Avatar is family entertainment, not a kid's show
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifthfiend It's a show about a bunch of 12-year-olds running around trying to Save the World by moving Nature around with their minds. It's totally a kid's show. I mean, and I say this as someone who thinks it's a totally great show, but come on. You don't see me trying to convince anybody that Ben 10 is for grown-ups.

Well, this isn't the first time I've brought this up, but I never did get a reply because you COMPLETELY skipped my response. I'll restate my case having put more thought into it.

There is a distinct difference in what could be classified as a kid's show and what could be classified as family entertainment.

Let's discuss various traits.

Kid's show:
* aimed squarely at 12 and under crowd
* tending towards simple plots. (And no, not simple as in opposite of complicated (though some are), but very little actual drama. No one dies, and there are almost always happy endings.)
* shallow
* talking down to the audience

Family entertainment:
* Watchable by just about anyone (and refusing to watch something because of this makes you an ignorant fool.)
* Layered plots and jokes
* All the event's take place in a reasonable story and most, if not all, actually relate to the ongoing story
* Just about every time you watch it, you see something new

And how is a group of hero's trying to save the world automatically a kid's show? Oh, because they are kid's?

Spoilers ho!

Well, it's not like they haven't had a friend sacrifice themselves, potentially lost another two, fought against unjust customs, dealt with guilt, or have shown character growth..

Oh...wait. They have. That's sooooo childish.

Oh, and to use your example, that's because Ben 10 is, in fact, a kid's show.

The Incredibles movie is family entertainment.

G. I. Joe was a kid's show.

Kim possible is family entertainment. (Having both a reference to The Wizard of Oz and an allusion to jumping the shark pretty much clinched it for me.)

Pokemon is a kid's show.

Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is family entertainment.

And now for my trump card!

Who was doing storyboards for Invader Zim from just about the very beginning?

Oh yeah, Bryan Konietzko one of the co-creators of Avatar. This includes Tak, The Hideous New Girl and Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars (two of the best episodes in the entire series.)

Awesomeness by association.

The Wandering God

I think the difficulty is in your insistence that 'kid's show' necessarily means 'unintelligent' or 'overly simplistic'. Whereas in my more simplified personal etymology 'kid's show' just sort of means 'adventure stories about a bunch of kids using kung-fu magic to save the world', or similar.

I don't see what there is about the kid's show as a concept that necessarily precludes story depth or literary allusion.

I mean just to draw reference to actual literature, the Chronicles of Narnia are by explicit intent and design a series of novels for children. That they happen to be a very well-written and emotionally evocative series of novels which make great use of allusion and dramatic structure doesn't mean children are not their intended audience.

Not me, but other people who dismiss this show because they think it's targeted to kids.

And then proceed to insult and/or diminish it because of such a "stigma".

I'm more just frustrated with the whole, "it's a kid's show, so it must be dumb" thing.

There is something more going on with this show, and I'm just trying to find a way to express it.

The ideas, interactions, and progression are some of the best I've ever seen in a television format.

I just wish I could say what I have to say as succiently as Eddie Izzard does.
The Wandering God

So, if you don't have any beef with FF calling it a kid's show but rather people who dislike because they consider it a kid's show, why are saying "f*** you" to him in your username?

I never really thought kid's show versus family program because it didn't really matter to me. All I know is Avatar is better than 9/10 of the shows on Nick and Cartoon Network so I just watch it.

Character design, man. Character design.
Fifthfiend's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have an arrow.
The Wandering God

Yeah well, I've tried to make the case that lots of different Anime series and games are also made for general family entertainment but its based on the views of who's looking at it, not what the creators label it as.

So it pretty much boils down to that. Don't try straining to change someones opinion when someone calls Avatar a kids show. More than likely they're just doing it because they're ignorant or to get your goat. Just say something along the lines of what I just did and try to walk around the argument. It also more often than not can just make you look like the more enlightened one in the end.

Cause it's me.

I mean come on, we all know I had it coming.

I guess I just look at these things as, well, someone who watches and enjoys Ben 10.

I don't really start out with any particular issue over whether something is a kid's show, or even any particular concern whether anyone's going to find it silly that I'm watching a kid's show.

I like Ben 10.
I like Avatar.
I like a lot of cartoons. Does that make me mentally retarded or immature or some such? Nope.
Does it make the cartoons stirring and adult and mature?
Nopeee.

However, Avatar attempts at going beyond the simplistic layer of comedy that one finds in most kid cartoons, such as Spongebob. It has drama and action, it has complexity and it most definitely has violence that reminds me of the good old days of saturday morning cartoons.

Okay, let's see what the creators have to say.

Since they were including themselves in the audience, that means it can't be a kid's show.

And that pretty much sums up why I like it too.

Now, will they at least tell us when the announcement for the new season will be?

The Wandering God

I've mostly been hearing that the new season will be in September. However, I don't have anything too solid on that idea. :(