Adult Swim

[Winged One]

Should it be allowed that a channel that usually shows child freindly cartoons suddenly turns into a higher age channel at night? Adult Swim, while set at night, isn't completley shielded from young view. Those who have a television in their room can watch TV as long as they want, well into the Adult Swim timeframe, and are able to watch violence and crude jokes. Since this is a chennel their mother let's them watch and think is okay, the children think it's alright to replicate scenes from Full Metal Alchemist, Robot Chicken, The Boondocks, and the Venture Bros. So, should this be allowed?

[-58]

Yeah.

Adult Swim is labeled such for a reason; before every show comes on, there is a large Parental Advisory warning. If the parents are letting their kids stay up late enough to watch Adult Swim without seeing that warning, or without stopping their child watching when they realize what he or she is watching, then they're either horrible, horrible parents, or their children are apparently mature enough to watch it.

[hoboman725]

Firstly, parents should really be supervising what their kids watch if it's so important for them. Why would a parent give a kid who is to young to watch adult swim, their own TV in their own room? Frankly that's just asking for trouble. At 10:30 PM most people who truly are to young to watch this programming are asleep, or should at the very least have a parent home watching after them.

Furthermore, the truly 'Adult' programming doesn't start until midnight. It starts off with 2 episodes of Futurama (10:30- 11:30). This show, up until a few years ago, could be seen prime time in the 7-9 range on Fox. At 11:30 PM 1 episode of Family Guy is shown from 11:30 to 12:00. While this show is 'worse' than Futurama, and clearly less kid friendly it is still mainstream prime-time television viewable on Fox at 9:00 PM

I don't think Adult Swim can be faulted for bad parenting. They have taken all the steps they realistically can to prevent immature audiences from viewing their programming. If an eight year old kid is unsupervised at 12 AM, I don't think Adult Swim should be penalized for it.

[Winged One]

I'm fine with the idea, but the fact that it's on Cartoon Network is a bit troublesome.

[Garcian Smith]

There is no doubt that Adult:Swim has some shows that are unsuitable for younger children, but it cannot be the sole perpetrator of soiling their minds. If a child has a television in their room with access to this channel, then surely they also have access to other channels that show much worse.

Parental responsibility is the key - if we begin to blame the networks, then we are - quite frankly - no better than people such as Hilary Clinton and Jack Thompson *judders*

[Winged One]

*judders*

I don't get it.

[DarkFlood]

I say, keep it. The TV is no replacement for parenting.. Just like videogames. (Which is essentially the same thing) Parents these days would rather sit their child in front of the TV for a few hours instead of doing somkething with them. This is a prime example of bad parenting. So the next time a child swears or shoots someone, don't blame TV, don't blame videogames, don't blame the media, blame the parents. The sole fault of children misbehaving and commiting crime rests completely on their inability to raise a child.

[ewanlaing]

besides, aqua teen hunger force is awesome.
i think it's fine, in the same way that i think it's fine that alien is on late at night.

[El]

Firstly, parents should really be supervising what their kids watch if it's so important for them. Why would a parent give a kid who is to young to watch adult swim, their own TV in their own room? Frankly that's just asking for trouble. At 10:30 PM most people who truly are to young to watch this programming are asleep, or should at the very least have a parent home watching after them.

Furthermore, the truly 'Adult' programming doesn't start until midnight. It starts off with 2 episodes of Futurama (10:30- 11:30). This show, up until a few years ago, could be seen prime time in the 7-9 range on Fox. At 11:30 PM 1 episode of Family Guy is shown from 11:30 to 12:00. While this show is 'worse' than Futurama, and clearly less kid friendly it is still mainstream prime-time television viewable on Fox at 9:00 PM

I don't think Adult Swim can be faulted for bad parenting. They have taken all the steps they realistically can to prevent immature audiences from viewing their programming. If an eight year old kid is unsupervised at 12 AM, I don't think Adult Swim should be penalized for it.
Well, it might not always occur from bad parenting. Many parents believe that what their children are watching is safe, because they can block innapropriate channels. But, they probably don't know that cartoon network turns dirty at night.

@DarkFlood: That's a little extreme. You can't blame the parents when a kid swears. I'm sure there are great parents that let their children watch television. I can see you blaming the parents if a kid shoots somebody, though.

[DarkFlood]

Well, I was more referring to crime. And the fact that we have millions of retarded parents who decide to blame others for something that is entirely their fault. There seriousley should be manditory parenting classes when the woman gets pregnant. Or you have to take it just to be able to adopt. Better parenting = better society.

[Ares]

Better parenting = better society.

I disagree. Even with huge amounts of excellent parenting, kids can still turn out badly. It's not just the parents, it's the parents, and if the kid is mature enough, with enough integrity, to start taking responsibilities.

[Flarty]

my grandad let me watch the first robocop film when i was about 4, i turned out fine.

[hoboman725]

Well, it might not always occur from bad parenting. Many parents believe that what their children are watching is safe, because they can block innapropriate channels.
Fair enough I suppose. I'm sure there are parents who assume this. But that still doesn't explain why they would let their kid stay up all night watching TV, especially without any sort of supervision.

[-58]

Humans have psychotic tendencies. That's why we have "bad" parents (as an example) in the first place. Without these psychotic tendencies, there wouldn't have been a first "bad" person.

Parents can only go so far. If they give their children good morals, judgment, etc etc, it certainly helps, but it cannot protect against everything.

[geekofalltrades]

I absolutely love how everyone in here seems to think that Adult Swim is full of filth. :P I seriously wouldn't mind my kids watching adult swim. I'd be more concerned about letting them watch comedy central and the like (which is also on basic cable) and reality TV shows (cuz those are just *******).

[zim]

I absolutely love how everyone in here seems to

Yeah really, I thought it was a joke when I started reading:lol: Here in Australia, we have documentarys on pornography on public tv.

[Mercer]

There's softcore porn and such on late night HBO and stuff here in the US. The "Midnight Stash" on Comedy Central shows unedited movies with language and sexual humor in them. Yeah, adult swim is more risque and crude than the normal Cartoon Network programing, but if Parents are concerned about what their kids are watching they really should stay informed on what is on the networks they let their kids watch. Yes, even networks they consider "safe" as programing changes on a dime these days..

[zim]

There's softcore porn and such on late night HBO and stuff here in the US.
I can tell ya, what they showed definetley wasnt softcore. Things entered holes.

[Kester]

That all depends on your definition of softcore though. Mine is a much greater spectrum than most other peoples, but that's probably due to the kind of stuff I watch =]

[zim]

It could be more easily divided into softcore, hardcore and XTREME CORE

[hot564231]

A.W. is on in 9am in the mornings in bravo, cut or uncut is unclear to me but most of the cartoons are pretty 12A stuff, which is most programs after 5pm in the UK to be honest

[Delphic]

Yeah you guys say Futurama is 10pm + ? It's on at 5 in the UK, and family guy is shown about 6-7pm.... Wows.

[Kester]

We can tell the difference between real life and cartoons though Delphic =]

To be honest though, parents should take a much greater interest in what there kids do or watch. It's far too easy to blame the TV networks/Game developers/musicians when the real culprit for kids being 'influenced' by this kind of thing is the parents.

A parent wouldn't pay for their 12 yo kid to go watch and 18 certificate film, but for some reason they are happy to buy them a video game with the same rating or put a tv in their room when they know for a fact after 9pm, at least in the UK, certificate 18 programming can start.

[-58]

I played Half Life (a Mature-rated game) when I was about eight, but my parents wouldn't let me go to R-rated movies for a long while afterward.

There's a reason for this, I believe; movies get R-ratings because they're full of gore, language, and other visuals not suitable for open society. Games (in general; I'm not including GTA in this) get Mature ratings for other reasons. Half Life was because of the gore, perhaps, but it wasn't just gore. Movies tend to be made of exclusively what bought them their rating, but something like Half Life makes up for it with story and puzzles.

[jackattack502]

I love adult swin, and i think there is anough warning, even between shows, of the manner of the shows.

btw, does anyone notice how the age in the warning will jump between 14 and 17 between warnings?

[Kester]

What ever your opinion -58, they are still rated whatever certification, and parents seem to just ignore that for whatever reason.

If the people who rate media think it's a R-rated, parents should accept that whether it be video games, films, music or tv shows. Parent's just seem to have some crazy double standards in this area. A lot of the time they buy their kids these things with no idea what it is anyhow, that in my opinion is even worse.

[-58]

I like it when parents use their own judgment as to what their children can see, rather than other folk's.

[Kester]

I agree, that's what parents should do. Personally I would quite happily sit and play games I was thinking of buying my children in the future (when I have them), but that's just because I'm a gamer. Parents need to make a much more informed opinion about what they buy their kids.

However I feel this is getting slightly off-topic.

[FLIPINOMAD]

kids watch it during the day and we teens and adults watch it during teh night when the kids are sleeping, nothing wrong with that idea.

[zim]

Yeah, I sleep through most of the day anyway so that works for me.

[DarkFlood]

It could be more easily divided into softcore, hardcore and XTREME CORE

Then after that there is Jambo and Raminator!

:lol:

I still think that parents should at least make sure that the material is 'safe' for their children before they actually let them watch it.. If they don't like it, then they can get up and change the channel. Oh wait, the people who complain about this stuff don't have the mental capacity to comprehend changing the channel. :dry:

[your evil twin]

I can't actually comment specifically on Adult Swim/Cartoon Network programming as I Since I don't have satellite/cable/digital television, just normal UK terrestrial... but I don't have a problem with a cartoon channel for children turning into a cartoon channel for adults at night. The alternative would be setting up a whole new TV channel just for the Adult Swim content.

When I was in school I went on a trip to France... the cartoon channel during the day turned into a regular French TV channel in the evening. My mates and I (age 14) were very entertained to find an erotic film on the TV when we switched on the cartoon channel late night!

That sort of thing I reckon IS a bad idea. But childish cartoons being replaced by adult cartoons is pretty logical.

[zim]

I wouldnt have a problem with my children watching softcore porn, its only natural to be curious about those sorts of things when your little, and it saves having "man-to-man" talks later on.