Drug Propaganda Thursday

Radley Balko | November 16, 2006

Cartoon all-stars to the rescue!

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Comments

|11.16.06 @ 10:31PM|#

Holy crap - George and Barbara talking about keeping the kids away from drugs and alcohol!!! Just like they did, right?

As for the rest of the video - almost made me feel like I was on a really bad acid trip.

lonely libertarian|11.16.06 @ 10:44PM|#

That was awesome. The only part they left out was the part where the SWAT-team breaks down the front door and accidently shoots little Cory.

|11.16.06 @ 10:55PM|#

My 8 year old son walked in while that was on and he thought they were encouraging drugs. As well as thinking it was a lame cartoon. And he's the age this was designed for, too.

|11.16.06 @ 10:56PM|#

In a way it reminded me of those WWII movies where they try to cram in every star possible.

Deus ex Machina|11.16.06 @ 10:57PM|#

juris beat me to it. Obviously the lesson didn't stick with Jenna or Noelle Bush.

On the plus side, I remember being shown this film in elementary school followed by a "discussion" (read: lecture) on drugs. At least we managed to kill a couple hours and didn't get homework that day.

Sandy|11.16.06 @ 11:40PM|#

Hell, Deus, it didn't work with George W., noted alcoholic and cocaine freak.

Just 'cuz I advocate their legalization doesn't mean I think they're a good idea.

|11.17.06 @ 12:36AM|#

Wow, Crack rock. Those are some hard-core white kids in that low-density city.

I watched this when I was a little kid. As I recall, it really just made me wonder what all the fuss was about. So, in a way, the Bushes were responsible for my later experimentation. Thanks George and Bar! You changed my life!

brian423|11.17.06 @ 1:31AM|#

Drug warriors should go smurf themselves.

kraorh|11.17.06 @ 1:56AM|#

Am I the only one sensing a bit of irony in the show's use of animated hallucinations as a vehicle for telling kids that drugs are bad?

Rick H.|11.17.06 @ 2:44AM|#

Am I the only one sensing a bit of irony in the show's use of animated hallucinations as a vehicle for telling kids that drugs are bad?

How about Permanent Midnight's ALF as an anti-drug spokesman? Double irony! ...that cancels itself out and just makes this totally suck.

|11.17.06 @ 2:59AM|#

What I learned from the Cartoon All Stars:

Drugs are bad, `m'kay? But gluttony is funny. Alf, Garfield and Slimer should start an eating disorder support group.

If you have the newest, coolest drugs, you'll be the kid with the blonde hanging on your arm.

Do I get a D.A.R.E. T-shirt now?

Kevin

Andrew Ian Dodge|11.17.06 @ 7:32AM|#

Wow how many drugs were done to make that video. And if you want to kill your cred use the Snurfs for anything.

|11.17.06 @ 9:02AM|#

You know, sitting here looking at Old Man Bush and Babs, I can't help but thinking that they look like a real-life President and First Lady. I wasn't a big fan of his back in the day, but, in many ways, the last two presidents have been cartoons themselves. It would be nice to have a non-Baby Boomer in office.

I didn't watch much of the video, but I see that ALF and Garfield are part of the team. Doesn't ALF eat cats?

|11.17.06 @ 9:18AM|#

I'm not surprised that Simon from the Chipmunks was the first character to identify the kid's stash as marijuana. I mean, come on. Simon, Alvin and Theodore were in a band. In the Sixties, for God's sake.

My favorite moment was after the girl confronts the troubled big brother, and he dashes away from her down the hallway. The soundtrack then throws in a bluesy saxophone riff, like this is The Kid With The Golden Arm or something.

And for one brief, hopeful moment early on in the cartoon, I thought that maybe the Smurfs would be the ones who developed drug problems, and the DEA would call in a coordinated airstrike to shoot their little blue keisters all to hell as they ran screaming for their lives. But sadly, it wasn't to be.

|11.17.06 @ 9:20AM|#

0:06 - Ironically, Barny (or Checkers, is whatever the fuck that dog's name is) is DRUGGED.

1:40 - This alien is not dressed like a stoner. Nope.

1:50 - This cat doesn't talk like a stoner. Nope.

4:47 - Theodore: "Okay, Alvin, are you gonna pack the bowl or am I?"

5:01 - Stash box inventory. Dog turds: check. Miniture bale of hay: check. Gazoo: check.

5:25 - It's only "artificial" if you're smoking oregano, motherfucker!

6:24 - "Omigod. This is some fucking AWESOME SHIT"

6:45 - That is one cute little Quaker crack ho.

7:14 - I think that Transformers guitar guy does all these riffs.

7:29 - Don't you hate it when your drug habit just ups and abandons you like that? Damn.

|11.17.06 @ 9:22AM|#

My 8 year old son walked in while that was on and he thought they were encouraging drugs. As well as thinking it was a lame cartoon. And he's the age this was designed for, too.

I have a suspicion that we would have less drug use by children without these messages.

I'm sure that children might still here about drugs but I can't help but feel that this obsession we have with them somehow makes them more attractive.

|11.17.06 @ 9:36AM|#

I just find it so ironic with all these stoner underpinnings. I mentioned Alf's dress and Garfield's manner of speech. BUT THE FUCKING MUPPETS?! They were burning so much weed that you could see the smoke coming off those things. And tell me Dr. Teeth wasn't high.

|11.17.06 @ 9:45AM|#

Mr. Nice Guy is absolutely correct. The Muppets were potheads par excellence.

|11.17.06 @ 9:58AM|#

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the Muppets were one giant drug joke. I mean, Animal was a drummer. Is it even possible to have a straight drummer? Assuming you want one who's any good, I mean.

|11.17.06 @ 10:07AM|#

Karen:

Animal was directly inspired by Ginger Baker, who did every drug under the sun, and was a total madman.

To me, what sets Animal apart from the rest of the band is that he is definitely hopped up on speed, while the rest of the crew are your standard spliffers.

|11.17.06 @ 10:11AM|#

Animal was in Cream? Wow.

Hey, it's me, Kermit, let me in.
Kermit?
Yeah, let me in, I got the stuff.
Kermit's not here.

|11.17.06 @ 10:13AM|#

And don't forget the Electric Mayhem's bassist, Sgt. Floyd Pepper. Yeah, no drug references here.

|11.17.06 @ 10:34AM|#

This thread started me thinking about what actually would work to keep kids from using drugs. I never used anything illegal and neither did any of my friends in high school. Drug propaganda had exactly zero to do with this. (Neither did the other kind. We listened to Cheech and Chong and popular music and didn't run out and get high, either.) We were all honor students and knew we were going places after graduation, and therefore didn't want to do anything to mess that up. More friends did drugs in college, but none of 'em were big wastoids, unless they had other problems. I really don't know that there's anything the public can do to inject that sense of purpose into kids who don't get it from home or nearby.

|11.17.06 @ 11:54AM|#

I remember watching this as a kid.

Now that I'm all grown up, I'm left wondering just how much taxpayer money was blown on this.

|11.17.06 @ 1:07PM|#

I was a professional drummer from 1972 to 1987 and smoking pot would make my sense of time slow down and speed up erratically. Speed made me do what its name says. Alcohol made me play sloppy.

I learned early on that I could not mix playing music with drug use. But then I was no Ginger Baker and that is one reason that today I remain...

NoStar

|11.17.06 @ 1:30PM|#

I always thought Animal was modeled on Keith Moon.

Laconic|11.17.06 @ 2:55PM|#

I've never seen this, but as long as we're telling drug stories...

When I was in 7th grade (back when pot was sold in "lids"), my buddies and I constantly joked about pot and smoking pot and what big stoners we were (Patrick signed my yearbook "Biggest stoner in Fresno County"). But the first time I was offered pot (by a friend's older brother), I said "No, thanks," and fled the room because I was scared shitless. Needless to say, the real stoners neglected to force anything on me; they just shrugged and smoked out.

Later I would prefer speed to pot. But that's another story.

|11.17.06 @ 3:22PM|#

"Later I would prefer speed to pot."

I know these are English words, and they are put together in a coherent sentence.

But.. for some reason.. I cannot comprehend..