When you hear of adult entertainment it is easy to think of sex stores and things rated XXX, but the truth is that sometimes it can be something as “innocent” as an animated TV show.
When Disney first came out with Mickey Mouse, cartoons were largely aimed at children, but a lot has changed since then. In fact, during World Wars I and II, some drawn material, including Marvel Comics, were sent to wherever the US troops were deployed to take their minds off the realities of war.
In fact, this is the premise behind The First Avenger, Captain America. He is a super-soldier who came about as the result of a scientific experiment that took a weak boy and transformed him into a buff, fearless soldier who helped the ordinary troops conquer territories they hadn’t been to before.
It’s 2015 and there isn’t much of a World War going on. So there isn’t need to publish war-themed comics really, but the cartoon is still a strong tool when it comes informing readers about issues important to them.
This was successfully done by The Simpsons, which first came out as a joke, but the more popular it became, the braver the producers became in tackling issues that affected the American people. To date, when it comes to this subject, there are few success stories that come anywhere close to The Simpsons when it comes to being fearless.
With The Boondocks, The Cleveland Show and Family Guy returning to our screens, we look at how they, too, have bitten into the adult animation fad and how successful, or otherwise, they have been.
The Boondocks (Wednesdays, 9.30pm on Vuzu DStv Channel 116) features the Freemans, a black family living in a predominantly white neighbourhood. The creator of the show, Aaron McGruder, was obviously looking a way to address one of America’s biggest issues, race relations. With modern societies, where every race, culture and lifestyle must co-exist, it is inevitable that social classes are created bringing in different viewpoints.
While McGruder tackles this satirically, he still gets his message across and depending on your stance on the subject, you can choose to agree or disagree with him. What he does is provide a platform for discussion and after watching the show, people get to address the issues covered in any given episode.
On the same level is Family Guy (premieres tomorrow at 9.20pm on Comedy Central, DStv channel 122) which is a Seth McFarlane creation. Again, it’s about a family, a white one this time, that lives in a fictional town called Quahog in Rhode Island. Peter and Lois Griffins are parents to Meg, Chris and Stevie. McFarlane uses this family to poke fun at American culture and especially current events.
This is reminiscent of The Cleveland Show (Fridays, 8.55pm on Comedy Central, DStv channel 122), another McFarlane animated show and a spin-off of Family Guy. Here we meet Browns and Tubbs who are black parents to Cleveland Brown jr, Roberta and Rallo Tubbs.
So it is basically an alternative viewpoint to that of Family Guy, but still the inspiration is based on ridiculing American society in a way that inspires debate.
McFarlane may not be the funniest guy in the room, but he has done a lot in the adult animation industry. Other animated offers from him include American Dad, Life Of Larry, Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy and Ted.
He has truly made his mark in social commentary using animation.