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Cartoons that Mock Science are Bad for the Children

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MyGodItsFullofStars Since: Feb, 2011
#1: Nov 8th 2011 at 9:25:36 AM

I've noticed a recent alarming trend - most cartoons these days tend to have at least one "let's make fun of the smart character and his/her science" episode per run. This would be all well and good, if the science proved to be correct, but time and time again either the smart character is made to look foolish for believing in science or even though the smart character turns out to be right all along, bad things still happen to them throughout the episode.

This is bad for children who want to go into the sciences, and this is bad for society as if frequent mocking of science becomes commonplace, we will end up with less scientists over time, until society degrades into a new Dark Age. This world needs people working in jobs that end in -ologist, dammit, so stop mocking people with such jobs in cartoons meant for impressionable youngsters!

Here are a few of the more egregious examples, but I have a feeling that this is pretty commonplace since I only watch a few cartoons and out of my limited sample size they all featured some form of this or another.

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Twilight Sparkle insists that she can come up with a scientific reason why Pinkie Pie's seizures apparently predict the future. She tries to do just that, but is thwarted and made a fool of throughout the episode. Ultimately Twilight comes to the conclusion that science doesn't have all the answers and basically has a conversion scene, and this is shown to be the better choice than living as an atheist. You know how sometimes religious parents won't let their kids watch certain shows? I wouldn't let my children watch this episode, as I am a scientist and I find the way that Twilight was treated in this episode and this episode's message to be erroneous and frankly obscene.

Avatar The Last Airbender: The fortuneteller episode where, even though Sokka is right about not relying on soothsayers, he is relentlessly mocked and treated as the Butt-Monkey throughout this episode, so its like Sokka was being punished for acting rationally.

Fairly Odd Parents: The evil characters are typically the ones with all the gadgets and science, while Timmy relies on fairy magic. Not as blatant as some of the other examples I've listed, but there are still moments where it feels like scientists are being portrayed as asocial jerks with obsessive tendencies.

Fancolors I draw stuff. from Land of the Mamelucos Since: Nov, 2010
I draw stuff.
#2: Nov 8th 2011 at 9:48:34 AM

Are you here to discuss about cartoon's portrayal of science or just to say it's bad for the children?

MasterGhandalf Since: Jul, 2009
#4: Nov 8th 2011 at 9:51:12 AM

[up][up][up]I might add that though Sokka is the Butt-Monkey, his smarts do end up saving the day on several occasions (most notably, Northern Air Temple later that season).

edited 8th Nov '11 9:51:53 AM by MasterGhandalf

boobustuber on a horse from hey what did i just say Since: Apr, 2010
on a horse
#5: Nov 8th 2011 at 10:02:52 AM

If children are that smart, they can realize that it's just a cartoon. Honestly, smart kids are so very much favoured in real life (although parents do like to claim GIFTED!1 at the drop of a hat tongue ) that I don't see cartoons as a huge trouble.

I didn't like the message in Feeling Pinkie Keen because it seemed to get interpreted as religious (does that mean Pinkie is God? surprised ) They could have done it as "we don't know everything, so let's keep learning!" but no.

edited 8th Nov '11 10:05:06 AM by boobustuber

NapoleonDeCheese Since: Oct, 2010
#6: Nov 8th 2011 at 10:05:41 AM

Don't ever watch Dexters Laboratory or your head will explode.

MoeDantes cuter, cuddlier Edmond from the Land of Classics Since: Nov, 2010
cuter, cuddlier Edmond
#7: Nov 8th 2011 at 10:58:57 AM

I've noticed a recent alarming trend - most cartoons these days tend to have at least one "let's make fun of the smart character and his/her science" episode per run.

Recent trend? Brainy Smurf is pretty much the patron saint of this kind of thing. Granted, back then it used to be balanced out by characters such as Man-at-Arms and Donatello but...

I have the feeling you're reading too much into it. First of all, none of those are "science is bad" (except maybe the Fairly Oddparents one—I don't watch that cartoon so heck if I know). I don't recall Sokka being treated especially badly in that episode, and in fact I remember the episode ultimately becoming about how sometimes people are so set in their beliefs that logic can't change them—Aang and Kitara came to realize the soothsayer was full of B.S. but the people who had lived with her didn't. That may be my headcanon speaking though.

You are totally misreading the MLP episode though. It's not anti-science in the least. It's anti-dogmatic thinking, and sadly people who think they're "rational" are just as prone to that as any UFO worshipping doomsday cult. Twilight had seen Pinkie Sense play out time and again, but refused to acknowledge it was real. That's not science. That is in fact the exact opposite of science. Scientists don't go around pretending everything they can't explain doesn't exist, or spend all their time trying to debunk things they don't want to believe. If they did, science would never discover anything.

And, "there are things science can't explain" and "sometimes you just have to believe in things you can't explain" are not anti-science morals. Most real scientists will tell you the same thing—it's a fundamental principle. Again, if scientists dismissed everything they couldn't explain, they would never discover anything. We can't explain how the big bang happened, but you don't see scientists tripping over each other to dismiss it.

That's my take on it.

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RandomChaos No Dragon Power from My own little world Since: Oct, 2011
No Dragon Power
#8: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:03:09 AM

or Jimmy Neutron or Johnny Test

edited 8th Nov '11 11:07:59 AM by RandomChaos

With the power of a dragon I can make up for my inability to spill.
CDRW Since: May, 2016
#9: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:08:57 AM

Science sucks. What's so wrong with teaching our children the truth?

dwarfstar Since: May, 2011
#10: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:31:33 AM

I agree that this is an awful trend. This is why I disliked that MLP episode (though I'd still let my child watch it, just explain why it's wrong). I agree with what others have said in defense of the Avatar episode, though.

One excellent exception to this trend is the Adventure Time episode, "The Real You." In it, the main character puts on these intellect-enhancing glasses to impress a girl at a science convention. At first, he seems like his smart self is incompetent and that there will be an anti-intellect moral, but in the end it turns out to be part of his genius ultra-sciency plan, which wins in the end. One of the writers of the episode writes about the trend here.

edited 8th Nov '11 11:40:23 AM by dwarfstar

your constant harassment of the female gender makes me sick
CountDorku Behold my legal acumen! from the depths of insanity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Behold my legal acumen!
#11: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:37:07 AM

[up][up] ...define "truth".

CDRW Since: May, 2016
#12: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:38:50 AM

[up] Truth: Blatant Lies.

edited 8th Nov '11 11:39:03 AM by CDRW

dwarfstar Since: May, 2011
#13: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:41:27 AM

[up] Mind Screw.

your constant harassment of the female gender makes me sick
CountDorku Behold my legal acumen! from the depths of insanity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
CDRW Since: May, 2016
#15: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:49:13 AM

[lol][lol][lol][lol] I love this website.

THE TRUTH HAS BEEN DOUBLED!

edited 8th Nov '11 11:49:54 AM by CDRW

nabaduco Since: Oct, 2010
#16: Nov 8th 2011 at 11:56:59 AM

I don't bother about mad scientists. In Fo P, Crocker is evil but there's Timmy's friend AJ who is also heavily into science and (at least for the seasons I watch) is sympathetic.

That MLP episode is ridiculous though (Assuming you are portraying it correctly). An Anvillicious episode against skepticism counts as a Wall Banger in my book. Hamrful to children? I don't know, but it does sound preachy and pointless.

edited 8th Nov '11 12:00:45 PM by nabaduco

Webby Very Manly Muppet Since: Dec, 2010
Very Manly Muppet
#17: Nov 8th 2011 at 12:03:54 PM

The MLP episode wasn't anti-science. Twilight's intelligence is always treated like a good thing. It was refusing to believe what she saw even as it became more evident that was wrong.

I think you may be reading too much into Fairly Odd Parents was well. Timmy is Book Dumb, yes, but that's why scientific villains have an advantage over him. And "Science is bad, magic is good" isn't something you normally preach. (Also, as mentioned, AJ is sympathetic, if flawed.)

Honestly, kids aren't as dumb as people think they are. Aesops can be helpful for them, but they can judge them on their own.

Actually a girl.
CountDorku Behold my legal acumen! from the depths of insanity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Behold my legal acumen!
#18: Nov 8th 2011 at 12:05:12 PM

I remember one fanfic that had Twilight realise she was being a bad scientist and try and work out how Pinkie Sense worked and whether it could be reliably used to send information.

And then the shipping started.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#19: Nov 8th 2011 at 12:26:40 PM

You are totally misreading the MLP episode though. It's not anti-science in the least. It's anti-dogmatic thinking, and sadly people who think they're "rational" are just as prone to that as any UFO worshipping doomsday cult. Twilight had seen Pinkie Sense play out time and again, but refused to acknowledge it was real. That's not science. That is in fact the exact opposite of science. Scientists don't go around pretending everything they can't explain doesn't exist, or spend all their time trying to debunk things they don't want to believe. If they did, science would never discover anything.

This must be quoted for truth, because you hit on the head certain irritating misconceptions that even people who consider themselves "rational" or "scientific" fall into. Science is about drawing conclusions, not stubborn dismissal. (Dogmatic rationality is something of a peeve of mine).

edited 8th Nov '11 12:32:24 PM by KnownUnknown

FallenLegend Trickster. from Navel Of The Moon. Since: Oct, 2010
Trickster.
#20: Nov 8th 2011 at 1:14:36 PM

you realise that thse cartoons weren't mocking science right?.They were simply plot devices to entetrain

Of course Butch Hartman or Lauren Fuast aren't "antiscience". Every anti-sciencce message you are claiming is simply your own persoanl interpretation

Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.
petrie911 Since: Aug, 2009
#21: Nov 8th 2011 at 1:30:17 PM

So, apparently I must have missed the anti-science message in Feeling Pinkie Keen. All I saw was a message about having faith in your friends and some impeccable slapstick sequences.

Belief or disbelief rests with you.
LostAnarchist Violence Is Necessary! from Neo Arcadia Itself Since: Sep, 2011
Violence Is Necessary!
#22: Nov 8th 2011 at 1:39:21 PM

On a political stance, I agree with the OP.

On a stance of that of an animation fan (especially Western fare, which is sadly infamous for a majority of it being bad for brain cells).... Please. Just. Stop. Preaching.

If you feel the show is dumbing you down or making you feel stupid (and this goes for anyone else), then stop watching it and find something constructive to do/better to watch!

...And I shouldn't have to be preaching like some authorative parent here! Peace.

Though it is a relief to know Adventure Time, for example, is one of the smart ones... Not always, but it is.

edited 8th Nov '11 1:42:53 PM by LostAnarchist

This is where I, the Vampire Mistress, proudly reside: http://liberal.nationstates.net/nation=nova_nacio
FallenLegend Trickster. from Navel Of The Moon. Since: Oct, 2010
Trickster.
#23: Nov 8th 2011 at 1:42:19 PM

[up][up]same here.

Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love.
PinkHeartChainsaw Pink♥Chainsaw from Land of Rape and Honey Since: Oct, 2011
Pink♥Chainsaw
#24: Nov 8th 2011 at 1:46:18 PM

Anti-science messages are typically delivered by romantic authors and various religious demigauges. Cartoons merely use science as a plot-device.

Though I agree with the topic title.

edited 8th Nov '11 1:47:04 PM by PinkHeartChainsaw

"If there is a hole then it's a man's job to thrust into it" - Ryoma from New Getter Robo
MangaManiac Since: Aug, 2010
#25: Nov 8th 2011 at 2:10:31 PM

Clearly there is only one solution to this problem.

We must kill all the children.

edited 8th Nov '11 2:11:00 PM by MangaManiac


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