Violent cartoons are extremely powerful for children or young teenagers. One of the proofs of this statement is that on November, 2012, 14 years old boy commit suicide after his favorite Japanese character die in cartoon. This young boy jumped off from the top of the apartment block in Russia. His father claims that his biggest problem was to separate reality from the fiction; he was constantly in front of the TV, watching cartoons and pretending that he is a part of this fictional word.
I attached one episode of Naruto cartoon for you to see and make your own opinion about this case, and also I attached one episode of Vcelka Maja cartoon, so you can compare it.
Reference:
Weebb, Sam. "Russian Teen Leaps From Apartment Block After Seeing His Favorite Japanese Cartoon Character Die on Television." Mail Online. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 May 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226324/Russian-teen-leaps-apartment-block-seeing-favourite-Japanese-cartoon-character-die-television.html>.
I simply had to comment on this for a few reasons. Firstly, I really like your topic. I think it's very crucial to address it, as the young generation needs to be raised in a safe and quality environment and the media consumption can surely make or break the best efforts made by parents. For that reason, I really enjoyed going through your blog and (as an older sister myself) I thank you for putting effort into it!
OdpovědětVymazatSecondly, I have been very active among the Anime community for a few years now, and Naruto has always been my main focus for reasons connected to my hobbies as an "artist". I have watched all the episodes and trust me, it is too harsh to generate strict conclusions on the show from this episode, as it is not the best possible representation. It actually consists of a lot of philosophical and deep thoughts as well as really AMAZING lessons about friendships, life and the need to care for people who are dear to you. I have personally met people who told me that this show saved their lives, because of the main characters, their personalities, views and approaches to hardships life situations can consist of.
Itachi (the character) is among the most beloved cartoon/anime figures in general. And again, his story teaches a lot about love for family and self-sacrifice. When he died in the story (from a disease btw), I was myself concerned about the fanbase. But then again, there are a lot of highly adored celebrities for instance (meaning real people) who cause deaths and self-injuries because of fans' mindless admiration and ridiculous actions as a result of it. Naruto is being heavily censored on major TV networks such as Jetix, so children cannot see that much fighting on the TV screen (as there is a LOT of that, and blood and well...death). On the internet, however, there is a free access to original versions (with the only dubbing bearable - the japanese one) so that children can certainly see a lot of animated violence.
What really surprised me about the issue, though, was the age of the boy. 14? Now, there is something wrong. At this age, the recognition of reality should be more easily attainable by people. I think it might be also connected to parents' inattention or some problems the kid might have had. The strong emotional attachement he had to the character is sadly comprehensible. The result, however, is not.
The most saddening thing about this is that the character actually was revived for some time and appeared in many episodes later on. I am sure the boy would have not committed suicide if he waited for the whole story. Such spontaneous reactions seem to me like simply having a lot of other factors of contribution, as they do occurr still rarely.
I am sorry I got carried away, but this information really touched me, as the community of this show is very dear to me. Thanks again for your work. Your blog was very interesting to go through! :)
(Daniela Slezáková)
Thank you very much Daniela!! This is great input for me! I had no idea about that, and I am really glad that you did comment on this.
VymazatAs you are saying, the age is very disturbing, because this guy should already be able to distinguish between reality and fiction. And there might be some external factors involved in this, but I guess that we will never find out about it.
I wonder that this topic might be an amazing ground for cognitive and audience analysis to discover how children actually perceive this tale.
Thank you for your comment.
Hi there! I loved to read your blog, as it is about an issue that is not as commonly discussed and gave me a new stimulus for thought.
OdpovědětVymazatWhile I have certainly not that much experience with anime as Daniela, I recognize that it differs from common Disney kind of animation very much. Just with a closer look at the music videos created on their basis, one can see that there is much more to them in terms of emotions, deep meanings and overall “adult” directed appeal. Yes, I think that many of those anime shows are not even meant for children but for age category of teenagers and any older people. In the case of the 14 year old boy, it was surely not the violence of the show that inspired him to kill himself, but the emotional appeal that classic child cartoons just do not contain. Actually, I was not surprised by his age at all. He was exactly in the life stage when he was old enough to perceive the epic character deeply, but not old enough to hold its powerful appeal emotionally. If he was younger, he would not be so vulnerable to it, for he would not understand it, and if he was older, he would be more emotionally stable and would not probably commit a suicide either. Thus, only because something looks cartoony does not mean that it is suitable for children.
I am truly glad that you chose this topic for your blog, so I had the chance to think about the issue of violence in different kinds of cartoons in more depth.
- Aneta Zadrazilova