by SE Mathews

Created on: November 19, 2008

If adult cartoon are bad for kids, should they be aired on tv? My answer would be a firm, "Yes."

While I can understand why parents would be concerned with cartoons with adult situations and humor, the fact is that people should not assume that just because a series is animated that it is for children.

The animation audience is made up of more than children and as such, the content of an animated series should not have a default requirement to be 'kid-friendly'. There is no hard and fast rule that animation must be limited to children.

Animation as a story-telling method should not be limited to one target audience only. Such a limitation is not fair to the potential creators who use this artform as their chosen storytelling device or to the audience who might enjoy it.

Whether a television show is animated or not, if a show is meant for a mature audience, then the parent has the option to not allow the child to watch the show. Allowing a program to air does not take away choices, but not allowing a show to air does take away choice. A childless couple who enjoys "South Park" shouldn't have their choice to watch it taken away due to parental concerns. It is not fair to give one section of the population that much more say than another.

I confess that I am biased in this debate. I do not watch a lot of network television. I am more likely to watch HGTV's "Curb Appeal" than I am to watch ABC's "Grey's Anatomy".

Yet, I do watch cartoons on Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim on a more regular basis than I do live action series. There is just something about animated form that I prefer over live action.

I enjoy Nickelodeon's "Avatar" and Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse" with the same amount of enthusiasm even though the former is clearly kid-safe and the latter is anything but. As an adult fan of animation, I want to be able to see "Metalocalypse" on television just as much as I would want to watch "Avatar."

Why should my choices be taken away from me because one of those series was created with adults as the intended audience?

Besides, a live action series is not held to this requirement. For example, "The Sopranos" was an award winning series for HBO. It was clearly a series meant for adults. Yet, there was never a question of whether or not it should be aired on TV. It is the same for 'Law and Order" (which can have some very disturbing content) or the aforementioned, "Grey's Anatomy."

Adult cartoons/animation and its adult viewers should be allowed the same privilege as creators and fans of non-animated series.

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