watching. Because cartoons aren’t just harmless fun anymore, they’re weapons.Copied
It’s an open secret that the left dominates the media landscape. It’s impossible to go a day without some actor in the Hollywood Hills tweeting how conservatives are ruining the country, or a journalist penning a story on why all we need is more government.
In the past, these attacks were mostly relegated to adults. The shows kids consumed were politically agnostic, more aimed at entertaining than moralizing. However, the days of fun, imaginative children’s TV are over. Now shows must be sufficiently woke, and must condition children with the leftist philosophy du jour.
Take the once entertaining Cartoon Network. The channel was a quintessential part of my childhood. I can remember finishing school for the day and rushing to aftercare where the latest episode of “Pokémon” would air on Cartoon Network. It was nice, harmless fun for a kid growing up in the mid-90s.
Looking at Cartoon Network now, it’s almost unrecognizable. One of the new flagship programs for the channel is “Steven Universe.” The show follows Steven, a young boy who goes on adventures along with his magical, humanoid alien friends. “Steven Universe” has received praise from many LGBT organizations, and in the words of LGBT-focused magazine Them, is “the queerest cartoon on television.”
Them continues:
[I]t may stand as the most progressive cartoon on TV in terms of queer representation. Steven, for example, is surrounded entirely by female superheroes, and often mirrors their feminine behavior. Even more, one of them is a fusion of two female characters who are in love, and another used to be in love with Steven’s mom. The show has featured women in tuxedos, boys in dresses, and a non-binary person in whatever clothing they want, and all of it is celebrated.
Regardless of your opinions on LGBT issues, Cartoon Network is now a far cry from the network that aired apolitical content like “Pokémon.” “Steven Universe” openly wears its woke messaging on its sleeve, teaching children that gender doesn’t exist and that men can be women and women can be men.
In a tweet from Dec. 14, Cartoon Network posted a comic designed to teach children about gender pronouns, and how they must make sure to ask every person they meet what their pronouns are.
“We can’t tell someone’s gender just by looking at them, and we shouldn’t assume we know,” reads the comic. “There are many gender identities beyond ‘girl’ or ‘boy.’ Some people don’t identify as any gender!”
But it doesn’t stop there. Cartoon Network has dipped its toe into the woke cause of “anti-racism.” In a TV ad from earlier this month, a character from “Steven Universe” attempts to reframe history by claiming Thomas Edison didn’t invent the lightbulb, and that the credit should instead go to black inventor Lewis Howard Latimer. This is incorrect, as even CNN is willing to admit.
The ad continues with an “anti-racist” tirade, claiming all history is whitewashed and that systemic racism is inherent in the education system. The character grows more incensed, yelling, “Was this [history] modified to make white readers comfortable? Are major details being left out that would credit people of color and center their point of view?”
As of the publishing of this article, the ad is the pinned tweet on Cartoon Network’s Twitter feed.
No one is claiming children’s entertainment needs to be bland and meaningless. I learned many lessons from “Pokémon” growing up, from the importance of never giving up, to the hard realities of saying goodbye to someone you love. But Cartoon Network has moved past stories with important morals, choosing instead to produce actual leftist propaganda.
Parents need to be aware of what their children are watching. Because cartoons aren’t just harmless fun anymore, they’re weapons.
This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal
