2000s animation was (not that) progessive!

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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
disney, cartoon network, nickelodeon, the simpsons, y2k, 2000s cartoons, netflix, danny phantom, steven universe, hey arnold

[@DDarkestKnight]

2000s cartoons: So our past has finally come back to haunt us

[@WhitneyDahlin]

Yeah there were some shows that I literally could not watch because of the animation. I don't know what it is but I feel like it's kind of like The uncanny valley feeling but not quite. The Bratz movies, hey Arnold, Rugrats and a few others I literally couldn't watch because the animation grossed me out so much. Same thing with that movie The polar express (although that one is definitely more uncanny valley then gross out feeling) I feel like I'm definitely not the only one who feels like this and there's a lot of animation from that time period that genuinely just grosses some people out. I can't really put my finger on what it is. But even now as an adult I'll hear about this great new show or anime and I'll try to watch it and immediately get that gross out feeling and not be able to sit through it. If anyone else gets this feeling and can explain it please reply LMAO

[@chewviewleonardo6511]

Motion sickness. It could be in 3D landscapes in movies and videogames with more visual depths. That does apply with uncanny valley of animation at that era with computer CGI. It was common in the 1990s. The adjustment takes time. I would compare it with gradual eyesight when knitting and embroiding. As an Optometrist reccomended: staring at a distant object without squinting would alleviate pressure on the eye. Otherwise it is subjective feeling and I am just a random person online.

[@BluffsCastle]

Representation in 2000s cartoons in a nutshell: Black people: mostly just exist to be friends with the white protagonists. Guys are either street or book smart, and girls are sassy and rude East Asians: nerds with interchangeable cultures who sometimes know martial arts. China is when straw hats and kung fu, Japan is when ninjas and anime, Korea is whe- oh wait I don’t think there were many Korean characters in 2000s cartoons South Asians: even bigger nerds and losers than East Asians with funny accents (I’m looking at you Sanjay from FOP) Native American: either nonexistent or just exists to support the white protagonist and give sage advice Romani: either nonexistent, only referenced (with the G slur), or a mystical fortune teller. Middle Easterners: terrorists or nonexistent Pacific Islanders: primitive savages who try to cook the protagonists in cannibal stew and sacrifice them to the gods. Sadly I think this one hasn’t gone away. There’s barely any PI rep except for stuff like Moana and Hailey’s On It

[@user-ks9oj7zo4p]

Thinking back on my childhood tv consumption, this is so true!

[@KaminoKatie]

Bionicle technically has PI rep in its early years

[@videobirdshow]

Don’t forget the LGBTQIA+ Gay men: skinny white guys with ascots and unbuttoned shirt, talking like stereotypical sassy black women, and they hate, I mean misogynistic, hate women Lesbian (GW): either hot Barbie corn stars making out or big scary Mean women with nose rings and short hair Trans: only referred to as “had a s3x change” Non binary: androgynous, short hair, feminine nerdy voice, clothes are a non gender color like purple or green, sometimes wear glasses, the other characters ask what the heck they are

[@yourfavoriteoompaloompa139]

What would you give as the representation for white people?

[@ninibugg6203]

​@@yourfavoriteoompaloompa139 They'd be the "normal" everyday people

[@theluigifan1]

yeah, if anything, animation back then could be just as problematic as their live-action contemporaries. i’ve looked back on some shows from my childhood and have had some… culture shock, to put it lightly.

[@BluffsCastle]

There are still barely any Middle Eastern characters in cartoons. In the old cartoons, Middle Easterners were usually portrayed as evil terrorists, like in that one Transformers episode with "Carbombya" that caused Casey Kasem, a Lebanese man, to quit the show. Not to mention how often middle eastern aesthetics are commodified, for example, putting female character in belly dancer outfits for fan service. Even nowadays, middle eastern characters are mostly just supporting/background characters to make the show look diverse. I've seen numerous times hijabis in the background, but rarely do they get lines. there are some exceptions like Badyah from Dead End, Zahra from Glitch Techs, and Fawzia from Moon Girl, but that's it.

[@jayneb6053]

halo from young justice ?

[@jayneb6053]

EMARA is a cute cartoon with a hijabi main you can find it on youtube.

[@jellygirljude]

@@jayneb6053 omg Emara is so good!! Such a shame that it left off on a huge cliffhanger though :(

[@jayneb6053]

@@jellygirljude I thought it was hiatus ? It really is good I wish they continue.

[@epicazeroth]

2000s animation be like "lol gay"

[@DDarkestKnight]

And those were the nice shows

[@lakegroce685]

Despite the 2020s being the way it is with everything else, at least the medium of animation has gotten more inclusive. There is still a long way to go in terms of undoing all the damage from decades before but I believe that the more people from different backgrounds get into animation, the more good and accurate diversity we’ll see.

[@littlemisstfc]

New Harriyanna video to start off Pride Month? HELL YEAH. 🎉

[@harriyanna]

happy pride!

[@VultureWarrior]

Speaking on the subject of 2000s cartoons, hase anyone ever heard of the DCAU series "Static Shock"? In my opinion, Static is one of the most underrated superheroes ever. Also, this show had did an amazing job talking about racism, gun violence, etc.

[@corduroycrook]

Its so annoying how many cartoons just put men in a dress and queued the laugh track or had all the characters on screen point and laugh. Like there was no joke being told, no lead in, just straight up heteronormative propaganda

[@imthebossmermaid3648]

It's transmisogyny. It's supposed to mock the idea of AMAB people presenting femininely/wearing women's clothes. It's a trope that mocks trans women and I HATE it. You see it a lot in anime except in anime it's more sexual fetish/assault(because why else would a man dress up like a woman unless it's a fetish? since that's all that women are good for). Also it makes femininity out to be the butt of the joke by implying that a man who dresses or acts like a woman is being "demeaned" because to be like a woman is to be humiliated(because women are lesser than/humiliated). Which is also some of the motive behind transmisogyny. All in all, it just comes down to mocking/belittling/sexualizing women.

[@Ariento]

I would argue that Gigi and Wisp from Monster High are middle eastern, given their monstrous origins trace back to the middle east, but I wouldn't really call them good rep either.

[@KaminoKatie]

The orientalism was really holding 13 Wishes back from being great

[@imthebossmermaid3648]

You mean the Genies?

[@powerpuffgirl7486]

Thank you harriyanna hook for talking about representation in front is just as important as representation behind the scenes when it comes to voice acting. For example Sun Spot, who is Afro-Brazilian in X-men 97 is voiced by a non-black Brazilian, in my opinion I believe that character should be voiced by somebody who is an Afro-Brazilian. I know that some people do not see that as a big of deal but I think that is important.

[@BluffsCastle]

That’s weird, since they went out of their way to recast Jubilee with an Asian voice actress

[@Neku628]

Thank you for calling out the Simpson's for not being a kid's show. The fact that a lot of '90s and 2000s parents let their kids watch it, that's pretty concerning, especially with scenes like Bart being choked by his dad.

[@Bird-wz7nx]

He stopped doing that in the past few years- directly correlating with the show being "good again." Its funny how the show having the agency to break from tradition ironically returns the show to form in so many ways. Its definitely not the same, and IMO its not as good as the classics, but damn, there's some real legit moments, especially in regards to the Simpsons family dynamics. It feels good.

[@mk-aka-morgan8386]

Yooo I just watched a video recently about Ralph Bakshi- really funny to be seeing so much stuff about him randomly lol

[@jasmine-eq3so]

i think the only reason im ok with callahan's being portrayed as good at first is because it makes sense that tadashi would want to go back and help this teacher that he thinks so highly of and it makes the hurt that hero feels even stronger because he know how much respect tadashi had for him however i do want villains to be bad people again too lol

[@harriyanna]

yea i have so many mixed feelings about that man.....like i understand how tadashi admired him but i can't help but think how much it would have affected the story if he didn't pretend to be good for so long.

[@K.Voyence]

Literally the only Middle Eastern character I can think of from the 2000's was Wadi from The Secret Saturdays, and I swear she was only ever in a handful of episodes. Great show, btw from what I remember. But yeah. Nah. Literally the ONLY one I can think of and she only popped into my head at the 20 minute mark.

[@spin08]

Been waiting for this one Edit: 9:58 That second person seems familiar. Seriously though, it's cool that you were able to put our thoughts and opinions into one video. Thank you for the opportunity and feedback too!

[@deandredukes95]

Looking back on these shows now makes you rethink your perspective on them

[@shamontewebster2007]

You talked about 90s and 2000s black sitcoms (mostly from UPN) a little bit, could you make a whole video reviewing these shows? Heck, my other classic black sitcoms like The Jeffersons and Good Times.

[@harriyanna]

id love to

[@TheAmityElf]

I'm realizing more and more that I did not watch most of the popular cartoons from when I was a child, but I am excited to hear about them anyway. This'll be fun.

[@harriyanna]

💙💙💙

[@WhitneyDahlin]

Something about certain types of animation genuinely grosses me out. It's not even like an uncanny valley feeling most of the time. It's a gross feeling. As a kid I remember not being able to watch shows like hey arnold, rugrats, as told by ginger, and quite a few others. It seems like animation went through an intentionally ugly phase for awhile and I am genuinely physically disgusted by it. Even now as an adult I get the same feeling from The Simpsons and some anime. I definitely know I can't be the only one who feels like this like if anyone else gets this feeling while watching shows like that let me know! I've never really heard anyone mention anything besides The uncanny valley feeling for animation. But I wonder if some people are just more sensitive to animation in general. Because I do get The uncanny valley feeling really strongly from animation. Like the Polar Express genuinely gave me nightmares for a long time after I first saw that in the early 2000s. Even now as an adult every once in awhile I'll still have a nightmare that I'm trapped in that giant empty toy factory factory and there's a bunch of dangerous machinery around and I feel like there's something just out of sight watching me and I'm trying to find the way out of that maze. 😨 Give me the shivers just thinking about it.

[@lakaperse6995]

What you mean , you like beautiful and/or realistic animation ?

[@WhitneyDahlin]

​@@lakaperse6995 idk! I cant really control what grosses me out and what doesn't but I can watch anything that isn't intentionally ugly or gross. It doesn't necessarily have to be beautiful or realistic. Just not that specific gross kind of style 😂 because I like some older anime too and that isn't the highest quality most of the time. But it isn't intentionally gross to look at so it doesn't bother me.

[@lakaperse6995]

@@WhitneyDahlin ok

[@tyjordanflophour]

When I was depressed right after high school, I watched almost all of Ralph Bakshi's films. Shock value was the major selling point, really. Very sporadic and not much to write home about if something being "controversial" or "insensitive" doesn't mean much to you. I think they played a role in reintroducing animation as something that /can/ be for an exclusively adult audience. People weren't putting in all that effort with Looney Tunes and Superman for an audience that didn't really have money (at that time). I think a lot of plots and physical appearances didn't do a whole lot of good in some cases, given what often comes off as nostalgic regarding the time period. How much of the romance was good? Much of the same standards (what's funny, what attractive characters look & dress like, who's considered ugly) were recycled across media. Steven Universe surely wasn't the start of truly progressive series; it made (giant) steps for sure, but there's definitely problems it carries on from what was common in the 2000s

[@tvgamerstan6180]

Tarzan was my gay awakening. That man is fine 😅. Speaking of Tarzan, the spin-off tv series The Legend of Tarzan is underrated.

[@Quinn91202]

I had a Tarzan hard lunchbox as a kid bc I adored the animated series

[@tvgamerstan6180]

@@Quinn91202 I used to have McDonalds toys of him. It's sad that Disney doesn't really do anything with the franchise anymore.

[@CYB3R_MOON]

Tarzan was cool, and so was Disney Fairies.

[@questioningespecialy9107]

35:17 ...been years since i've seen Big Hero 6, but i recall the villain bein' moreso a person who, when able to do so, shifted from movin' forward (and i guess hidin' his emotional pain and bitterness regarding _the thing_ ) to gettin' dat sweet revenge and it understandable tbh if not for collateral damage of course

[@em-rv8rh]

we are so back

[@harriyanna]

hiiii!!! i missed yall

[@codysluvvrrrr]

VID ATE

[@tcwentertainment]

I feel like the callhan not seeming like a villian at first is very suitable for his situation, i think surrounding films have just made it seem tired but its own application of it was fine in my opinion

[@imthebossmermaid3648]

In addition to fatphobia and body-shaming, I'd also like to point out the many, MANY instances of curly hair and Afro-textured hair being portrayed as a joke, as something ugly or "frizzy" that people hated or wanted to get rid of. This happens in both manga/anime AND western animation. The biggest example I can think of is in Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, when the characters were cursed and they made Daphne's curse being fat and having curly hair when normally she is think and has straight/wavy hair, as if being fat with curly hair makes you ugly. And also Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, when Barbie and the others are at the beach, we see Barbie step out of the sea and shake her hair and it is perfect and straight. When Raquelle does the same thing(bc yk she is always trying to copy Barbie), she gets an Afro instead which is clearly meant to be seen as ugly and goofy. And then Ken gives her points(because this was a competition, ofc) for the "wacky hairdo". But the worst example yet is one that hopefully everyone is familiar with: the infamous Winx Club scene where the characters are gushing over Stella's straight blonde hair, and then it cuts to a Black fairy crying because her normally straight hair is now in an Afro because of a curse. Everyone reacts with disgust over her hair and when Bloom touches it, it makes a weird springy/jell-o sound and she runs away crying while some fairies mock her. That was awful. I can only imagine that every Black girl who watched that scene felt AWFUL about herself afterwards. Also glasses being taken off to reveal that a girl is beautiful. Yuck.

[@jeannabeckman7424]

I can't believe I refound you I lost my old KZbin account and when I made a new one I couldn't find you at all I thought you might of deleted it welp turns out I was spelling your channels name wrong and now I feel dumb 😅 but I'm sooooo happy I found you I love your commentary on shows I used to watch! Edit: no Bec tell me why I know I was spelling your name wrong Bec I thought it was a Pokemons name that I am not gonna butcher rn 🤣🤣🤣

[@Bird-wz7nx]

Honestly, Mysteries Incorporated shocked me, when I watched it recently. Its a good show and all, and it seems like ~2015ish is where the industry finally could acknowledge that gay exists, so I expected that it wouldn't handle Velma well, but its Asian representation is pretty bad. It conflates a lot of Chinese and Japanese stereotypes and that's pretty basic stuff I thought America had mostly figured out by the mid/late 2000s. [Insert the KotH "Are you Chinese or are you Japanese" meme here] As great as the show was, it was definitely of the 2000s more than the 2010s in spirit, and really puts into perspective how its contemporaries like Gravity Falls and Friendship is Magic were helping Western cartoons start a new era that had less (or some could argue different but less problematic) baggage. But its a really interesting case study because it wears half of its problematic content on its sleeve, and not even as a parody- Shaggy and Velma's failed relationship is basically 2000s teen romance drama straight up, and honestly more in line with a live action show... except also with a talking dog involved. I guess its just extremely WB coded?

[@tcwentertainment]

I think cartoons have been pretty progressive for a while conceptually , none of them are perfect mind you but medium has ever been perfect. I cant call any show perfect or progressive , i dont really think SOME of these shows should be broken down for social reasons (i don't think alot of these shows are supposed/meant to be mediums to explore social content but that doesnt mean they dont offer something to be dug into). Like total drama is the best and easiest example , yout analysis on her isnt wrong but it almost feels misplaced. Dod she engage in stereotypical behaviors? Certinaly sometimes but shes also inna show which is a narrative of sorts of trash reality television so while i definitely see the not aging well I am just aware of how she fits that medium? , past that she shows alot of general interactions of which i feel vindicate her past just being a stereotypical black but that could just be me overthinking scenes I think the proud family is honestly really good in the original, while certainly holding some toxicity its.....somewhat realistic. Like they anunch of middle schoolers with different homelifes so different blind sports of ignorance so it offers alot of insight and nuance and unfortunately knowledge is power but power and insight isn't inherently pretty. Besides that WHILE i certainly understand the typecasting of darker skinned toned villians and such some of these characters dont feel like or seem appilied to just be a stereotype and each dark skinned villian or character is just lumped the same spot. But to be more on topic it really just matters what you are counting as progressive , i think you've elborated but never outright bad a full blown discussion about how alot of shows bounce around with social commentary but never focus on one issue which leaves too many half eaten things on one plate never just a full commentary on one concept so nothings ever fully fleshed out. I think thats all the thoughts i have rn so 2000s are progressive but relevant to the point in time they exist in.

[@CYB3R_MOON]

I was born in 2003 and i like those crappy toy tie in shows like Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony G3, Winx Club, Hello Kitty, etc. they scratch my brain in all the right places. But i also love shit like Invader Zim and classic SpongeBob. Speaking of Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Blossom was the first black female character i remember that wasn't a ratchet bitchy stereotype. Holly Hobbie and Friends was also ridiculously underrated, and definitely aired on the wrong network

[@annahedlund3687]

Progressive, for their time yes. But thinking of what time it was... em the time wasnt great so campared to today its kinda trash fr

[@Bird-wz7nx]

And then you have the abstract metaphor shows which either prove to be timeless or absolute garbage fires. Dinosaur, the peculiar puppet sitcom could go to some strange places with its messaging, but when it was onto something, it was cooking. And the fucking ending, sheesh. Its older but its a trip

[@imthebossmermaid3648]

@@Bird-wz7nx What was the ending? 🤨

[@questioningespecialy9107]

the best part of seein' progress in animation is anti-wokes complainin'bout it 🎵 _That's life!_

[@breisyaispuro2410]

19:51 I believe Jodie and Mac from Daria had a good relationship

[@DDarkestKnight]

Harriyanna said they were in her other video but they're one of the few. You can count in one hand the number of good black love in animation that aren't parents. Most fall along the lines of bad for each other and a little messy but they'll get it together, for example Dijonay and Chance the Rapper and Penny and Kareem on Louder and Prouder. Chance's character steals from Dijonay, tries to cheat to win a debate against her, insults her siblings (which earned him a beatdown) and she forgives him after a *text apology* . He's got serious red flags. Kareem is basically perfect, the nicest character in the franchise and Penny is 3 dimensional, so she's kind of messy and they've clashed a few times. But they're good enough to meet in the middle on things.

[@athenagomes2318]

You get that one episode that handles a controversial topic or ya know- not about white people? And there is a 50/50 chance it's good 😅

[@yourfavoriteoompaloompa139]

What app do you use to draw?

[@harriyanna]

clip studio paint!

[@rafaelnavarro6425]

Thoughts on X-Men evolution

[@DDarkestKnight]

THE GOAT! THE *GOOOOAAAT* !

[@yourfavoriteoompaloompa139]

She doesn’t take video recommendations

[@czms922]

You know what did everything you said should've been represented. Avatar, they discussed racism through bending and non benders

[@czms922]

Which is why I don't think we should be focused on the race of people who play and are in the series since they handled that way better with bending then race

[@thegeckojo5803]

Hewwo!

[@i.f.5566]

M-Mistew Obama?

[@thegeckojo5803]

@@i.f.5566 yea

[@harriyanna]

hiiiiiii!

[@rosebudding235]

You should change the title to something like 2000's cartoons are politically incorrect because that's mostly what you talk about and most of the examples you showed are cartoons. Animation made progress a lot in the 2000's ESPECIALLY 3D animation with cgi technology becomming more advanced and accessible than ever. This was when the medium started to become mostly digital as well. Also what's with the Fritz the Cat slander man ??

[@videobirdshow]

I AM SO SICK OF THESE COMMENTS BEING DELETED! SOMEONE ASKED FOR REPRESENTATION OF WHITE PEOPLE IN 2000s AND I LISTED THEM, BUT IT KEEPS GETTING DELETED! 🤬😡

[@supernova78_]

You know what youre doing, thats why ur comments get deleted. Dont be dense dude.

[@videobirdshow]

@@supernova78_ are you the person who keeps deleting them? 🤨

[@videobirdshow]

@@supernova78_ also, No I don’t, what am I doing?

[@videobirdshow]

@@supernova78_ I DONT KNOW, WHAT AM I DOING? TELL ME! NOW

[@r1pples]

@@videobirdshowi’m sure you do. there were so many cartoons marketed towards white kids in the 2000s featuring characters that looked like them. we really don’t need recommendations, there are too many.