Do some teenagers pretend that they dont watch animation?

G

goranago

New member
I thought I would bring up a discussion for all the likes of you, and it involves teenagers{meaning teenagers around in High-school} and animation. On how they pretend that they watch it. Now in my high-school, I did a little studying on some of the students that go to my high-school. And normally they are into Anime{50% of the school is if your wondering} but however they say they never saw anything outside of anime thats animated. And I'm referring to the stuff like Pixar,or even anything from the past{like the golden age, Animanicas{Did I even spell this right?}, to some risque stuff that they want to keep to themselves}.

Now whats somewhat baffling of this is that despite that they say that, or anything else they usually have something animation related. Now I saw 5 teenage girls with pocketbooks that had betty boop on it, and they said to me that they were never into the cartoons. And I even saw a guy wearing a ghetto gangsta popeye shirt and he says to me "I'm only into anime". Which is weird if you ask me. Now if your wondering I managed to find some people who are into animation, but not just anime. But other stuff as well but however they keep it to themselves. Now I'm not agaisnt anime, some anime is great. But however not many of these teenagers know that "Anime" is another saying for "cartoon".

What do you think? Are some teenagers not admitting or even pretending that they watch animation?
 
Yes. Yes they are, and the reason why some teens do this goes back to the old world belief that cartoons = kid stuff. Teenagers don't want people to think that they like the same things that their parents or worse, that their little brothers/sisters like, so to them, enjoying cartoons isn't "cool" unless it's violent action cartoons from Japan. It's this same mentality that has hardcore anime fans trying to convince themselves and others that anime is something else completely different from cartoons, which is course, laughably absurd. Anime means "animation" in Japan and animation means cartoons. Anime is cartoons, just cartoons from Japan (except in Japan, where the term "anime" refers to anything that's animated). Therefore, if you like anime, then you like cartoons. Anyone who says that they only watch anime to me sounds like someone who is too embarrassed to admit that they like cartoons.
 
I was honestly one of those kids that pretended not to watch cartoons as a teen. I never ran around my high school screaming "Kids Next Door sucks!" or anything, but I would never really admit to loving it. I just never brought them up.

The earliest I remember this happening was in the 6th grade. Back then Ed Edd n Eddy was my favorite show. I would gladly admit to watching it, liking it, and it being my favorite Cartoon Network show, but I thought that saying it was my favorite show, period, was going too far.
 
I don't feel the need to. I sport shirts with Rocko, Dexter, Norb and Dagget, TMNT and more and get all kinds of nostalgic comments and talk to plenty of people about toons of old and new more often than one might think. Then again I'm lucky enough to go to a high school that very populous, diverse, and accepting with every clique under the sun and then some that all kind of intermingle. I could see how some teens without that luxury might feel the need to hide their interest but they really shouldn't because then you'll never know if you've got the right friends.
 
At my school, it isn't really a hot topic by any means. However, most of the kids would admit, and have, to watching animation. I have the mispleasure to know anime snobs who think, or pretend, that anything western as far as animation goes is "unworthy" and degrading to the oh holy shrine of stiff anime. (sarcastics statement) I think they're lieing though. I have been told to get a life, and to stop drawing cartoons, as well as watching them, and to get a life. Yeah, but people who tell me that think that life is all about them, and that if they don't get what they want, when they want it, that the world should stop turning. Anyway, to answer your question, yes, people do that all the time. They're "too, too cool" for stupid cartoons. My mom tries telling me that she's always hated cartoons, even as a kid, but I somehow have hard time believing that.
 
I know that many kids in high school never talked about animated shows, except for the adult ones like Family Guy and The Simpsons.

Unfortunately, I haven't really been able to talk about my love of animation to other people. I always think they'll treat me differently. :(
 
Yes and no, it really depends on the person/crowd they hang out with. In an activity in my health class, many kids proclaimed that their favorite TV show was Spongebob Squarepants, and in my english classroom, a senior drew Finn and Jake from Adventure Time, on the white board.

My school also has an Anime club that I am planning on checking out sometime.
 
I don't think cartoons are "kids stuff", there are even cartoons that are for adults-only audiences like anything on [adult swim], for example. Now that I'm an adult, doesn't mean that I'm too old for something like Nickelodeon, Qubo, or even Toonzai. Anyone who goes to rabroad is bound to like animation, regardless if it's for kids or for adults. What? I'm just giving you guys my opinion on the topic. Animation should be for everyone, not exclusively for the kiddies, ever since the Simpsons debuted in 1989 on FOX as well as [adult swim]'s debut in 2001. You know what I'm saying?
 
I have to disagree somewhat. If someone likes Japanese animation, that doesn't necessarilly mean that they automatically like all cartoons. I know quite a few people who prefer to watch Japanese animation over Western animation. When I tell them I like all animation, they don't judge me or turn up their noses. I just thought I'd point out that liking Japanese animation doesn't = liking cartoons period. That's be like saying I like "American Idol" (which I DON'T) and someone assuming I'm into every reality show.
 
They don't really hide their interest, they just simply don't discuss it as much as we do. Secondly, from my experiences the majority of these kids are pretty casual watchers, with the most popular shows being Fox comedies, some Adult Swim originals, South Park and maybe one of the more popular shonen anime.

Aside from that, the only other cartoons that might register any interest is legacy Nicktoons and Cartoon Cartoons, late 90s Toonami anime, or timeless stuff like The Simpsons and Looney Tunes.
 
Part of that stems from the fact that there is, to me, a difference between cartoons, and just animation. By definition, a cartoon is a drawing that depicts a humorous scene or situation, usualy in the form of social or political satire. Which is different from alot of anime. However there are definately anime I consider cartoons . (Bo BoBo Bo Bo BoBo) A show such as Death Note, on the other hand, is not a cartoon. I know people who like anime, and despise western animation for being "childish". Because we all know that every single cartoon ever made was made for children, right? (Betty Boop, Red Hot Riding Hood, Looney Tunes...)
 
I think its because outside of SImpsons, Family Guy, etc., they just don't watch cartoons.

Sometimes though you find the Marvel/DC fans who watch the superhero cartoons though.

Also anime fans =/= cartoon fans. Some people act like anime is different.
 
The irony is that as soon as people hit college, you'll see them watching cartoons freely in the computer lab or lounge area, and having no qualms about it. Because frankly, you can be a little looser in that environment.
 
...Except it's not different. That's only an empty claim that anime snobs like to make in order to distance themselves from fans of other types of animation. Anime fans = cartoon fans because, as I pointed out earlier, anime is cartoons, only Japanese cartoons. Acting like anime is separate from cartoons doesn't make it so. I could stand up on a chair and pretend that I'm tall, but that wouldn't make it true. The statement "Anime > Cartoons" doesn't even make sense because in Japan, the term anime means "cartoon", as in anything that's animated. Meaning that in Japan, The Flintstones is just as much an anime as Akira is. Too often, action cartoon snobs think of themselves as anime fans, when in actuality they prefer action cartoons in general. Not all anime is violent action cartoons, but most anime fans who claim to only like anime often only like the action anime, not the comedic anime, the cute toyetic anime, the romance anime, the dramatic anime, etc., which makes them action snobs, not anime snobs. Anime is no better or worse than cartoons because they're the same thing.

The point that I was trying to make in my previous post was simply that many teenagers claim to only liking anime because it seems "cooler" for teens to claim to be into something like One Piece or Naruto than it is to admit they like something like Chowder or Phineas & Ferb.



But here's the thing: American Idol is still a reality TV show, even if it's the only reality show that you happen to enjoy (I acknowledge that you don't, but I'm just making a point here). My feeling is that instead of saying "Anime > cartoons", what these fans should be saying is "The only cartoons that I like are anime." This way, you're making your point while still acknowledging the fact that anime is cartoons. Problem is that most teenagers won't say this, because that would be too much like admitting that they do indeed like cartoons.

Enjoying animated programs from 1 specific country or type (in this case, Japanimation) still counts as animation fandom. Being a fan of anime doesn't make one any less a fan of cartoons because anime is cartoons, so, yes, liking Japanese animation does indeed mean liking cartoons, because that's what Japanese animation is, regardless of whether you like the cartoons from other countries or not. Also, while I respect others' opinions of preferring Japanese cartoons over any other, I don't agree with it at all, as I personally feel that cartoons should be judged by the quality of their content rather than their country of origin. Where a cartoon comes from is irrelevant. It should only matter if it's good.
 
That's the opposite with me. I'm a 16 year old fond of animation. And while I never hear it discussed much (no talking during class and all), I'm not afraid to admit that I like cartoons and animation. Heck, everyone at my school knows that I draw them on a fairly regular basis and that it's what I want to become when I'm older.
 
IDK. You see kids with cartoon backpacks and they're in HIGH school. Some have shirts supporting a show, others might go "oh i love that show". My senior year(just last year) in high school, I made it my own style to wear basically a different Cartoon or otherwise "vintage" shirt every day. I'd have Rocko, Dexter, Tiny Toons, DuckTales and end the week off with an All That shirt. Never once did I get bashed for it, either. It was my own style and people dug it, I got asked "where'd you get that shirt?" soooo many times. and don't get me started on the whole "OMG I USED TO WATCH THIS!!!!" comments.

It worked for me, idk?
 
Nowadays it's not as bad because so many older people like cartoons in that "ironic" way, with the t-shirts and the whole vintage thing. It kind of has a hipster vibe to it.
 
I think most teens don't "pretend" to not watch anything, considering even younger kids nowadays pass up cartoons for the live action stuff on Nick and Disney Channel.
 
You pretty much declare your massive geekyness if you admit to liking so called "violent action cartoons from Japan". Sure there's some jocks that didn't mind the muscle-bound theatrics of DBZ but Japanese cartoons are hardly considered "hip". Certainly not today, and not mostly in previous years either.

Though some people do get the mentality that those shows are more mature and some are and some aren't.

Point being you're no less likely to get ridiculed in public for liking Japanese cartoons than liking American ones. Infact, you're more likely to lose face in High School for liking geeky foreign stuff.

My two cents on the topic in general. Teenagers might mention their appreciation for cartoons of their youth but the general mis-conception that all cartoons are either for kids or occasionally adults is rooted deeply in western society. None the less, those who have a broader appreciation for the medium of animation are going to like cartoons no matter what age they are. I know I always have and I didn't hide that fact.
 
Back
Top