How Kids' Cartoons "Accidentally" Brainwashed Generations...

[@chuckliddell6492]

don't worry Luke, kids nowadays don't watch cartoons. they watch Spiderman breeding Elsa on KZbin kids.

[@connor3284]

Peppa Pig and Hulk sing Finger Family

[@Assault_Butter_Knife]

Wholesome 100

[@bag2963]

And KZbin shorts and TIktok and such bs all that is bloody brainwashing, wake up the parents.

[@volusian95]

I don't even wanna know what horrific effects sweatshop cartoons are going to create in the current gen of little kids.

[@BackwardSabotage]

Outstanding character development

[@degayify]

Fred Flintstone and his consequences have been a disaster for the human race

[@Meleeman011]

god I love u degayify

[@djokerbrfan]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@sterrshow5016]

Topkek

[@based_prophet]

Welma!!!

[@basedyeezy]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@remixisthis]

Luke’s basically saying he’s a Shonen anime maximalist

[@jonathanrealman8415]

I remember Luke showing his F tier anime collection on some stream in the old house.

[@Assault_Butter_Knife]

@@jonathanrealman8415 wait wait, I have to know more now. He's the last person I would have expected to have an anime collection

[@jonathanrealman8415]

@@Assault_Butter_Knife he used to live with a roommate/housemate and showed off how he lived and then showed his drive that he had "stuff to watch on" and I remember vividly seeing anime.

[@victorkreig6089]

Animu is for speds and women

[@Posixbit]

@@jonathanrealman8415 Yes. I remember Hunter x Hunter was listed on the tier list.

[@TownspersonB]

1:48 woah, that biome change was insane! It's just like Minecraft!

[@ultrajorge]

WAOW!

[@nitendler]

cool brown bricks

[@rottweiler3619]

This but unironically

[@connor3284]

@@rottweiler3619 Looks like a pine plantation. They probably harvest those trees for wood and then replant (ideally they will replant, though perhaps they just leave the dead space to rot, which may be what happened to the open field Luke initially walked through) which is why it's so orderly and stark.

[@Hopeofmen]

WOAOWWEWOWOW!!!!!😱😱😱

[@timsomers8820]

When I was young, Avatar: The Last Airbender was always my favorite show. Looking back now, it's probably because of the serial nature of the show. Actual consequences to actual events happen in the show, which properly orients children to understanding cause and effect.

[@maricampari3970]

Loved that show, I also came here to comment the same points.

[@belstar1128]

Yea i was thinking about that show too. a huge leap forward compared to all the 90s cartoons i watched before.

[@Bababoey3333]

I think ATLA struck the perfect balance between episodic and serialized. Lots of self contained arcs and stories while having a main plot.

[@Primatenate88]

Same with OG teen titans and Jackie Chan adventures

[@JellyWraith]

@@Primatenate88 Oh yeah. Teen Titans was awesome. Watched a lot of Jackie Chan Adventures, too. Then there was the anime rabbit-hole with Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball, One Piece, etc. A lot of Western media just couldn't compare back then. Worlds that can't grow or change just feel kinda stagnant. There's a place for it, but it's not what inspires me.

[@SantaClaauz]

Luke Smith is a serialized channel. If you haven’t seen the Vim arc you won’t understand the Come-to-Jesus plotline.

[@JL-XrtaMayoNoCheese]

Eastern Orthodoxy alone.

[@lorefox201]

extra ecclesia nulla salus

[@zakhoskins6404]

Further proving that certain arcs are better than others in most serialized content.

[@house_of_culture_veselka]

hahahahahahahaahahaha

[@airknytt]

LMAO 😭

[@sprucescentedschizoid]

I try to love everybody, but I struggle the most with people who watch 3 hour video essays on cartoon lore

[@Th3BigBoy]

That struggle is real.

[@roripantsu]

someone made a 12 hour vid of a single video game character its that bad

[@b_delta9725]

its interesting when it talks about history, like that video about the disney channel theme song that's like an hour and a half, but full of content and really funny. When it's some mauler type of shitty review I skip, it worries me that people watch those videos.

[@b_delta9725]

@Beh Jotat there are two reviews, he has another one one with the same topic and 5 and a half hours. i started watching one because i thought it was gonna talk about the actors and the weird shit on the show that was a reflection of his (pedo) creator, going full in-depth, but nah its just him talking about ships

[@adamsmith1813]

I don't get it. I pretty much stopped watching cartoons when I was 9, but somehow there are adults interested in them. Lmao

[@mrseal662]

The genius of Phineas and Ferb (one of the only kid's shows I was allowed to watch growing up) was that it was fully aware of the limitations of an episodic format. The creators would intentionally push the envelope as far as they could in order to provide comedic commentary on the situation. Almost every single episode, the boys' inventions would 'magically' disappear at just the right moment, completely defying the odds in the face of logic. You always knew how the episode was going to end, but the real fun was in seeing how they were going to escape getting busted.

[@noahmcgehee1244]

There were of course some glaring exceptions: Samurai Jack, Transformers, Dragon Ball Z, among others. I think the bigger problem was that so many kids were 'babysat' by the TV instead of parented by their actual parents.

[@PinkManGuy]

"Babysat by the TV" is pretty spot on, but I wish people would stop maligning parents for this. It was their only choice, a lot of people in the lower socioeconomic rungs have limited options and even less assistance. They live in dangerous parts of town and can't afford childcare, let alone extracurricular activities. For a lot of us kids, we spent out childhoods indoors in front of the TV while our parents were gone all day working. The single parent families had it even worse. Our summer and Christmas vacations consisted of Television and if we were lucky, video games. Anecdotal, but I remember nearly bringing my father to tears when I asked if I could participate in a sport, Hockey specifically. Those programs require hundreds of dollars in equipment. Then, hundreds of dollars for fees. Another hundred fifty per hockey trip. All the time needed off of work to drive me. Looking back, I realize that we couldn't afford it, even if his income doubled. Tripled. Hobby after interest after talent squandered because we couldn't afford it. After a while I stopped asking for things because it was really hard on me, knowing the answer and trying anyway. It wasn't his fault, and as much as it pains me, I'm sure it absolutely kills him inside to this day that he had to let the TV raise me while he was out for 12-15 hours a day. I'm sorry for the rant and I'm sure you're nothing like what I describe. I just hate it when people give him or other parents in similar socioeconomic situations shit for not being Doctor Manhattan and just manifesting the perfect life from NOTHING. Many parents "letting" the TV raise their kids hate themselves for it.

[@JoeRoganVOD]

Samurai jack was about the only real tv kid tv show I watched (thst wasn't anime)

[@deaththekid3998]

@@PinkManGuy thank you for your testimony. I was also babysat by tv, except for the fact that my parents could afford hobbies and even tried to get me interested in some, but I was a lazy fuck as a kid, also very socially inept, so I would rather stay inside and watch tv lol 😂 thank god I started developing some intelligence in high school

[@tjdmt297]

There’s a reason shows like that aren’t made anymore

[@s.b.3275]

I don't know about the city kids, but I'm 89 birth, country kid and I got kicked out of the house more often then not 😂, you can basically say I was raised by the outdoors😊

[@jamesduston9292]

This reminds me of a guy in my grade whose parents would not sign off on him watching the movie “Forest Gump” in class. Their rational was that the movie was incredibly dangerous; Gump, as the central gag, was a mere passenger in life. Thing just happened to him. He had no control over events and instead of acting upon the world, the world acted upon him. I think about this more often as I found myself despising all movies. It seems that every new movie has taken this gag-outlook on life while sale and seriously.

[@jamesduston9292]

I think social media feeds have this affect on people too. People are more passive. They wait and expect with the passage of time that things will happen to them and life will progress like new content popping in their feed. furthermore, and obviously social media makes people very passive and iI often children with who given the Internet sitting on the sidelines, watching events rather than partaking in them, because the have been trained to be consumers

[@poika22]

I don't know if it's growing up in general, or just this counterculture rabbit hole each of us find ourselves in, but the older I get the more I understand pretty much every "someone's parent objecting to X" memory I have from childhood, which of course back then were the subject of mockery. Sad thing is, I'm pretty sure most of the kids (now adults) still see those events like they did when we were 8.

[@johncasey9544]

I have no clue what movies you're referring to.

[@johncasey9544]

@@poika22 These parents were usually objecting for ridiculous reasons, like the ones named in the above comment.

[@sjuvanet]

Forrest Gump is an amazing movie. The whole point is... Ugh whatever. This comment is absurd

[@trailblazingfive]

Makes me appreciate my Montana cabin upbringing even more. No TV, no cable, no episodic brainwashing - just tinkering. Stay frosty runescape character!

[@martiniversen4898]

Based

[@productconsoomer6645]

Basedpilled

[@Daniel-ph7or]

based and ruralpilled

[@simonexsala]

Based and Kaczynskipilled

[@OldManNutcakez]

BOOOOORING!

[@fsmoura]

_". . . and so, in episodic media there is no character advancement, nothing changes, and the viewer is thus mimetically induced into this state of existential stasis."_ Can confirm. In this show I watch, a Runescape character keeps walking through the woods, ranting about the internet. That's the schtick. But he never gets out of the woods, reaches town, or anything else. Next show, he's back walking in the woods, ranting. It's weirdly comforting. ( o.o)

[@starving_autist]

He's talking about shit like SpongeBob, not hypnosis-level nonsense like that dude

[@nikolaykopernik9124]

​​@@starving_autist my brother in Christ, you missed the joke in his comment entirely.

[@KToll5784]

@@starving_autistwow, most jokes go over your head, don’t they?

[@starving_autist]

@@fsmoura Yeah I missed that one, I'll grant you that my fellow Americans

[@acedia_14]

LOL underrated comment

[@churblefurbles]

Its especially bad in women's shows as they are about relationships. In Gilmore Girls the single mother continuously ruins relationships for the sake of having another season.

[@honkhonk8009]

Unrelated but bro I like that wording. "Womens shows". I hate the fact people think were androgynous and that we should act like women, or that women should act like men.

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

@@honkhonk8009 Not every women like relationships, or boring, vapid, or trashy shows.

[@slynt_]

@@user-gu9yq5sj7c Yeah they all do

[@fatcat500]

Characters that "don't make any progress" like the ones in Ed, Edd, & Eddy are also ones that typically are rascals who are taught a lesson by the end of the episode. E.g. they win the lottery but are greedy and thus lose the money the made. It can teach kids lessons in morals and moral character, depending on the show. The fact that the characters don't age doesn't matter because the children watching the show are the ones aging -- i.e. they will grow out of watching the show once they become a tween/teenager. What 15 year old in HS still watches Dexter's Laboratory? At that point they move on to more adult shows.

[@krunkle5136]

It's less realistic however which could warp things. Take something more serialized like a shounen anime and the characters reflect on past lessons with flashbacks etc.

[@turtleboy1188]

You have destroyed the whole argument

[@Deadbeatcow]

it's like a Dr. Seuss vs a novel series

[@xXx_Regulus_xXx]

@@krunkle5136 I don't think realism automatically improves a story.

[@istivanp8747]

I know many genZ/Millenials who still watch those shows into their late teens and 20's. I think nowadays watching cartoons is much more of a pervasive thing and it's easy to seclude into cliques which don't view it as something someone 'grows out of', and it's probably gonna be more the case for upcoming generations. This is just my observation, take it as you will.

[@2357y1113]

Even though you did preface your idea with "this is just one factor of the phenomenon", I still think you're reaching a bit here. I think the biggest reason why -most people have stagnation in their lives is because a) it's easier to just stay in your own comfort zone and b) life in our society is so easy now that developing new skills is not really necessary. The simplest and most boring answer is often the right one. Even if the episodic nature of the aforementioned shows had an effect on people's perception of time, I don't see how that effect could be significant. But I still like your videos, they always give me some food for thought. Greetings from Germany.

[@Skitskl33]

I agree. Societal progress that makes life easier is infantilizing us, not watching episodic entertainment. We're in the stage of "good times create weak men" and entering the "weak men create hard times."

[@user-cs7fg5eq9r]

I think an additional point is that kids already inherently want to see the same thing over and over again, hence why they might ask for the same story every night which is, by this metric at least, worse then episodic shows since it's literally the same thing over and over again. I would imagine it has something to do with the desire for consistency and stability at a young age.

[@abujessica]

"we're changing biomes here" very minecrafty from you

[@Unc3]

All of this is based on the assumption that a child does nothing but watch cartoons from 8 to 18.

[@MustardAndFries]

@vectorhooves7970 I mean at its core the video is just a dude walking around in the woods for 8 minutes ranting about stuff. Doesn’t have to be Socrates stuff.

[@AllenIverson-to5uy]

Watching cartoons everyday still applies.

[@Knotmanstartros]

You really overthought this one. Producers want to maximize profits and not to lose an established audience. I remember that when Seth MacFarlane took the risk to kill Brian in Family Guy, the audience reaction was so strong, that they brought him back to show. While things are certainly better with eastern media (in these regards), most popular Anime/Manga still shares some parallel problems, as major changes in the plot come very sparingly or/and things change only nominally. That's why "bad" franchise tie-ins are still so profitable, as most people prefer to watch the "same" movie wearing a different skin, rather than a new/different (and perhaps even a better) one.

[@one_step_sideways]

>Producers want to maximize profits by making tons of cartoons you'll want to come back to over and over again Projewsers want to brainwash children, got it

[@MetallicDETHmaiden]

I watched these shows growing up because they were funny but as a kid the lack of payoff always bothered me, I couldn't express why it made me so mad at the time but later I realized it was because of what you discussed.

[@HighWideandHandsome]

I watched old '60s sitcoms growing up (on DVD; I'm not a boomer). Gilligan's Island is a good example of this. Every other episode is the castaways almost getting off the island until Gilligan goofs it up somehow. I was always frustrated at that, but if they get off the island, that's the end of the show.

[@poika22]

I watched The Simpsons religiously as a kid (90s, so the good years) and it always made me angry when they didn't do something they should've known to do based on a previous episode. It felt like I kept better track of the story than the writers (I probably did).

[@belstar1128]

Yea same here in the 90s most kids shows where like that. but in the 2000s you got some kids shows with an actual story like avatar. i thought that was a massive step forwards.

[@nevanj.medina358]

I was super into Spongebob as a kid but by around age 7 or 8 I felt bored of it and quit watching for a while. About a year later I came back and I found the episodes I enjoyed most were the newer ones which didn't recycle some overused plot device (i.e. Plankton attempts stealing the secret formula)

[@femboydoja3760]

Yeah I like some shows with stories, not slice of life yk? Like wash repeat rinse, I like it to build up to something. Idk just my thoughts

[@OnlyThroughConflictDoWeEvolve]

Incredible. I remember being a young kid probably middle school age thinking this. Getting up, Going to school, coming home, watching random cartoons that for all its wacky randomness seldom was funny enough to chuckle at. I also remember watching Avatar the last air bender cartoon when it aired on tv and being filled with a deep sense of inspiration. The difference being the serial and episodic type of show.

[@pushmongovi5179]

Man is so good at Minecraft he can change biomes in real life

[@clintonleonard5187]

Appreciate the heads-up on the biome change. That's why I'm subscribed.

[@chris7701]

Commercials for children are criminal

[@friendlylaser]

Wow, this take is too hot to take. I never liked episodic shows as a kid. I really don't get why people love them so much. Yet, I disagree on what exactly effect they have on people. Idea that permanence in cartoons is the cause if kidults is waaaaay too overstretched. It's like the genius insights you have when you are stoned.

[@DeathSquared7]

There were far too many popular serial shows for this to be accurate

[@nobodyinparticular8219]

The problem wasn't the episodic TV shows, it was the parents who let their kids watch 5 hours of TV per day instead of spending time with them.

[@moister3727]

I think there is a problem if you let you kid watch shows 5 hours straight

[@nobodyinparticular8219]

@@moister3727 Look up how much time the average person in the West spends watching TV. 5 hours is actually not out of the ordinary at all. Nowadays TV consumption is declining, but that's just because people have shifted to netflix, social media and video games.

[@Diashi1267]

I think the allure of episodic television is the comfort given by its predictability. Like you said, even if the exact events differ, the overall structure of every episode is the same and nothing actually changes. Soap operas are a good example of this. Watching an episodic TV show reminds me of a repetitive behavior someone who suffers from OCD might engage in to assuage their feelings of anxiety. So people might enjoy watching episodic television because it helps them feel less anxious. Just a theory

[@AntiCheap]

KZbin shorts and TikToks are basically episodic shows on steroids.

[@williamcase426]

I mean, anime on Toonami was also popular around the same time which was mostly serials. E.g. DBZ and Gundam: what happened always had some consequence in the following episode, the characters were always improving, and the situation was always changing.

[@salpertia]

do you think andrew tate watched dragon ball z and hence why he thought he was invincible?

[@dovydas4483]

@@salpertia xD

[@EdgyPuer]

@@salpertia Shame he can't go super saiyan. Not having hair and all.

[@acrez3260]

Honestly anime taught me a lot of stuff such as I could become a stronger person if I worked on myself both mentally and physically. It definitely gets too bad of a rep in these spaces imo. I’ve definitely noticed a lot of gym people into anime as well, some good lessons to be learned

[@dovydas4483]

@@acrez3260 weeboo

[@PastorJohnnie]

I stumbled on this channel and it has been a rare gem.

[@HollyTroll]

it is indeed

[@MrAnsatsuken]

He's an interesting thinker to say the least

[@ArniesTech]

You found a great Channel, Pastor 🙏

[@user-pl6hc4kj1o]

I'm gay.

[@balala7567]

Came here due to linux, btw

[@HollyTroll]

interesting idea, havent thought about this before. looking back at my own life (also being a cartoon addicted kid) this makes alot of sense

[@xXx_Regulus_xXx]

probably did play a role, that and the purgatory that is american public school

[@labadaba5088]

Huh, at least I watched the PBS shows before they went woke, early 2000s, so I learned about dinosaurs and animals (Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts)

[@lee-fc5bu]

Makes no sense. By this logic watching shonen anime as a kid would make you successful.

[@tab8803]

That final "Stop enjoying things because people told you so" As long as the thing is harmless (Doesn't impede in your day to day or hurt people) and you enjoy it I really don't see the harm in playing games or whatever. btw what's your max bench, squat, and deadlift?

[@orbitaldropshock77]

Phineas and Ferb is an episodic series where the brothers never age, never go back to school, and never recieve consequences for recklessness. I remember the grief and sadness when the show finally decided to allow Candice to show their mom what they were making. Phinease and ferb were sent away crying to a bootcamp type of school, dull and colorless compared to the rest of the show. Many people will even say the imagery caused them to have fear or trauma over the episode. This goes to show that these shows do have an emotional impact to children.

[@thesecondhat4717]

I actually remember having similar thoughts, even as a kid. Although not nearly as fleshed out. In particular I remember turning into a teen and thinking about how KND stayed the same. Weird being categorized into the enemy age of the show. Bit of a disconnect, really. Probably also why people flocked to AtLA, since it was a western show (although heavily influenced by anime) that actually progressed its story. I mean, how many times can you see Johnny Bravo get rejected by a girl before it gets stale to the psyche?

[@TheGreenKnight500]

I remember being a little bit frustrated with episodic shows as a kid. I especially disliked stuff like Scooby-Doo where every single episode had the exact same plot with a slightly different coat of paint. I think I lot of people got sick of shows like that and it's why serialized stories have become far more popular. Technology is a big part of it too. Streaming services have also made it easier for people to keep track of serialized shows, so there's not the same worry about missing episodes.

[@pebble5478]

I feel like KND kinda tried fixed the whole “all teens are the enemy” when it was revealed that some teens become secret agents who continue to work for the KND after they turn 13. I’d have to rewatch the show at some point because there is lore that’s slowly revealed throughout the show that I just don’t remember.

[@Esnnete]

A consequence that i've noticed by living with people who think in an episodic fashion: Not only does personal progress not exist, but personal thoughts must also not. For instance, there's no difference if i speak with them today, yesterday or tomorrow, the subjects will always remain the same: This is the most recent media i consumed, this is the latest thing in politics, "have you seen what [INSERT CELEBRITY HERE] has done?", etc. I wonder if that's why politics has such a wide reach these days, there's no thought needed to seek it out (it's thrown at your face through tv, social media, people talking, put that against reading a philosophy book) and it's easy to form an opinion about, as brain dead as it might be ("i am against war", says the westerner whose country has pillaged half the globe). My apologies for any mistakes as english is not my first language.

[@Gradebmilk]

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the idea you mentioned of personal thoughts not existing in people who live in an "episodic fashion". Probably because recently I've been putting in a big effort to stop/limit the media and entertainment I consume. I'll probably get made fun of or called an NPC in the comments, but to be honest, it really is a hard question to ask yourself "Okay, what DO I actually think about during the day when I'm not being distracted?" or "Why do I even think the way I do?" I don't think that small talk is always necessarily bad and I suppose it has its place, but sometimes it makes it hard to talk to people when you realize that most conversations are "Hey did you see this thing or that thing?"

[@poika22]

So you complain people's lack of personal progress, but then you try to make fun of them for being against war when their grandparents used to support war? Or their great-great-great-grandparents if we're talking of "pillaging the globe".

[@PinkManGuy]

@@poika22 Look man, I respect the troops as much as the next North American, and I'm not gonna throw insults or accusations around, but come on. The American Oil&Gas Industry and the Military Industrial Complex made hand over fist from the "War on Terror" at the expense of Afghanistan and Iraq. We didn't even see any of that money anyway, why are we the people so eager to deny it?

[@lurksnitchtongue8986]

Ah yes because I agree with everything my government does and am totally incapable of ever criticizing their actions or habits.

[@marktaro]

And like watching reruns, they will repeat some of the same conversations week after week. Watching it unfold first hand is worrying.

[@Rytheking2]

A great example of how pervasive this is can be found in the communities where people can only seem to make analogies to media they enjoy. The classic “don’t you see that you’re like (bad guy faction in media) and I’m like (good guy faction in media)” whether that’s lefties who think they’re #resistance or right wingers who see themselves as various LOTR characters. It’s fun to meme about some of these things and make comparisons but I’ve met people who can only understand life through media analogies not realizing that media, even books or radio series, are idealized versions of whatever they want to represent.

[@MS-il3ht]

Hyperreality

[@connor3284]

Uh, I'm basically like 12th Century knight William Marshal.

[@zac2384]

I'm Walter White fr

[@your-mom-irl]

That's somehow related but not the same thing. LOTR and star wars have some sort of plot resolution

[@BillWilsonBG]

I was at the gunstore and saw someone with a Starwars resist sticker and a ukr*inian flag bumper sticker, I physically cringed.

[@aerialdude]

This is why I liked Dragon Ball. Master Roshi trained those kids, and you could see how their hard work made them better over time.

[@CarWavExe]

was thinking of dragon ball the whole time as a good example of the complete opposite and what to strive for

[@braiinworms]

So if I have a kid and let him watch cartoons, they may be indolent and never advance or see themselves as able to advance as an adult… but if I let him watch series like LOTR and Star Wars, he’ll end up with a funko pop shelf in his overpriced apartment 😩

[@marusdod3685]

dont let him enjoy any shows or he'll become reddit

[@braiinworms]

@D.R SpongeBob?? Here kid, read some Nietzsche and Camus instead!! Then come up with some based takes, IDIOT

[@TheGrmany69]

Collections are much more mature that just being detached from any sense of self.

[@GhostofTradition]

only let him watch Luke Smith videos

[@S.O.N.E]

Or you can show them your favorite books from when you were a kid

[@petermousses]

There is also a middle ground with this, serial shows that are generally episodic but have slow advancements that are referenced later on. The only example I can think of is Little House on the Prairie, and they don't make shows like that anymore. In this show for example, there is an "episodic" issue of one of the daughters needing glasses, and it is referenced in the next episode, and then sporadically after that, such as her putting on glasses for an exam. It also does a good job of being episodic while preserving progress by having minor characters go through changes, such as an episode where a US ranger is hunting a native, and by the end he has a change of heart and lets him off.

[@markusmath3421]

My mom used to watch that show as a child. She showed it to me as a kid and I really liked it, felt cozy at the time. When I watched it as an adult I was surprised by how brutal it became after the early seasons. I almost got tired of tragedy after tragedy towards the end.

[@jackofalltrades6129]

Sorry, I'm new to this channel so I don't know if this is a joke, but this is dumb. This isn't a cartoon thing, this is an entertainment thing. Live action sitcoms, comic books from way back when, that was always a thing. It never changed things any more than eating the same breakfast every day changes. Executives have status quos to ensure people have retention, afraid to take risks, because risk means potential loss of profit. There is no agenda because that implies that people a couple decades ago are trying to keep people forever kids. Adults who grew up in that way are like that because of bad parenting, a failing economy, and massive feelings of dread over the state of the world thanks to easier access to international events.

[@JonathanHeydh-vy4yw]

And capitalism

[@spicygumbo5002]

This entire arguement falls flat when you apply it to episodic shows like Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny shorts back in the 50's. How many Boomers are as emotionally stunted as Millenials and Zoomers?

[@fallencringelord7856]

Probably more lmao

[@10z20]

I really don't agree, if anything our society fetishizes progress for its own sake--think of how hegemonic our growth-oriented understanding of economics is, social progressivism, our emphasis on innovation (electric cars will save us, etc.). 90% of marketing is emphasizing more, more, more, more progress for you, more self-improvement, more money, a bigger house, better self image, etc. More than at any point in human history, we are forward-looking.

[@JonathanHeydh-vy4yw]

Mostly capitalism and consumerism

[@RapiBurrito]

Thanks for sharing Luke, as a middle aged man the idea of permanence is already starting to fade and it's sad but necessary. I wonder if the mental health 'epidemic' has something to do with this, at least partly. The impermanence of real world drives our desire for alternate realities (games, movies, series, drugs) that promise at least a sense of permanence and when they eventually disappoint us we fall into the throes of depression. Having injured my back pretty badly not too long ago my belief in permanence has been shattered, constant pain will do that to you. My hope is that the pain doesn't drive me completely nuts before it heals, here's hoping. Again, thanks for the video.

[@Nuhbuddys]

It may or may not be a factor on mental health... However, the "kids show industry" and the commercials shown between, have been, and still are, assessed and skewed towards making sales to younger people, with the help of psychological interactions. Mental health practitioners can not only work in the hopes of helping but also manipulating people to make sales. Who knows what long-term damage has been done?

[@TheMegaGamingWizard]

As they say time goes on...

[@minifridge8315]

Luke I don’t think kids expect life to work just like cartoons, kids are forced to advance from one thing to another at a faster pace than adults comprehend. A lot of my memories from being a kid involve moving on and learning things and leaving old things I used to do/enjoy behind. Including friends, ways I thought about things, cartoons I used to enjoy, and silly childish behaviors like playing with the shampoo suds in the shower. This notion that cartoons are harmful because of their episodic nature is ridiculous, especially since a lot of mainstream cartoons do involve characters LEARNING from their mistakes and also overarching plots. If there’s any kids that ACTUALLY acts like their favorite annoying cartoon character in such a way that they’re actually not growing as a child then the issue has to do with no parental control. These hot takes of yours just make you sound like an smartass 80’s kid Dad (a lot like my dad) that’s trying to preach to his kid what to enjoy (while telling what you what only stupid people enjoy) without actually thinking about the experience of being a child. So Luke, just be alone in the woods and keep nagging your principals at all these little kids begging for your advice. So over this channel.

[@moister3727]

Exactly. Even as a kid I knew episodic cartoons were simple and formulaic. But they were really entertaining. Always waiting to see the special resolution, but that's it. It's stupid to think this could ever affect kids mind somehow. Thing is, it has to be controlled by their parents too because obsession is another thing in a whole another level.

[@markusmath3421]

It seems like so many adults forget what it was like to see things as a kid. I'm 22 so it was still really recent for me, we're not THAT redarded as kids lol. Kids just need to be encouraged to be outside way more, shouldn't get smart devices until they're teens, everything should be kept in moderation. And the kid will be fine.

[@foolishknight5209]

I feel like you misunderstood his point, honestly. He's not saying that episodic shows make kids act LIKE the characters, he's saying it instills a mindset within them that lacks in development and is stagnant. It's a well-known thing in psychology that one's childhood will instill in people certain behaviors; of course, it's not something that's set in stone and is perfectly predictable, but stuff like suffering abuse in childhood tends to make people abusive, or makes it so that they're so used to abuse that they get uncomfortable in healthy relationships and thus sabotage them. The things you go through as a child shape how you are as an adult, and if a kid watches only episodic shows where nothing has any permanence, it conceivably could affect them in the way that Luke described. I don't think he's right on the dot, but I also don't think he's doing what you're saying he's doing, arrogantly declaring his beliefs to be fact from his high horse. Honestly, I feel like you just got upset at the notion that things like cartoons being written a particular way might have an effect on children, that's how your comment reads. As if it were inconceivable, and in fact out of line to even put forth as a possibility; that's how things are, though, the things that children go through immeasurably shape them as they age, even if they or their parents don't recognize it. That's just the nature of psychology. Maybe Luke is wrong on this particular issue, and shows being episodic doesn't affect a child's ideas of permanence, but it's certainly possible. Again, it's not that kids are consciously copying the episodic format of cartoons in their day to day, but it's that the media kids consume being so devoid of change because everything within an episode has to be undone subconsciously affects their outlook on life, that's the notion being put forth by Luke.

[@tonytrident8874]

I think all of you sound really ridiculous. Luke most of all just wants to sound and look smart and it comes of.as being condescending. I can't believe I managed to waste 10 minutes watching this video.

[@henryc7548]

@@moister3727pretty much everything a kid see effects their mind.

[@EugeneLorey]

Cartoons in the 20s and 30s were "episodic" as well. But the characters were given interesting problems and situations to react to and solve. Whereas Scooby Doo is basically the same plot over & over, it lulls you.

[@larswillems9886]

The best show I watched back then, and even when I was 18, is Avatar the last airbender. That show does have progression and a great story.

[@maricampari3970]

This. I came to the comments to mention this one too, this show blew my mind and I couldn't get enough.

[@mushroomcrepes]

great show, definitely my all time favorite as a kid

[@belstar1128]

Avatar came out when i was a teenager. when the first season came out i was still watching sponge bob and stuff like that. but by the end of it i considered myself too mature for that. but i still enjoyed avatar.

[@larswillems9886]

@@belstar1128 You can totally watch it as an adult aswell

[@TheSutanian]

Something important to acknowledge is that ATLA ran for around 3 years, which is kinda unbelievable to think about nowadays with people requesting for more versions of the same thing, with much more time. When you could probably get more value from reading a good fiction.

[@VH-ew7oq]

My parents were good parents. Always checking in to make sure i knew fantasy from reality. So i remember as a kid always thinking how schizo the shows were but just watching them looking for the jokes to make me laugh. Makes me feel all the worse for people growing up with absent parents.

[@tripletsborn]

Don't forget about the fast time frame in which the plot is resolved in a appealing manner. It was definitely reinforced by those around me, but I always have an urge to rush myself because that's what I think people expect. I'm sure that was influenced by this sort of media a little. I'll tell ya, it can be hard to promote growth in yourself when there's this looming feeling of needing to do it fast and perfectly.

[@edmundironside9435]

I think what is more common in these cartoons is that, instead of their achievements being annulled, the protagonist will find that their world undergoes some sort of crisis and they need to use their abilities to restore it to what it once was.

[@MyReMoX]

What you describe here is still programming people to keep the status quo. The character always reacts to outside forces.

[@edmundironside9435]

@@MyReMoX Yes, nonetheless, it requires the protagonist to take initiative and responsibility, showing the importance and value of human agency, which is much better than what Luke was suggesting and doesn't encourage passivity from the audience. Therefore, I think it was worth pointing out.

[@DylAlitY]

I love how he's somehow always a little more out in the middle of nowhere than last time

[@iamLI3]

i still feel the same enjoyment replaying the games i enjoyed 15 years ago....

[@HighWideandHandsome]

I think there's something to this. But I also think there's a lot that runs counter to this as well. The same generation (which includes myself) has watched dozens of movies, each of which also has a self-contained plot (at least the ones not written to have sequels from the outset), which is usually about personal growth or some personal achievement. Not to mention the "You can do anything!" programming we got in public schools.

[@dipanjanghosal1662]

There's no shame in wanting the same enjoyment over and over again. Episodic format gives us a sense of security, that everything we love, is still there. Of course its not irl, but that's why it we want it all the more.

[@toxiccan175]

Despite the repetitive serial nature of the classic cartoon series, Tom & Jerry does not breed false senses of permanence or of futility. The 103rd entry "Blue Cat Blues" (1956) starts with Tom seen sitting on train tracks, heavily depressed and waiting for an oncoming train to come and run him over, while Jerry laments at his friend's state and recalls how he ended up there. This reverse narrative portrays Tom's infatuation with a woman and how that very obsession led to his downfall. The moral is no different than Proverbs 6:25, and it teaches the audience that they must live their lives with prudence and propriety. This has had a profound positive impact on my outlook and views and has aided in my success as a young adult, as I avoided many of the pitfalls that others fell victim to. Tom & Jerry has not brainwashed me to believe in a false permanence or futility due to its repetitive serial nature. Now, if you were to ask me whether I have urges to chase mice or erect elaborate traps that include a falling anvil, that would be another matter.

[@hyberkonawa272]

7:35 "being better or not" IS NOT the issue. Being stuck with Peter pan in the NeverLand IS the real issue. This is why when I was 19 I quited watching TV not because the fake news OR very repeatable information but because is NOT real! People are not Real on TV and not even on social media. I still play videogames but I completely changed my lifestyle habit based on how I play videogames. I play less than before. Basically I studied Finance by reading a book "Rich dad and poor dad" and now I'm more interested to play videogames based on Finance as simulation to prepare me for reality instead of Fighting games, FPS and mmorpg. My whole perspective changes as I grow older plus I'm Dyslexic and I think very differently.

[@moviegique]

All TV (except soap operas and teleplays) were like this from the beginning of TV until about the '80s. Prior to that, radio shows were episodic. Comic strips and books? Episodic. Pulp fiction? Episodic. (Tarzan even lampshades it, about 15 books into the series, with a fountain of youth.) Why? Because you didn't want to limit your audience to people who had been with the story from the beginning. Prior to mass media, people would sit around the fire and tell the exact same stories and sing the exact same songs their entire lives. (And if you have children,, you know they love hearing the same bedtime stories over and over.) Brainwashing, accidental and otherwise, goes on but I don't think this style of storytelling is to blame.

[@nickpavia9021]

Video games are still fun if I feel that I have done enough productive work during the day/week/month to "earn" it. If I have a To-Do List, it is hard to enjoy the game because I am constantly thinking about my responsibilities and how I should be attending to those instead.

[@ArniesTech]

Yep, I work in law enforcement (Just office by now), own several real estate properties, a own business company, this channel AND I still give myself time to relax with a good dosage of Morrowind/Oblivion or Gothic 💪🙏

[@acrez3260]

Sounds like a miserable life

[@volusian95]

It's very hit or miss for me. Much of the time if I play something, my mind just starts to wander and I can't get into it. But every once in a while the planets align I can still get very immersed in a game. One thing I'd say is that my appreciation for games as an adult depends very heavily on aesthetics, I'm most likely to enjoy games that really feel like interactive artworks with lively worlds, etc.

[@nightingale3715]

You could spend your freetime on much more beneficial activities like reading. Video games are literally a waste of time. Very rarely do they have any benefit especially modern games

[@Mogura87]

@@nightingale3715 Video games are pieces of media just like any other media, just that they're interactive. There's absolutely no good reason in general to say that playing video games are more of a "waste of time" than consuming any other type of media. It's more a question of the quality of media (true of games as much as books) you consume and what you get out of it personally. You might think of a soulless ghoul grinding in an MMO for 20000 hours when you hear "video games", or maybe a zit-faced kid dropping n-bombs in cawadoody multiplayer, but that's just a small part of gaming culture on the whole.

[@wezzuh2482]

My parents never allowed us to have Cartoon Network or Disney Channel growing up. Obviously I disliked this a lot as a kid, and would enjoy watching that stuff when visiting my friends houses where they had more TV-Channels, but looking back in retrospect I am really thankful for my parents for seeing those channels for the brain-poison they really are.

[@connor3284]

Did they let you get mindkilled by Spongebob and Rugrats, though?

[@wezzuh2482]

The TV-Channels we did have rarely broadcast shows like rugrats and the like, though. It was the Danish state-owned channels and the TV they produced for children was a lot more wholesome, especially back then. It was less narrative-oriented and more about characters doing fun stuff like making a song, or building a woodhouse or something like that. Stuff that's encouraging towards children's creativity.

[@longiusaescius2537]

@Wezzuh Denmark. You have nice metros and cookies

[@belstar1128]

Yea same here. we got nick and that was already a lot worse than the cartoons i watched before i got it. i think Disney channel was the worst one.

[@Calzilla-yd8qg]

Unfortunately your parents didnt beat you the moment you picked up Stirner so theyre still failed at raising you properly

[@OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOq]

Those who never grew out of childish media, and those who did, both watched kid shows growing-up. Kids Media is not the underlying factor here. The mental development of a person corresponds to the health of their mind (which is individualistic). For example: It would be silly to say Chris-Chan became the way he is, due to watching cartoons, therefore cartoons shown to kids is the root of the problem. There are man children in the world, not because of what they watch, but because of their different mental development. It's a mental problem thing, It's that simple. You're like those who blame violent video games, to explain why violent people exist. You're rationalizing up the wrong tree.

[@yttriumbagel]

Luke "Episodic TV shows and their consequences have been a disaster for the human race" Smith

[@YouTubeTryingToBeTwiter31581]

I always prefer serialised cartoons be it western, eastern, or whatever origin. And there are also shows that blend the two where overarching plot is serialised but the show might as well be episodic by how much filler there is.

[@basedcroat]

Yeah looking back at my early childhood i always prefered cartoons like that, Avatar, TMNT, Lego ninjago, even tho when ever fiarly of parents, amazing world of gumball or spogebob were on tv id watch it anyway, today my favorite animated series is aot a very story driven series

[@victorkreig6089]

Just tell us you're a dirty weeb no need to hide it, we're going to laugh at you either way

[@EricMurphyxyz]

I think this is why a lot of people get into anime. The serialized nature of (most) children's (shounen) anime is really in stark contrast to American cartoons. Of course, children's anime is meant for children, and is meant to be grown out of, but while keeping the concept of progression internalized.

[@jklmnopq233]

Yeah for a a lot of kids Naruto grew up with them

[@victorkreig6089]

@@jklmnopq233 naruto is just poorly made more weeb version of dbz and does everything it can to keep its viewers children mentally

[@AJ-po6up]

@@victorkreig6089 Congratulations that has to be the dumbest take on Naruto I've ever heard, you're true Darwin Award winner material.

[@victorkreig6089]

@@AJ-po6up cry more about your Chinese cartoons manchild

[@poika22]

@@victorkreig6089 "weeb version of dbz" you realize dbz is already a Japanese anime, right?

[@thebanditman5663]

This is why shows like Avatar, Ben 10, OG Teen Titans, and so on, are always considered great, and memorable. I can remember individual episodes in order for them, but can't remember which season of Spongebob (good as it was) he and patrick got locked in Sandy's tree dome in winter.

[@dileepvr]

Like Star Wars - The Disney ride. Step right up. Grab your cloak and saber. Stand in line. You too can get your turn to banish Darth Vader and save the Jedi order. Be the center of attention for a whole 15 seconds, already paid for. Please return the cloak and saber to the designated basket on you way out. Come back any time. Lord Vader will be waiting for you right where you left him.

[@LukeSmithxyz]

I went to an amusement park for the first time as an adult last year (Universal, don't ask how that happened) and I literally could not stop laughing out loud at the end of every ride when the wagies at the exit would all "congratulate you" for "defeating the sith" or Voldemort or whatever. How ridiculous.

[@CopeAscetic]

Someone should forward this topic to Chris Chan

[@mirmarq429]

Well we'd need to send it back in time, then somehow convince his parents that it's correct.

[@perguto]

@@mirmarq429 Or rather, just convince his parents not to vaxx him

[@gonootropics2.065]

Episodic shows match up to the reality of being a child, there is no past, future or plot. It's a here and now type thing. Naturally as you get older the concept of time solidifies and you outgrow that type of media. Just imagine expecting kids to watch something that only makes sense if you saw the previous episodes

[@poika22]

7:25 Having conversations about this redpilled me on this topic a few years back. So many people seem utterly shocked that the kid's show or video game they enjoyed as a child wasn't as great as they remember. If you even hint at something like "dude, it's okay to grow up" you'll immediately get called a hateful conspiracy theorist and a spoilsport.

[@nijkstral]

Luke has never watched a cartoon made from the past 12 years I Suggest "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"

[@LinkEX]

5:00 Wouldn't mere negligence of checking the search function be the most likely reason? Rather than episodic TV shows having loosened their grasp on permanence? It's true that nothing truly severe could ever happen (at least not without being undone by some other contrivance). But a self-contained story can still teach about consequences. I'd merely regard it as a medium for simpler stories that work with a interactions from a known set of character profiles. Kind of like aesop's fables, but with a franchise that can be milked for merch. That said, people wanting things to stay as they are is a side-effect of that format. On the bright side, while there are pragmatic economic reasons that lead to episodic shows, they also were build for moderation: People were not expected to see every other episode. So they were just served self-contained stories. Obviously this wouldn't stop people from watching five different shows in a row (or watching whole seasons on pre-recorded VHS tapes). But at least it is not as bad as these days, where serialization is engineered to be as engaging as ever, and entire seasons can easily be consoomed in a single day.

[@malvo4]

I have had a similar thought. As I work in the evenings, I like to put on something I have seen before so it can play in the background, and I have decided to play these episodic cartoons I have watched as a kid. But I have gathered a different perspective on them and I have often had the thought "Oh THAT is where my generation's ideas of X must come from". Honestly that is where they primed the pump for people to be anti-capitalistic. But the wider point made in this video is absolutely true. No progress, everything gets undone and what you are left with is the original character and his characteristics set in stone like how people believe in this cult of identity. You are shy, disabled, mentally ill, neurotic, messy forever because that is the character you are playing and will play for the rest of your life, and you want to keep the show of your life running and consistent forever; right? You don't want your show to be cancelled because you have changed, right?

[@galaxyanimal]

My parents put fairly strict (around 1 hr. per day) limits on television, which were somewhat relaxed for the whole family around when I started high school, but nevertheless I still have various mental health challenges. I think for me these challenges were brought on through a combination of genetics and social awkwardness/ostracization. But at the same time, even my most mentally ill anti-capitalist friends put value on personal growth, even if their mental issues put roadblocks in their way. Also, in my estimation what primed the pump for people to be anti-capitalist was seeing capitalism failing to deliver on its core promise (that the responsible/hardworking/good rise to the top). In places I've worked I've seen that the people who get raises & promotions aren't necessarily the best suited or hardest working, but the people who the managers and decision makers like. This is in addition to the whole "the people at the top's wealth is growing while everyone else's is shrinking" argument that all the liberals like to parade around.

[@egbertst7314]

Roadrunner, Fred Flintstone, Jerry the Mouse are all my heroes. I turned out just fine.

[@desktorp]

The mind control of "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid.." is now in full effect, where the people who grew up in that era are now middle aged and still buying action figures.

[@samusaran7317]

"My hobby is better, yack yack yack".

[@desktorp]

@@samusaran7317 Watching paint dry would be a better hobby than collecting NWO poop culture junk.

[@the.littlest.toaster]

so if a old man likes toy trains and has never seen a damn toyrus ad buys toy train that makes him a big kid? Do you actually think the adults that buy these toys are playing with them like a child? Cmon

[@samusaran7317]

@@the.littlest.toaster 💯

[@desktorp]

@@the.littlest.toaster Yeah pretty much. Toy trains were originally marketed to children, not adults. The toys haven't changed. The people have. Look at the adults who are in to them today. Sure, some of them are old men who played with them as children, seeking nostalgia in their final years, often after having worked, raised families and retired. The younger generation(s) however, are mostly mentally stunted autists who have a difficult time functioning as normal adults. How do you explain the surging rates of selfish, directionless, single, childless adult men, obsessed with legos, pokemon, cartoons, video games, and so many other things that were once purely in the realm of children?? That's a relatively new phenomenon and it's a sign of an unhealthy society. The number of Funko Pop blobs a person owns is directly proportional to their degree of infantilism. I guarantee this could be studied and quantifiably proved.

[@العقيدمعمرالقذافي-ح4ف]

i've never taken any cartoon or show or anything beyond face value, i liked ed edd n eddy because it was hilarious, i've never thought about it in any other way, and now that i think about it, as a kid i would spend most of my free time outside, playing with other kids, i only really sat down infront of the tv when it was too dark to go out or nobody was out, i would be lucky to have the TV free to myself and have a show that i liked on at the same time..... it just sounds like you watched these cartoons literally everyday of your childhood and had no other source of information about life

[@PecanTartEnjoyer]

>"Grown men doing childish things" Hmmmmmmmm what about those of us who post green frog in this age?

[@weirdo3116]

does luke actually care about hearing an argument/opinion that goes counter to his own? or are these rants supposed to be word of god accepted?

[@Zero_Contradictions]

Well, what's the counter-argument to what he said in this video?

[@Ian-ds4zp]

ANOTHER SLOW BURN BONE TINGLING VIDEO LUKE

[@happaxgamma]

I was born in the mid 2000s, so I was growing up in an era where episodic cartoons were being slowly phased out in favor of more serialized shows like Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, and Steven Universe. This was also the time cartoon critics started appearing on KZbin making episodic shows have a negative light on them, such as Fanboy & Chum Chum, Sanjay & Craig, Uncle Grandpa, and Clarence.

[@nikitazoshchuk]

1:48 Default runescape character leveled up and moved to different biome.

[@VenomCarson02496]

He didn't bring enough runes for a teleportation spell, now he has to walk all the way to Varrock.

[@SzalonyZibuch]

Another thing is that cartoons (especially those made by Disney) depict a fake, overly sweetened and uber positive vision of life. Which in my opinion tricks children into believing that the world is peaceful and life is comfortable, people and animals are of good nature, that good things come to those who humbly accept misfortune, that at the end justice always triumphs, evil gets defeated and mean spirited face consequences. It is quite a shock to them when they reach adulthood and realise that default state of life is suffering and that nature and society has an underbelly with the amount of darkness they have never imagined.

[@CosineKitty]

Imagine the horror people would feel if you could travel back to the nineteenth century and tell them that their descendants would spend countless hours sitting hypnotically staring at a glowing, flickering rectangle of glass.

[@volusian95]

Don't get me wrong, it definitely is weird, and harmful for the most part, but it also kinda depends. Sometimes the way the way phone use is described cuts out the fact that there's information involved. For instance, I've had boring sit-around-and-wait jobs where my phone essentially became a book and a language-learning tool.

[@CosineKitty]

@@volusian95 I was actually thinking of watching TV, not using phones, but the same point could hold there too. I'm not saying all TV/phone usage is bad, and I'm certainly not claiming I'm above all that myself. So much free time has been liberated by modern innovations, yet we then waste it by passively absorbing empty entertainment. This is time that could be spent walking through the woods, building meaningful relationships and community, or working on a fun and educational project. Who will ever look back on their life and be happy they spent thousands of hours staring at a screen?

[@thomaseubank1503]

"We are going to have a biome change..." I guess that is exactly your point.

[@dmitryyovenko6115]

The same applies to serialized media. We have an abnormal amount of shows with Santa barbarian length that are parasitizing on the same idea. Now we can see that years can be highlighted by some substantial tv shows. People consume more media without experiencing something new.

[@stargazerlaurent6780]

Lotsa names ending in -berg, -stein, and -feld in those credits…. Sailor Moon was different. When we first meet her, she’s a dumbass and a crybaby. By the end of the series, she’s a hardened soldier, wiser but still optimistic. She has friends. She has a fiance. She has a future she has to perpetually defend.

[@DiegoRockLoiro]

Holly shit, I relate a lot to what you said. I have this weird thing where instead of trying to find new movies or series to watch, I rewatch the same show for dozens of times. I literaly rewatched dr house 8 times, sherlock holmes 11 times, elementary 6 times, and the list goes on... For some reason, watching something new, changing what I do bothers me a lot. And this bothering I feel extends even further: I hate when the shows advances their story. I feel a bad sensation when a I see the main character as an adult (if he or she started as a teenager/child/ young adult), but I also feel bad for any big progressions on the stories I'm watching. Let's use an easy example to make things clear: The worst thing for me, when I was still a teenager, was when naruto shippuden ended. Before the ending, even though there were some changes that bothered me, it was still acceptable. But when the anime reached the end and I saw Naruto as a hokage and saw that every other character got older, that made me feel so weird, I was really sad and annoyed. I remember thinking for weeks that I wanted the anime to just continue as it was before, without ending. Eventually I realized this idea of a never ending adventure was making my life as a whole miserable. In the last 2-3 years both of my best friends got engaged, other friends started moving out from their parent's homes, some finished college... All of this made me really depressed, all I did was to wish everything to go back as it was 4-5 years ago. I'm still trying to figure out how to get out of this mentality, but it's been very hard. I think this problem I have affects a lot of younger people that are around 20 years old like me. I hope I can get out of this situation soon.

[@thatanimepfpguy]

I like how Ren&Stimpy didn't even have a "Square One." Each episode would open with an establishment shot on some different changing living domicile that got progressively more random and crazy (living in a birdhouse) Also their relationship wasn't fixed. Sometimes they'd be a married couple or friends living together or coworkers. I also really like Simpsons episode that plays with this concept where they pollute Springfield to the point that it becomes permanently unlivable so they put all the buildings on flatbed trucks and move the whole town to a new clean location exactly as it was before.

[@tent405]

ReBoot, that amazing CGI cartoon some of us grew up loving, started as episodic but gradually became serial.

[@TheGrmany69]

That's how conditioning works. You keep people hypervigilant, and may be that's what pre 70's people saw coming right in the spot. Being hypervigilant means to dissociate and make believe reality which is just oppression of free will.

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

Being vigilant is good. being hypervigilant is paranoia or an indication that you are in a constant threat environment in which case you need to go somewhere else

[@ba-a-a]

This episodic design was to give children (and I can't stress this enough: CHILDREN) sense of stability and it's something that children need to prospect further in life. That thought would require tons of paragraphs on itself therefore I won't bother. Any book on (child) psychology would explain it better anyway. What I took from these cartoons ending on square one? It was always funny moment, something that cartoons excels at, but also shows the audience that "a goal" is not "the goal" by itself so don't just rest on your laurels. Learn from mistakes of fictional characters rather than yours. Lessons for kids should not be in serial format. They should be short, engaging and fun. That's why there is no fables and tales for children going for whole tomes when you can fit few good life lessons in 30 pages. Have a nice day!

[@bowiethedog6285]

Children's anime cartoons in Japan are all serial.

[@S.O.N.E]

@bowie the dog Yeah the Doraemon World War 3 arc was brutal...

[@ba-a-a]

@@bowiethedog6285 "all", if you exclude every gag anime, 4koma adaptations, movies and actual anime cartoons for children.

[@bowiethedog6285]

@@ba-a-a idk, all the translated ones kids watched in my country were serial

[@ba-a-a]

@@bowiethedog6285 in my country it was the opposite, all episodal except for pokemon, sailor moon and dragon ball.

[@saavestro2154]

This explains why I thought the Covid episode was going to end soon and become a meme after few months

[@spriggy_6117]

Eh, I'd say it was a meme from the start.

[@aarona3144]

A serial killer is someone progresses in more killings. An episodic killer is someone who continually kills someone that keeps coming back to life.

[@kledynk6591]

this brought to my mind this children book "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon which according to the online community has traumatized quite a lot of people in their early childhood. the protagonist of this story starts undergoing monstrous transformations when trying to adjust to her sorroundings by meeting expectations of her family and friends. it's an innocent sounding, silly short story, but the illustrations are a real nightmare fuel. lok it up. everything in the story plays out under the pretence of staying true to yourself, which, when I thought about this, is a really demaging thing to say to a child that will experience a lot of changes when growing into an adult. perhaps I read too much into it, but the grotesque illustrations really caught my attention, and it's curious how many people were terrified by this book, to the point of having blocked it out of their memory

[@kpcraftster6580]

I would rather read the same good book every month until I know it by heart, than keep reading increasingly worse books because they are a breath of fresh air. There is a place for episodic entertainment and episodic lifestyle, but it should not be the exclusive all.

[@philspaghet]

I think this is why I switched to watching anime as a kid. I was sick of how repetitive and pointless American TV shows were

[@WillieCorley]

2:20 This guy did not continue watching Ed, Edd n Eddy past its first four seasons.

[@fsmoura]

1:35 _"All the shows we watch are episodic."_ Not me Luke. I'm a man of culture; only watch animays.

[@mafiousbj]

Once I got in a stable job I just did the math of how much time it will take to reach milestones to buy things I want...I keep doing exercise and learn languages on the side as a hobby...and that´s it, no more time for anything. And since I never had big psychological problems and the ones I had I recognized them myself, so mental health wasn´t a problem. So going to therapy or "finding my inner self" wasn´t a thing to do as an adult. Days just repeat after a point (because they do) and it´s boring as hell save for holidays or some events with friends. If anything I would enjoy having more silly daily adventures those characters had but adult life it´s not just like that, and I get why it depresses many. But I guess growing up watching equal parts anime and US cartoons I took the best part from both, so I know to have silly adventures to break the routine from time to time even if nothing changes, but also that to achieve anything training and "the grind" are necessary, so I can plan ahead and not always focus on today and "having fun" every day.

[@jcdenton2907]

I think David Foster Wallace made a similar point about these types of shows. Gives a false sense of immortality and permanence. It creates narcissists

[@landsknecht8654]

I completely agree historically a lot of people didn't have this episodic view or thought in history especially the Europeans, you see how European society changes in their fashion, changes over time versus other cultures...

[@laosforevar]

Garfield was a dangerous cartoon