All The Tropes

Think of the Children: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Think of the Children (view source)

Revision as of 00:00, 26 January 2014

50 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (Mass update links)
m (Mass update links)
Line 78:
 
== Western Animation ==
* Helen Lovejoy is a parody of this character on ''[[The Simpsons]]''. Frequently, when something stirs up public outcry, in Springfield, she screams "Won't somebody ''please'' think of the children?" in a panic. Ironically, [[PreachersPreacher's Kid|her own child is a kleptomaniac hellion who has to be sent to a boarding school for her crimes]]). The show also did this a lot on the seventh season episode "Much Apu About Nothing" (where Springfield holds a referendum to get illegal immigrants deported) and the season eight episode "Homer vs. The 18th Amendment" (where alcohol gets banned in Springfield after Bart gets drunk at the St. Patrick's Day parade), but not much in the later episodes, probably because the voice actress for Helen Lovejoy (who was also the voice actress for Ned Flanders' wife, Maude) left the show and the writers pretty much [[Put On a Bus|put her on a bus]] -- or kept her in the background and only bring her out in crowd scenes. Though the writers may have tired of the joke anyway; the could potentially have used recordings from a previous episode; the authors started subverting the natural pattern, an indication of an attempt to keep the joke fresh. For instance, in the episode where Homer and Marge rekindle their sex life by getting busy in public places, get cornered in the miniature golf course and flee before being seen, leaving their clothes for the crowd to find. As the crowd gasps at the idea of two people running around naked, Moe says the line while Helen is in the frame just to fool with the audience.
** In one episode, Bart got his hands on a [[Tank Goodness|tank]] and was initially making it seem as though he was going to use it on the school. Mrs. Krabappel's reaction is a [[Deadpan Snarker|deadpan]] "No, stop, think of the children." while smoking a cigarette. {{spoiler|He was actually intending to fire at a MLB satellite that was spying on the town, something that only Bart seemed to be aware of.}}
* All of the parents of ''[[South Park]]''. Most notably the first time (in which they abandoned their children to go protest a cartoon show in another state) and the most extreme (after first building a wall around the town to protect their children, when they find out that most children are abducted by their parents, they send their own kids away to keep them from being abducted.) Kyle's mother is by far the worst of them, starting [[World War III]] to protect her kids from cartoon profanity in [[The Movie]].
Line 89:
 
== Real Life ==
* [[Real Life]] again: Most arguments against "[[Murder Simulators|violent video games]]". To the point that Germany and Australia arbitrarily define [[Video Games]] as children's toys. The games in question are always, invariably [[Did Not Do the Research|never marketed to children]], because [[Rated "M" for Money|adults have more money]].
** According to a PEGI report the average age of people who buy games in Europe is 35 and the amount of games that are for people aged 16 to 18 is around 10%, only 1% of the total games published is suitable for 18 and over. You wouldn't know any of this if you followed the news, as a recent report about an agreement about 18+ games showed in the Netherlands: "kids as young as 11 years old could buy these games" (at a €60 pricetag, which is a lot of money for a 11 year old last time I checked).
*** According to article 240a of the Dutch penal code, you cannot give harmful content to minors. This is 16+ material in video content (including porn) and 18+ with video games. You will get fined if you give this to kids, they have "mystery guests" roaming the country to see if you actually check their age. Despite this, there's still the persistent belief among parents that everyone can get a 18+ game from the store and that "something must be done".
Line 103:
* This trope combines with [[But Not Too Gay]] when conservative-minded parents went batshit about an episode of ''[[Glee]]'' where {{spoiler|Kurt and Blaine}} had a ''very'' passionate kissing scene. The loudest complaints were that it was "inappropriate for children." Never mind that the scene was both well-written and completely in character, or that there are ''far'' worse things to worry about in ''[[Glee]]'' than a make-out scene -- apparently this is worth all of their vitriol because it's between two ''guys'' rather than one girl and one guy. When sensible people ask why someone would let children watch a show involving ''underage sex, drug-use, and rampant discrimination,'' the parents usually fall back on "[[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|It's a musical show about high-school!]]"
** It's also worth noting that a teen pregnancy plot has been the center of many episodes and the show has directly discussed sexual issues before. Even more notable, though, is that the show isn't intended for children in the first place and nearly all the episodes have a TV-14 rating.
* The ''[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Decency_Act:Communications Decency Act|Communications Decency Act]]'' was a federal law passed in the United States notable as the first attempt by the U.S. government to censor the Internet. Its primary effect was to essentially limit all speech on the Net to a level of discourse suitable for children, and pretty much ''only'' children, on the justification that children could read material on the Net. It and a somewhat less draconian successor law passed in 1998 were overturned as unconstitutional; a third, much more limited, attempt (the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2000) managed to stick.
** [[The Daily Show|"Now kids, I know you didn't ask me, but let me explain hetero-normative behavior to two people who still believe in cooties."]]
** Another US Internet law that claims to be for the children (disguised as a child porn bill), ''[http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Protecting_Children_from_Internet_Pornographers_Act_of_2011:Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011|PCIPA]]'', forces ISPs to track the personal info of all their customers and all their Internet usage over the last 18 months. This information can be obtained on suspicion of any crime, not just child porn. However, like any law, it will still require a warrant and reasonable suspicion, and as one [[Reddit|Redditor by the name Indyguy]] took it upon himself to [http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/pwgo6/hr_1981_rep_lamar_smiths_second_gift_to_the_world/c3sxk4b dispel] the rumors of the worst parts. Make no mistake, it's a bad bill, but it's not quite [[Big Brother Is Watching|Big Brother]]. Plus, it's essentially a rehash of a law that already failed to make it to the house floor for a vote; PCIPA is only scheduled for a debate on September 8th, in which it will undoubtedly be neutered to almost nothing, and even then, there's more than enough time for the internet to rally against it [http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/snooping/ here].
* The logic behind many state laws specifically restricting under-18 (and in some cases under-21) drivers but not those who are over the targeted age range, such as passenger limits, [[Fascists Bed Time|curfews]], and, in New Jersey, having to drive around with red decals on your license plates. All this in spite of the fact that the so-called "children" these politicians are [[For Your Own Good|striving to protect]] are ''older teenagers'' and, in some cases, over 18.
* US politics has fun with this:
Line 119:
[[Category:A Separation (Film)]]
[[Category:Think Of The Children]]
[[Category:Trope]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/592449"