HUGE IMPORTANT EDIT: It wasn't Cartoon Network who took the video down, it was Frederator. The facts weren't completely clear when I wrote this rant. That was my mistake. I was too pissed off to care if I had all the information. DO NOT SEND CARTOON NETWORK YOUR LETTERS OF DISAPPROVAL. SEND THEM TO THE ANIMATION STUDIO, FREDERATOR. A man was fired as a writer there for supporting us, and that's just not cool. Don't let this happen.
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For the moment, I'm saying "Screw you" to neutrality, because this is important. I’ve been trying to keep this blog relatively professional and family friendly, and I’m not about to stop now just because I’m angry, so I will refrain from swearing. But please be aware that any “clean” curse words would normally have been replaced by something of a far filthier caliber if this blog was more casual. I’m sure most of you are smart enough to figure out my true meaning.
Anyway, onto our main subject of the night: the executive higher-ups at Cartoon Network are freaking pansies.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, an extended preview was leaked last Monday for the newest episode of the popular Cartoon Network show, Adventure Time.
You should also know that the lead storyboard artist for the episode, Natasha Allegri, thinks that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline (whose full title is Marceline, the Vampire Queen if you don’t watch the show) would be a cute couple. She even draws fanart for it. Beautiful, beautiful fanart.
The episode aired on Monday, September 26th, and it all but completely confirmed that Bubblegum and Marceline are, or at one point were, more than just friends. An official Adventure Time recap and behind-the-scenes blog on youtube frequently asks fans to answer questions, either about the show itself or something related to that week’s episode. The channel posted an episode recap that asked fans: “What do you think of Marceline and Bubblegum getting together?”
The response was staggering. Countless people (myself included) shared their support in the comments, saying that it would be inspirational and extremely progressive for there to be a canonically queer couple in a children’s show. The couple, affectionately nicknamed Sugarless Gum by some fans, is soaring in popularity.
It has been twenty-four hours, and the afforementioned video has since been taken down by Cartoon Network. Allow me to express my and much of the fandom’s opinion on this turn of events in the following manner.
THIS. IS. NOT. OKAY.
I have a message for you, Cartoon Network: you can NOT act like this episode never happened just because sheltering suburban soccer moms might get their knickers in a knot.
You took it down because it was “controversial,” right? Well, how is a canonical queer relationship any more controversial than the rest of the crap you market to kids? Countless adult jokes have made it past your censors, but a girl having an innocent crush on another girl is too controversial for children’s television? How is it alright to keep children in the dark about queer people? How is it alright to deny them the truth that it’s okay to have a crush on someone of the same gender?
To quote Finn, that’s bunk.
Shows like Glee and Modern Family feature openly queer characters, and they treat their relationships as they would treat a heterosexual relationship: like it’s completely normal. And more importantly, these shows are billed as being family shows. When will a children’s show take that same step? I could go on for hours about all of the gay jokes that make it onto network television, but that would take up an entire essay.
Which just makes it that much worse that you refuse to acknowledge a loving, normal, romantic relationship between two girls. You won’t let them be anything other than expressly heterosexual, yet you’ll tell endless jokes about gay men for the sake of getting a laugh?
Is that all that queer people are to you? Material for jokes? An excuse to draw cute girls kissing “for the lulz”?
Well, I’ve got news for you, Cartoon Network, and for all of you homophobic jerks who insist that we’re making a big deal over nothing:
This is not “pandering to the fan base.” This is positive representation of a minority in mainstream television. This is teaching children that it’s okay to be gay. This is not about cute ships: this is about progress. And as much as you’d all like to deny it, there is an inevitable truth that will come to light someday. Maybe it won’t be here, or now, or through Adventure Time, but you are only delaying the inevitable. Someday, you are going to have to accept it:
We’re here, we’re queer, and we watch cartoons, too.
If you agree with my opinion at all, please click this link to find out how to help.
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For the moment, I'm saying "Screw you" to neutrality, because this is important. I’ve been trying to keep this blog relatively professional and family friendly, and I’m not about to stop now just because I’m angry, so I will refrain from swearing. But please be aware that any “clean” curse words would normally have been replaced by something of a far filthier caliber if this blog was more casual. I’m sure most of you are smart enough to figure out my true meaning.
Anyway, onto our main subject of the night: the executive higher-ups at Cartoon Network are freaking pansies.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, an extended preview was leaked last Monday for the newest episode of the popular Cartoon Network show, Adventure Time.
You should also know that the lead storyboard artist for the episode, Natasha Allegri, thinks that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline (whose full title is Marceline, the Vampire Queen if you don’t watch the show) would be a cute couple. She even draws fanart for it. Beautiful, beautiful fanart.
The response was staggering. Countless people (myself included) shared their support in the comments, saying that it would be inspirational and extremely progressive for there to be a canonically queer couple in a children’s show. The couple, affectionately nicknamed Sugarless Gum by some fans, is soaring in popularity.
It has been twenty-four hours, and the afforementioned video has since been taken down by Cartoon Network. Allow me to express my and much of the fandom’s opinion on this turn of events in the following manner.
THIS. IS. NOT. OKAY.
I have a message for you, Cartoon Network: you can NOT act like this episode never happened just because sheltering suburban soccer moms might get their knickers in a knot.
You took it down because it was “controversial,” right? Well, how is a canonical queer relationship any more controversial than the rest of the crap you market to kids? Countless adult jokes have made it past your censors, but a girl having an innocent crush on another girl is too controversial for children’s television? How is it alright to keep children in the dark about queer people? How is it alright to deny them the truth that it’s okay to have a crush on someone of the same gender?
To quote Finn, that’s bunk.
Shows like Glee and Modern Family feature openly queer characters, and they treat their relationships as they would treat a heterosexual relationship: like it’s completely normal. And more importantly, these shows are billed as being family shows. When will a children’s show take that same step? I could go on for hours about all of the gay jokes that make it onto network television, but that would take up an entire essay.
Which just makes it that much worse that you refuse to acknowledge a loving, normal, romantic relationship between two girls. You won’t let them be anything other than expressly heterosexual, yet you’ll tell endless jokes about gay men for the sake of getting a laugh?
Is that all that queer people are to you? Material for jokes? An excuse to draw cute girls kissing “for the lulz”?
Well, I’ve got news for you, Cartoon Network, and for all of you homophobic jerks who insist that we’re making a big deal over nothing:
This is not “pandering to the fan base.” This is positive representation of a minority in mainstream television. This is teaching children that it’s okay to be gay. This is not about cute ships: this is about progress. And as much as you’d all like to deny it, there is an inevitable truth that will come to light someday. Maybe it won’t be here, or now, or through Adventure Time, but you are only delaying the inevitable. Someday, you are going to have to accept it:
We’re here, we’re queer, and we watch cartoons, too.
If you agree with my opinion at all, please click this link to find out how to help.
