Thread by @spumdonor

You've probably noticed I use YA as a catch-all insult for modern cartoons. I think someone asked me what it means & it hadn't occurred to me that it's not universally understood, but YA stands for "Young Adult" & it's a term referring to "Young Adult 'Literature’”…(thread)

"Young Adult" was/is a marketing term created to sell more books, and much like the "PG-13" rating for movies it's now reduced everything to the same lowest common denominator of immaturity by flattering average normies into thinking their taste is SO MATURE for their age

Before the PG-13 rating, movies were basically either for kids or adults. But over time, studios realized that by toning down the sex, violence & language a lil bit, they could get a rating which would mean more kids could buy tickets - so over time, movies for adults disappeared

This is partly why Capeshit came to dominate the movies; because it's childish enough for kids but by having just a few hints of adult content or themes, the over-18's could flatter themselves into thinking they were watching something more sophisticated & not just kid stuff

So, the YA thing - there's no reason you can't go directly from reading "children's books" to "adult books" except there was money to be made in inventing a new market - so "Young Adult" novels became a branding term & now, of course, stunted adults read them more than actual lit

Which brings us to cartoons - when you look at the western series that are promoted w/ marketing slogans like "Animation is for everyone" & "respect animation" - because they're supposedly appealing to adults as well as kids - they're just slightly edgy kid's fare. Like YA novels

I hate to be the self-hating western animation fan, but any anime fan knows that there's pretty much an anime show or movie for every age & taste - and there's even "family friendly" stuff in the true sense of the phrase, like Miyazaki films - sorry, but Gravity Falls a bit short

People like this are deeply insecure about how emotionally immature they are, and how their immaturity is reflected in their tastes, so they have to elevate these shows in their minds - "I'm not a kid, so if I watch a kid's cartoon, therefore it's NOT just for kids." how logical

I call them "YA cartoons" but tbh even teenagers are too mature to be taking them so seriously - they just don't want to abandon childish habits or ask why the industry can't offer better than Family Guy or stoner cartoons for "adult animation," so they become retarded Peter Pans

Of course, a lot of these YA cartoons' creators are just as stunted as their audiences, and deliberately cultivate such cultish followings from the TOO-OLD-TO-BE-WATCHING crowd, which leads to a lot of obsessive weirdos getting encouraged to be creepy (oh, & buy lotsa merch)

So as "Beanmouth" is the default art style for crappy modern western cartoons, "YA" is the default for their writing / concepts. U can tell right away when shows try 2 cultivate that emotionally-immature-adult crowd. I say, kids cartoons for kids - not emotionally stunted adults!

Yeah these seem like healthy shows for children & the adults who take them super-seriously, lol

remember, these fandoms need emotional porn in the media they consoom because modern society requires they suppress everything that makes them human (which is why they never grow up)

sry for the self-bump, but I neglected to mention Harry Potter - this is key to understanding YA as infantilization of art - a series designed to be read from childhood into adulthood, to replace challenging oneself with adult art...(con't)

...western animation fans pretty much only have anime & a handful of things like Ralph Bakshi films to challenge themselves with after adolescence...therefore as with Harry Potter, they like when the product they've been consooming "matures" to the level of - well, teen melodrama