The Big Picture: Boy's Own Adventure

[Gatx]

Since this change is FORCED on the protagonist and the thin premise seems to mostly involve making jokes at his expense, how is this a positive portrayal? There doesn't seem to be ANY gender identity stuff here, it's just 'ha ha, you look like a girl now'. If he'd dressed up like that on purpose, or the ring brought out his true inner self or some bs it would be different. This being a point of contention is stupid for both sides of the issue. Arguing about Bert and Ernie is dumb but even that makes more sense.

I haven't seen the show but from having read the synopsis, I can imagine then going down a rout where eventually he'll have more "respect" for the identity and females in general. So I mean it's not necessarily a transgender show, but it could support positive views for both genders separately, and maybe even blur the line between what's acceptable for either gender.

 

[Hutzpah Chicken]

That is upsetting that the vox populi doesn't think cross dressing is funny anymore. The real thing that I thought of when Bob said this is what the media decided to talk about is what the main stream, Soros-owned media is hiding. Another question this raises is why the generally liberal media would think this to be a problem. Either way, cross dressing is still funny when done right.

Another big thing is, why does anyone really care? It's not like anybody's sexual preference is going to make their motives and ambitions any different. This entire social issue falls under the "wooptie-fuckin'-do" category. Everyone who sensationalizes the social problem, to either end, are often the ones who precipitate larger problems by trying to get everyone to make the problem a big deal in both camps. In reality, most people don't care about what doesn't effect their lives, thus making a mountain out of a mole hill. So, the commoners apply the "wooptie do, I don't really care" constant to the crazy people who have nothing better to do that to hate someone's sexual preference and the people who think the entire world cares about every aspect of their lives'.

If you want to stand on either side of any issue, be my guest, but think of what the problem really is and don't try to make it any bigger than it needs to be. People won't care unless it effects their lives directly.

 

[1337mokro]

Get out of the kiddie pool Bob. You are crushing the children against the wall.

 

[Rad Party God]

Oh shit, this takes me back to the days when Ranma 1/2 was being aired in public TV (we had no fancy cable back then), I thought the show was hilarious, but having a mom that's even afraid of her own shadow wasn't easy, but I still managed to watch many animes back then, heck, we got the uncensored versions of many animes (that's why it always pisses me off to watch the US version of Dragon Ball Z).

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I guess none of the guys at Fox ever watched Cybersix. Oh wait, that's because the morons banned the show in the US after its first run because of the crossdressing superhero.

Where else do you see an androgynous woman jump between being a male teacher and then fighting Nazi mutants with her "Brother reborn as a Jaguar"?

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Man my dad watches Fox news.

I watch it to make myself laugh.
Seriously.

GO and watch it, it is funnier than Colbert or Stewart, without even trying to be.

I love hearing them RAGE about NEW THINGS.
"X, X IS DESTROYING 'MERICA!"

It's funny until you remember that those people represent the actual views of roughly half the people who run the country. Then it's depressing.

Anyway, I thought SheZow's gimmick of "I'm a superhero, but I'm also a girl! Tee-hee! Watch me use makeup and hairbrushes as weapons!" was kind of over the top, but then I remembered that she was the kid's ... great-aunt, I think? Which means her heyday would have been around the Silver Age. Before series like The Fantastic Four and Teen Titans existed. I'm not too familiar with what sort of characters were around back then, but I could definitely see a character like SheZow popping up.

Hmm, now I'm tempted to draw a fake 1960s-style SheZow comic book cover. Heck, a real comic book series chronicling her exploits would make a good tie-in, if it ever got popular enough to merit one.

 

[Ukomba]

Since this change is FORCED on the protagonist and the thin premise seems to mostly involve making jokes at his expense, how is this a positive portrayal? There doesn't seem to be ANY gender identity stuff here, it's just 'ha ha, you look like a girl now'. If he'd dressed up like that on purpose, or the ring brought out his true inner self or some bs it would be different. This being a point of contention is stupid for both sides of the issue. Arguing about Bert and Ernie is dumb but even that makes more sense.

I haven't seen the show but from having read the synopsis, I can imagine then going down a rout where eventually he'll have more "respect" for the identity and females in general. So I mean it's not necessarily a transgender show, but it could support positive views for both genders separately, and maybe even blur the line between what's acceptable for either gender.

Respect for and understanding of things girls have to deal with, sure I can see that. Bluring the line, not so much. It would be different if he was obviously a boy in girls clothing, but it appears that only people who know will be able to tell that. It's actually a more watered down version of Gravity Fall's "Carpet Diem".

On top of that, the whole premise seems too thin to support even a single season without getting either repetitive or stale. It would be like trying to base a series around Sally Solomon from Third Rock From the Sun.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

I have one question...and it's a very serious one.

When can we finally sue/criminally charge Fox News and/or any of these other overly conservative groups for what basically amounts to harassment of the GLBTQ community and those that support them?

Seriously...this crap is getting out of hand and a line needs to be drawn.

 

[loudestmute]

I spent a good twenty minutes thinking of something I could write up. An examination of American conservative news pundits. The cynical marketing minds at the Hub (and their connection to the Hasbro corporation). The shift in perception of gender roles in the past 50 years. Cautious optimism for a second season of The Aquabats Super Show.

Then, perhaps the most interesting point of all struck me.

The part of this that should be causing me to talk, the SHOW ITSELF, is completely innocuous to me.

The thought of a boy named Guy using pink and glittery super powered gear to fight crime isn't a shocking concept. It concerns me how they can make the one-note joke that is the series' main angle last more than an episode without getting tiresome, but that's a structural concern, not a conceptual one. It's not a ploy to corrupt my hypothetical children, it's not forcing me to ask difficult questions about my own sexuality. It's a cartoon that I only hope is well written enough to withstand the sudden wave of interest from concerned parents and media talking heads.

 

[Redd the Sock]

I'm torn. One the one hand I have dignifying anything out of Fox news as anything but the ranting o someone off their meds. On the other I want to toss that final season of Sailor Moon at them (Sailor Stars) and sit back and watch the frothing mouths. Hell, just about any uncensored season of that show should set them off.

Sadly I have to be the bigger man and say Fox's job is to be outraged at stuff like this, so it's better to leave them be as it's always something: The Muppets, Mass Effect, Sesame Street, The Lorax, to name a few. It'll be over in a week and they'll find something new pushing the _______ agenda to ***** about. Don't treat them as anything but the joke they are.

 

[Ukomba]

I'm torn. One the one hand I have dignifying anything out of Fox news as anything but the ranting o someone off their meds. On the other I want to toss that final season of Sailor Moon at them (Sailor Stars) and sit back and watch the frothing mouths. Hell, just about any uncensored season of that show should set them off.

Sadly I have to be the bigger man and say Fox's job is to be outraged at stuff like this, so it's better to leave them be as it's always something: The Muppets, Mass Effect, Sesame Street, The Lorax, to name a few. It'll be over in a week and they'll find something new pushing the _______ agenda to ***** about. Don't treat them as anything but the joke they are.

At least they don't control the IRS.

 

[Falseprophet]

Huh, that's pretty odd. I'd've thought that the lesbian and gay communities would be the most open to this, seeing as many of them would have faced rejection and discrimination for their own sexuality. And it's particularly ironic considering that very few of them are actually likely to be 100% only attracted to their same gender all of the time. Guess it shows that bigotry is an equal opportunity character flaw.

People are complex and inclined towards their particular group. (i.e., "Me and my brother against my cousin; me and my cousin against my neighbour; me and my neighbour against that outside") When a society marginalizes a large swath of people, then seems ready to offer some of them a level of equality and acceptance they weren't offered before while still excluding the rest, it would be an extremely altruistic and moral act to say "you take all of us or none of us". Very few people can make that step: history is full of examples co-marginalized people throwing each other under the bus to get ahead, whether ethnic, racial, political, or religious. It's hard to expect sexual orientation would somehow be immune.

 

[SD-Fiend]

Get out of the kiddie pool Bob. You are crushing the children against the wall.

Someone needs to draw that image.

 

[Zer0Saber]

Do you know how many movies have been made in the last 35 years that have men dressed as women as the main point of the movie? Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo played transvestites in "To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" and you got Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, oh I just found a wikipedia list it's pretty big http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dressing_in_film_and_television ...................Shakespeare.(Besides men playing female roles he had a play where a woman pretended to be a man.)... This crap has been going on for ages. Not just adults cross dressing but kids too in some movies. the only thing a little different is that this is the gag of a kids the show.

Oh, and gay ninjas broke into my house and made my whole family gay, then destroyed my family.

 

[Ukomba]

I have one question...and it's a very serious one.

When can we finally sue/criminally charge Fox News and/or any of these other overly conservative groups for what basically amounts to harassment of the GLBTQ community and those that support them?

Seriously...this crap is getting out of hand and a line needs to be drawn.

Interesting questions. Would conservative groups be able to criminally charge CNN/ABC/MSN and liberal groups in return? Or would this only be for specifically approved ideologies?

 

[MB202]

Wait... "Gumball" quality? MovieBob LIKES Gumball? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a decent show and all, and I just LOVE the visuals and the way it blends different styles of animation, but the actual show itself... Eh... Wouldn't put it in the same camp as Adventure Time, though. As for Shezow, I don't feel interested at ALL in seeing this show, mostly because the visuals don't seem that impressive. Not to mention, most people who've seen it haven't saying good things about it, and not just the anti-LGBT nutballs, either. And having seen the clips of it... Boy, and people thought the horse-related puns in MLP were bad. These are just cringe-worthy!

 

[an annoyed writer]

Quoted for attention!

Bob, you made a few good points here, and I'm as annoyed by Fox's shenanigans as you are, but I'd like to inform you of a misconception that you made in your video: it is not a transsexual cartoon, but rather a transvestite or drag superhero cartoon. Transsexual people, such as myself, have the full gender identity of out target gender, instead of our birth sex, as opposed to the main character of that show, who stated clearly that he's a dude. It's not that I don't appreciate the idea and the sentiment, but rather that I don't really relate to the character as much as one might hope. It feels very much like the outsider's idea of what goes on, rather than our perspective.

 

[IndomitableSam]

I guess none of the guys at Fox ever watched Cybersix. Oh wait, that's because the morons banned the show in the US after its first run because of the crossdressing superhero.

Where else do you see an androgynous woman jump between being a male teacher and then fighting Nazi mutants with her "Brother reborn as a Jaguar"?

Still one of my favorite intro songs ever.

As for this issue? It was on the Canadian news here this weekend, I think, and basically it was "The Americans think this is a big deal, apparently," and then our news went on to interview the creator in a very professional manner. The creator was basically scratching his head. I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said "I thought it was a funny concept for a guy to dress up as a girl to be a superhero, so that's why I made it."

 

[Rblade]

the absolute funniest part about this is how fox doesn't seem to realize all this does is make more people watch it. I mean I doubt strict tea party parents were letting their kids watch friendship is magic in the first place.

 

[LostintheWick]

And yet when Beast Boy or Ben Ten turns into different SPECIES nobody could gives a fuck.

Considering how often the rhetoric goes:"If we allow gay marriage, people will start marrying their dogs next" it honestly wouldn't surprise me if this becomes an issue someday. And that makes me very sad.

Also, I think Bob was joking when he claimed the gay agenda is communism, but I've had somebody tell me to my face and without the slightest hint of sarcasm that teaching children homosexuality is okay is socialism. I tried explaining to him that socialism has literally nothing to do with anyones sexual orientation, but it was a lost cause. So, yeah, you might actually be right, Bob.

I need a fucking drink now.

You should also throw in that socialism isn't an inherently negative thing either It's how we have roads, police, firefighters, etc.