As far as animation has come in the last 10-15 years, you still get the odd reminder that it remains on the fringes of the entertainment landscape, especially its view among adults. If got one of these reminders the other day, when the boss happened to spot the wallpaper on my computer. Said wallpaper was, of course, The Legend of Korra.
This initiated a discussion that went as follows:
The Boss: The Legend of Korra?
Me: Yeah. It’s on Nickelodeon. It’s a great show.
The Boss: Oh yeah, it’s that Avatar thing. My 12 year old watches that.
Me: Have you ever watched it?
The Boss: Well, no….
Me: (-.-)
So I basically called his bluff on this one. I said it was a good show, he insinuated that I watched a kids show, I countered that if he hadn’t watched it, how could he know why I was watching it.
This encounter was a reminder that a prejudice continues to exist among adults with regard to animation. The notion is that anything on the three kid’s networks is automatically only for kids. It’s sometimes tough to put thing into perspective for those who believe this and it’s an uphill struggle to make them understand that just because something is aimed at kids, doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed by those who are not.
That was the conclusion I came to a number of years ago. If it’s an adult making something, surely an adult can enjoy it, right?