Feb 16, 2012

Ghost Shrimp Exposes Cartoon Network's Hypocrisy

Ghost Shrimp (aka Dan James), the artist behind "Adventure Time" and "The Mysterious Adventures of Flapjack," is currently developing a seven-minute pilot called "Mars Safari" for Cartoon Network. Here's some of the pitch material:

A few months ago, Ghost Shrimp posted some of the insanely loud notes for the pilot that he received from Cartoon Network's Standards & Practices. Among them were the following gems:

In this car, gangs need to wear seatbelts.

This poop needs to be approved by Rob (Socher) before it can be approved by Stu (Snyder).

Need to see a color model of the aliens. There may be some issues with them stealing the car radio as it may play like an offensive stereotype

The reference to Afterlife needs Rob's OK before it is elevated for Stu's approval.

Suggestion by Mr. Nuggets that Burgess has mental problems needs Rob's OK before Stu's approval.

If Cartoon Network is so concerned about such trivial matters, one wonders why they would have planned a pilot for someone who openly jokes about incest and rape on his Facebook fan page. Ghost Shrimp's latest Facebook update asks, "But what would you do if you woke up and your mom was giving you a hand job?"

An earlier Facebook post, which appears to have since been deleted, asks, "If you could rape anyone, ever, anywhere, who would it be?" Here is a screenshot of that post (click to enlarge):

While Cartoon Network responds so finely to the harmless gags expressed in the animators' cartoons, the show creators' public It is the height of hypocrisy to turn a blind eye to the character of the show's creators, who would be considered genuinely offensive by many. The art we create is a reflection of our values and principles (whether we intend it to be or not), and if someone treats serious subject matter with a frivolous attitude, that attitude will inevitably permeate the work as well.

Of course, this would be fine if Cartoon Network had embraced the crude ideas of the artists it hired and given Ghost Shrimp a long leash to explore its unconventional sense of humor. But the Standards & Practices note tells a different story: while Cartoon Network goes to great lengths to maintain the appearance of decency, it ignores the fact that some of its showrunners lack decency.