But Seriously, Brent, When Do Race Bannon and Dr. Quest Get Their Pink Triangles?

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Thanks to reader Mr. Nice Guy, we now know that Parents Television Council poobah Brent Bozell wants to drop the anvil on today's cartoons for kids, in which there are "dark, powerful, oftentimes scary scenarios where there is hard violence." The PTC has just released a study detaling that cartoons are packed with 6.3 "dark acts" an hour.

Don't mistake Bozell, whose group singlehandedly keeps the FCC complaint division in business, for one of those uptight squares who isn't in touch with his inner Bugs Bunny, though:

"I grew up with 'Tom and Jerry' and I think I'm OK," he said.

"Popeye beat up Bluto and you cheered," he said.

Me? As a fan equally of easy credit and hamburgers, when I watched Popeye, I was always rooting for Wimpy. But I think I'm OK, too. And really, I'll gladly pay you on Tuesday for a burger today.

Does the relentlessly anti-commie Bozell realize that he's channeling Frankfurt School dogma as laid down by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in Dialectic of Enlightenment? "Donald Duck in the cartoons…[gets his] thrashing so that the audience can learn to take their own punishment."

And does Bozell realize that Tom and Jerry are part of the great international Zionist conspiracy?

And does he realize that this is probably not the best time to be obsessing like a fundamentalist nutjob over cartoons (there's a war on, for Zog's sake)?

And why does the PTC web site carry the voyeuristic slogan "because our children are watching"?

"This should be the age of utter innocence for a child," Bozell told the AP. "Hollywood should do anything within its power to protect that innocence." More here.

The PTC study, "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing," here. Among the other findings: There's a whopping 0.62 instances per hour of "sexual content" on kids' TV.

For a last word on the dread peril of cartoon sex on basic cable, go here.

A short note to Bozellians: I Still Want My @#$%&! MTV! (and cartoon violence) for my kids.

And a nice comment about the PTC study from the anti-nanny-state group TV Watch (full disclosure: I'm a member of their coalition):

"This group has a history of making sensational claims in order to push government control of content. Parents relying on ubiquitous and user friendly technology, ratings information and their own good judgement to manage TV is the best approach, not increased government control, regardless of whether the program is Yosemite Sam, the Road Runner or a scene from a show clearly intended for adults."

Race Bannon groupies go here but before you buy the rumors, remember Jezebel Jade.