.Friday, October 26, 2007 ' 1:13 PM Y
BOO!!
Wait and see. The end is ALWAYS imminent…
An episode of "Happy Tree Friends" = Gore factor with the sweet, cuteness of cuddly animals
Happy Tree Friends are cuddly animals whose adventures always end up going wrong.
Each episode start with a familiar, non-threatening scene: the characters playing on a merry-go-round to going camping and even having fun at a carnival. At first everything is peaceful and happy, but that's when the ultra-violence begins, and things end up going horribly wrong: the playground equipment spinning so fast it splatters the terrified riders against nearby trees; the vending machine toppling, squishing its helpless customer…
Whatever the circumstances the "Friends" find themselves in, the outcome are obvious… random objects will soon aid in the gory demise of an adorable, yet ill-fated, creature.
However, in order to fulfill their commitment to some modicum of actual thought, they have provided helpful quips such as "Smiles are always free!" and "Don't forget to floss!" at the end of each episode.
Here’s another episode for you:
In this episode titled "I Get a Trick Out of You," Lumpy performs magic on Cuddles, but accidentally cuts both the box and the creature in half. On the way to the hospital, the "magician" falls out of the back of the ambulance but manages to grab a hold of the box on the way out, stretching Cuddles' intestines and innards hundreds of feet down the road.
Screaming in pain, Cuddles is finally stitched up before Lumpy comes to visit…
Happy Tree Friends – I Get a Trick Out of You
Each episode of "Happy Tree Friends" seems to be addressing certain anxieties in society.
Death is an example that is constantly played out. In fact, in every episode – although we somewhat know the ending, that is, the characters are going to end up dead in a violent and abrupt manner; the suspense is when and how the death will occur.
When we are watching, we are anticipating death and therefore anxious in how and when it is to occur…
Our lives are not in our control, and are in fact subjected to other forces, the environment, “stupid characters” that end up ruining our lives?
Humans are anxious about what it cannot control…
Projection of these anxieties by projecting it as cartoons and mainstream media such as TV, signifying we can deal better?
Is that really the case?
Labels: cultural anxieties, Faustina, I Get a Trick Out of You. Personal Opinion, motifs
2 Comments:
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By 
Unknown, at
November 12, 2007 at 8:47 PM
haha. I like the title. "I Get a Trick out of You" plays on the ol' Frank Sinatra song -- "I Get a Kick out of You".
Here's Jamie Cullum's versh of it on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWTEfhhZXK4
