//Please note that I do not honestly believe this show is okay for children to watch. I just took a different approach than what I normally would just for fun. This is not in the EXACT format due to Wattpad not ID-ing the tab over button on the keyboard but I believe you all can still understand. I have all my sources if anyone would care to look more thoroughly into one of the points I brought up. This is not suppose to be a debate. Merely stating points from both sides and concluding in my own manner. Please understand and no flag about 'How could you say that' or 'Actually this theory disproves that'...... I just need an A....
The internet sensation Happy Tree Friends is a flash cartoon by Mondo Mini Show. Depicted in the show are small, colorful, and overly happy animals that vary from their mascot Cuddles the rabbit to Russell, the pirate sea otter. At first glance it appears the cast of critters are copied and pasted from a children's show, so most parents would blindly let their child watch this without caring to look into it (Happy Tree Friends: History). What started as an internet fad evolved into an essential crisis when parents realized these adorable animals were being brutally killed and dismembered in over-exaggerated manners. Parents began to send hate mail to the creators of the show explaining how horrid of an idea it is and how it gave their children nightmares. By looking in-depth into the show, past the gore, the question remains: is it as bad as parents make it out to be or could this show actually contribute to the children of today (Happy Tree Friends: Hate Mail)?
It is scientifically proven that laughter is the best medicine for multiple reasons. Happy Tree Friends is labeled as a 'dark comedy' due to its focus of morbid and 'out-there' possibilities of death (Smith and Segal). The reason people laugh at these gruesome and farfetched deaths is equivalent to why people laugh at others' pain. Popular videos on YouTube usually have someone being in pain or falling. A Greek theory of this is summed up by Diana Mahony, a psychologist and humor researcher with Brigham Young University and author of "God Made Us to Laugh", by saying, "I laugh in triumph and superiority at the foibles and stupidity of other people." The same theory can be used here. The audience understands that these animals are fictional and the causes of their deaths are sometimes impossible. Dr. Emanuel Maidenberg continues with the theory by stating, "Whatever pain we see is just a component of what is otherwise a funny circumstance." To summarize these tortured animals are labeled, and scientifically theorized, to have people laugh—rather it actually being wrong to laugh at or not (Joseph Brownstein).
Due to more recent murders on the news, focus has shifted towards blaming the violent media for the dysfunction of these murderers rather than pinpointing the psychological problem. L. Rowell Huesman, Leonardo Eron, and other phycologists did research in 1980 and came to the theory that children who watch excessive hours of violent television would become more aggressive in their teens and had more likelihood of being arrested for criminal activities in adulthood. Other researchers found that the violent media could desensitize a person to the point where watching the violent acts on media is enjoyable (Television and Video Violence).
Happy Tree Friends is a unique way to learn from the fault of others in exaggerated manners. Similar to how Tom and Jerry cartoons work—or more relatable The Itchy and Scratchy Show from The Simpsons—Happy Tree Friends exaggerates people's common mistakes to the point of humor (Happy Tree Friends: History). Part of the reason Tom and Jerry was so popular was the actions in which Tom the cat would be hurt by chasing his pride by attempting to catch the mouse, Jerry (Nostalgia Critic - Why Is Tom And Jerry Genius?). In similar cases, so has Happy Tree Friends— which is, usually, depicted from the two thieving raccoon brothers Shifty and Lifty. In many scenarios, Shifty and Lifty have failed time and time again at all of their robberies due to their own selfishness and by even leaving the other to die; however eventually both end dying in a usual gruesome way (Happy Tree Friends - Milkin' It (Ep #34)). Tom and Jerry and Happy Tree Friends are both extremely violent and comical at the same time; both can teach a lesson about what happen when one chases his own selfish greed.
In conclusion, Happy Tree Friends has become a popular fad due to the kidlike characters put in dark and out-of-place situations. It is often joked by teens and adults of how annoying the shows intended for young viewers are and how some would physically harm them. Popular videos include: Dora No More, Slendytubbies (a cross-over between a dark horror game and the Telletubbies), Exploding Elmo Death, thus more. This is a dark classification of humor that no one can deny is entertaining and utterly harmless. Happy Tree Friends falls under this category of dark comedy and thus, okay for children to watch.
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English 101 compilation
De TodoThese are all the stories/essays I'm writing for my English 101 class. They're all usually fairly short and I hope you all enjoy!!
