Should more kids' shows have prison episodes?

Prison Episode

So yeah, prison is a pretty heavy subject, but a lot of kids' shows these days are going to be pretty dark anyway; I figure the ones that are may as well be dark in a meaningful way, and this is one of them. It will help give kids better incentive to behave while also giving kids some idea (albeit vaguely) of what it can be like for prisoners. What do you think?

edited 23rd Jan '12 6:43:12 AM by HiddenFacedMatt

Altering the narrative of a show for the possibility of anvilicious messages?

Not a fan of that.

Uh, probably a bad idea, considering the lighthearted or absurdist themes of many kids show. A Prison Episode in My Little Pony would make the world seem Orwellian to children, for example.

^^ This. There's a reason that Very Special Episodes are generally considered to be low points in most shows' runs, and are generally mocked and disliked. A Very Special Prison Episode would be no different.

And yet, Toy Story 3 managed to be popular. I guess it depends on how it's approached.

Toy Story 3 was also horrifying to a lot of kids to the point parents got mad. (I know my sister did after her 4 year old saw it)

You'd be better off just writing a story made to criticize the prison system, instead of shoehorning a preexisting piece of media into it.

Or, you could watch Brubaker.

Er...no. If anything, kids' shows have ever more overzealous executives breathing down their necks censoring anything that could be remotely construed as an imitable act.

edited 23rd Jan '12 3:21:48 PM by Pykrete

I mean can you imagine? Rainbow Dash in prison for stealing one of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes, ending up a hardened criminal, covered in tats...

@OP: What. Prison episodes in kids' shows? That just has bad idea written all over it.

While kids' shows can be used to teach some valuable life lessons, I think the nuances of the prison system and crime and punishment are kinda out of the scope of children's shows.

edited 23rd Jan '12 3:28:43 PM by MarkVonLewis

I believed Victorious had an episode where the cast went to the Banana Republic, accidently injured the leader's eye, and got landed in a prison.

Of course, it was whitewashed.

So, unless kid's shows want to punch through their relatively clean image...

Man, I remember when jails and prisons popped up in cartoons all the damn time.◊ Network execs are weenies anymore.

Well, everypony's already got one...sorta...

edited 23rd Jan '12 5:02:36 PM by Pykrete

I still maintain that the OP should stop asking silly questions and instead go watch Brubaker.

My opinion, eh. I doubt that it could be done in such a way that would be meaningful to kids. And honestly, because of what confusion and/or discomfort it could cause, I wouldn't let my child watch it anyway. But then again I'm one of those crazy moms who doesn't own a television and only lets him watch movies I have seen first. I prefer raising my kid and using media as a possible supplement, not the other way around.

Why? What possible purpose would this serve?

No. Aesops are things that deserve to die in a fire.

"Ending up a hardened criminal" isn't a required aspect of this, though; Toy Story 3 doesn't seem to reference it at all, and the Phineas And Ferb example involves Phineas temporarily becoming more cynical, but not a hardened criminal, and even then it doesn't take his sister very long to talk him out of his cynicism.

There are different levels on which it can be dealt with.

@ OP: I guess, but the same could be said for any kind of story, not just prison episodes. If it can be worked into the narrative in a compelling way, go for it. If not, don't try to shoehorn in a prison story where it doesn't belong.

edited 24th Jan '12 3:15:17 PM by Talby

Considering the likelihood of going to prison, an educational show about prison might be a good idea.

Its one thing to teach kids to avoid mistakes, teaching them how to deal with the consequences once the mistake has been made is another matter.

The Just Say No (to Drugs) and/or the Teen Pregnancy issue certainly could use more popular awareness.

edited 29th Jan '12 8:14:47 PM by Natasel

Perhaps Martha Stewart or Paris Hilton can narrate? They seem to be fairly famous/infamous? public figures.

Or is there a more appropriate child marketable personality that has prison experience?

Which sorta defeats the whole purpose, really. You either treat going to prison like it's a serious life-altering thing (which it is) or you treat it like it's no big deal, which leads to a Broken Aesop.

Might as well get some advice from a real Warden or Incarceration Facility Administrator (official title I think) on how to behave.

I doubt the Hollywood touted "Beat up the Biggest Inmate" is good advice.

edited 29th Jan '12 8:44:12 PM by Natasel

"Life-altering" =/= "ends up a hardened criminal."

Firstly, the latter is primarily an American thing, and even then it varies depending on the individual inmate, the prison they go to, who is working there at the time, other such circumstances, etc... especially the "depending on the individual inmate" part. If someone's circumstances drive them to take it out on innocents, then in a sense they have shown their true colours.

it's actually pretty good advice, you just got to make sure he won't get back up again. Ever.

Any way, it would be a realistic explanation for the Disappeared Dad and Missing Mom trope to have the parent of the main character severing time, don't cha think?

edited 31st Jan '12 2:22:50 PM by joeyjojo

Would that make YOU the Biggest Inmate?