Total Drama Island Drama!

While doing some lurking around at IMDb.com I decided to search one of my favourite shows, Total Drama Island.

Huzzah! A Canadian show with Canadian stars and Canadian characters in a Canadian setting (it's said that it's "somewhere in Muskoka, ON). When I saw this show for the first time, I fell in love with it immediately (however due to my inability to remember when all of my favourite shows air I didn't watch it regularly). It's such a great show. It's a cartoon reality TV show that pokes fun at things like Survivor and Big Brother using the concepts of elimination, surveillance, challenges and such, but in a way that makes it both down to earth and exaggerated (watch the show if you're confused).

Even though the first season is finished, I was happy to know that TDI was airing in the states on Cartoon Network. I don't know, maybe it's just the fact that I love when Canada shows off in the US, but it struck a very nice chord with me. However when I was lurking at IMDb.com I found three things that made this chord quite dissonant.

• Here, a "viewer" is surprised to hear "children" saying "get bent" and guys saying things like "hot chicks". I understand that you live in a sheltered world, but that doesn't make sixteen year olds children. And at least they're not saying "F**k you!" or "a nice piece of a**." Doesn't anyone understand that if they're worried about their kids watching junk they shouldn't be watching TV at that time anyway? In the US (the country where most of the complaints are coming from) it airs at 9:00ET/10:00 PT. When I was in fifth grade my bed time was 9:30. Another thing. This is a show aired for ages 12-14. Seven year olds, will not get most of the jokes. And who cares if the rating is Y (C-C8)? The last time I checked, each human was put on this Earth with common sense. Don't watch it if it's "bad".
• Here another "viewer" as well as some others say that the show is mocking homosexuals. This clearly wasn't the intention. Being a person who knows a bunch of teenage guys, they're always trying not to sound "gay". It wasn't a joke making fun of gays, it was a joke making fun of how stupid guys sound when they're trying not to sound gay. And someone else in the same thread even has the guts to emphasize the fact that something about homosexuals is in a children's show. Why does it matter? It's funny how being PC can bring out the homophobe in some people. Catdogwordpainter pretty much sums up my feelings in this post.
  
• And then there's the whole Why is Leshawna so ghetto? issue. Well, for one...she's a stereotype. So there. Why isn't anyone saying Why is Gwen a goth? or Why is Owen fat? Because everyone's minds have already associated her ghetto-ness with being black. No one really associated Gwen's gothiness or Owen's fatness with being white. Why? Because there are extremely ghetto black people out there. If you don't believe me, get out of your house...or don't if you're "...scared [of getting] shot." I mean there's D.J. and he's really brawny but he LOVES animals. No one has yet commented on that.
  

So there. We give the US something nice, and they pout. I think it's about time they had something at least a little bit realistic on Cartoon Network.

Playing word toss sucks.

"Oh my god, that was so racist!"

"Well, how come you didn't pick girls this time? That's sexist!"

These are just some of the few word-slinging sentences that I've heard being used by younger children in my school. And I don't like it. In my gifted class is where I've seen it most, surprisingly. If I say that Andrew, a Vietnamese guy, is Asian, then Leena or some other junior-division student in the class will say "that's racist!" when it isn't. Here's the definition of racism.

/rā'sĭz'əm/

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Hmm...I don't think that I said that Andrew could do certain things because he was Asian, nor did I say that Blacks were superior to Asians. Racist? No. Observant? Yes! These days children like to repeat words they hear all over. And this isn't doing us any good. Just because I recognize that certain people come from certain backgrounds doesn't make me racist. Many people put forth their identity using their culture. The problem lies in training children to be tolerant and politically correct. Political correctness does two things to a child. One, it makes them over-aware of what they say and in result comes the "I Don't Mean To Be Racist, But..." phenomenon. I've heard that phrase too many times in my short, 14-year life.

" I don't mean to be racist, but last night, there was this episode of Family Guy where Cleveland was a taxi driver and he saw Brian and offered him a ride, but Brian used an excuse and said that he had to pick up milk for Lois. Isn't that funny?"

No, it's not.

So as a last statement I will say this:

If there is no intention behind your action, the action is at its worst, un-intentional.