CN, Censorship, Cults, and Freedom Beef
Frank J. Lhota
Don’t you think that it’s time that you fight
For freedom?
Can’t you see there’s evil in the world?
Don’t you know you’re the Powerpuff Girls
For freedom?
Do the people have to be
Freedom beef?"
- Professor Utonium, form "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey"
Over the years, Cartoon Network has practiced some truly amazing acts of
censorship:
- digital bikinis added to anime;
- a cross dressing scene excised from "Pokémon";
- a gay gangster erased from "Cowboy Bebop";
- banned WWII era Bugs Bunny cartoons;
- digital maple leaves added as ersatz fig leaves to "O Canada!"; and
- "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Cow and Chicken" cartoons banned for gay
references.
But the most egregious example of CN censorship may well be their
refusal to air the Powerpuff Girls rock opera "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey"
in the United States. This episode, originally slated to be the season
four finale, has been shown in the UK, Canada, and some other markets.
But this week's release of the Powerpuff Girls Complete Series on DVD is
the first time that this work is widely available to American fans. The
Powerpuff Girls was one of Cartoon Network's biggest hits. So what was
there about this one episode that got CN USA so scared?
I suspect that the reason has to do with one rather unsettling number in
the opera. The story centers around Gnomey, a magical gnome who rids
Townsville of all of its villains in exchange for the Powerpuff Girls'
powers. He then organizes the citizens of Townsville into a cult. The
cult members all wear identical rose colored robes and gnome caps, and
participate in lengthy processionals to venerate Gnomey. The girls get
to enjoy the lives of normal little girls, and their city is in peace.
What could be be wrong with this arrangement?
The professor answers that question with the song, often called "Freedom
Beef", that points out that the citizens have the terrible price that
for their peace: the cult has taken away their individuality. He likens
the cult members in the processional to cattle heading to slaughter;
visually, this is represented as cows in the cult garb running from a
butcher's cleaver. At the end of the number, the Powerpuff Girls are
convinced that with or without their powers, they need to defeat Gnomey
and release the citizens from the grip of his cult.
The unforgettable "Freedom Beef" number is alternatively shocking,
dramatic and funny. It is central to the opera, so much so that I've
seen forum posts that consistently refer to the opera as "the Freedom
Beef episode". Unfortunately, it is quite likely this this number that
kept the episode off of the US networks. Based upon the way the folks at
CN standards and practices work, I would guess they took one look at the
"Freedom Beef" number and said "too scary / violent for children".
I find this regrettable for a number of reasons. In making the case for
liberating the citizens, "Freedom Beef" invokes American patriotism:
images conjuring up the spirit of 1776 are used. I find it ironic and
sad that the one country for which this would have had special
significance was not allowed to see it.
But the most regrettable aspect of pulling this episode is that children
would actually benefit from seeing the "Freedom Beef" number. Even
though the cartoon (and this song) was not designed to be educational,
it does have a lot to say about the destructive nature of cults. You may
find the way the Professor expressed himself to be shocking, but would
the episode have worked if he was less dramatic at this point? Remember
that he needed to turn around the girls' attitude towards the cult.
Could he have believably done so with a less confrontational version of
this song? For that matter, when we talk to our own children about
cults, would we really do them any favors by toning down our talk to be
less frightening?
In short, the CN standards and practices view of the world might be fine
for children who wish to fit in with whatever peer pressure groups
that come their way. But getting your children to fight for freedom
might require a taste of "Freedom Beef".
--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi"
"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"
Don Del Grande
>Over the years, Cartoon Network has practiced some truly amazing acts of
>censorship:
>
>- digital bikinis added to anime;
>- a cross dressing scene excised from "Pokémon";
>- a gay gangster erased from "Cowboy Bebop";
>- banned WWII era Bugs Bunny cartoons;
>- digital maple leaves added as ersatz fig leaves to "O Canada!"; and
>- "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Cow and Chicken" cartoons banned for gay
>references.
Don't forget:
- censoring the term "Zombie Jesus" in Futurama;
- visually blanking out a scene in an American Dad episode where two
(presumably) homosexual men are staring close up at someone's abs -
the scene returns to reveal that the abs belong to Jesus on the cross.
The trouble is, if violence was the problem, then the message is
irrelevant. Remember that the target audience of this show is young
kids (otherwise, explain why there never was a widescreen video
release of the movie).
I have a feeling the real problem is something more innocuous -
probably something that might conjure up an image of 9/11 (I know
Nickeldoeon pulled episodes of "Rocko's Modern Life" and "AAHHH!!!
Real Monsters" where plane crashes/near-crashes were part of the plot
from airing, even on Nicktoons years later).
-- Don
Frank J. Lhota
> Frank J. Lhota wrote:
>
>> Over the years, Cartoon Network has practiced some truly amazing acts of
>> censorship:
>>
>> - digital bikinis added to anime;
>> - a cross dressing scene excised from "Pokémon";
>> - a gay gangster erased from "Cowboy Bebop";
>> - banned WWII era Bugs Bunny cartoons;
>> - digital maple leaves added as ersatz fig leaves to "O Canada!"; and
>> - "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Cow and Chicken" cartoons banned for gay
>> references.
>
> Don't forget:
> - censoring the term "Zombie Jesus" in Futurama;
> - visually blanking out a scene in an American Dad episode where two
> (presumably) homosexual men are staring close up at someone's abs -
> the scene returns to reveal that the abs belong to Jesus on the cross.
I had a feeling that animation buffs would extend this list.
The "Zombie Jesus" instance is another example of Cartoon Network's
wildly inconsistent treatment of blasphemy. For similar reasons, CN cut
the phrase "... in the name of God" from the series "Big O". But what is
puzzling is that while they make these small measures to avoid offending
religious sensibilities, they leave far more religiously offensive
series such as "Lucy, Daughter of the Devil" or "Moral Orel" alone! I
really don't want CN to censor anything. But if they insist on
practicing censorship, they should at least make the rules clear.
And yet in the UK and Canada, they did not have issues with the violence
in "Gnomey". It is often said that the US media does not censor violence
as much as the other first world nations. The "Gnomey" incident shows
how wrong this generalization is. Another prime example: most changes to
the US version of "Cowboy Bebop" were to tone down the violence, even
though the show was only broadcast as part of the "Adult Swim" block.
As to why "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" was not released to DVD in
widescreen, my guess is that they did not anticipate high enough sales
to justify a widescreen release. And that is a true shame, for the film
did make very effective use of the widescreen format. It is a pity that
it is almost never seen in that format anymore.
> I have a feeling the real problem is something more innocuous -
> probably something that might conjure up an image of 9/11 (I know
> Nickeldoeon pulled episodes of "Rocko's Modern Life" and "AAHHH!!!
> Real Monsters" where plane crashes/near-crashes were part of the plot
> from airing, even on Nicktoons years later).
Cartoon Network also its 9/11 issues. in the first run of "Cowboy
Bebop", they skipped two episodes that dealt with terrorists. But CN
included these episodes in later runs of the series.
I doubt that "Gnomey" was skipped due to 9/11. There was talk that the
episode would be shown as part the March 2005 marathon. AFAIK, Cartoon
Network has never explained why they will not broadcast the episode, but
as I said, I strongly suspect that the issue was the "Freedom Beef" number.
> -- Don
Belfry
"Frank J. Lhota" <FrankLh...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:glln3c$g6b$1...@news.albasani.net...
Frank J. Lhota
> Tommy, Can You Hear Me?
This is getting off-topic, but I always thought that the "Tommy" movie
would have been better if it was animated.