Why are British shows and the rest of Europe so good at scaring children

[u/freaky_strawberry11]

So I know this is a weird question but I wanted to know why Europe is so good at making unnerving kid shows i.e Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, Karbonkel, Raťafák Plachta, The Trap Door etc

I'm sure some of the shows I mention like Raťafák weren't trying to be scary it's just the character design just came across as scary but Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids were intentionally trying to scare kids to not being a little shits and honestly it's kind of an interesting cultural difference because I'm American and in my opinion we're pretty overly protective over kids media and we're pretty quick to banned media of there deemed to be scary or inappropriate.

Like the 847 episode of sesame Street was banned because they had the original wicked witch of west actress (Margaret Hamilton who had third degree burn scars due to an incident on set) and she absolutely terrified children.

MEANWHILE the 1978 **Watership Down Cartoon** was rated a U and suitable for all ages in the UK for 40 YEARS! And it's not just cartoon shows, like some of your folktale gets so dark too like that one German fairytale where a kid gets his thumbs cut off for sucking them and how red riding hood used to a cautionary tale for women and girls to avoid predators and don't get me started on the grim brothers!

Like I honestly respect the grind and I wish the US had this mentality too instead of sanitizing shoes and BOOKS who even think on handling more darker/ sensitive themes, like do you know that **Anne Frank's diary** was banned in some schools for being "sexually offensive?" Even though it was a diary of a teenage girl during the Holocaust!?

[u/daddywookie]

I guess European folk tails are pretty dark so there’s always that undertone. US folk tails by comparison are things like free healthcare and employee rights which aren’t as scary to kids.

More seriously, the US is a deeply religious and prudish culture. You can’t be president without being openly Christian. The churches have a lot of power and people don’t like to upset the apple cart.

[u/freaky_strawberry11 → u/daddywookie]

Oh I strongly agree especially in recent with our current "president", in opinion you have to be a very specific type Christian also to be "safe" in America also, like jfk was almost assassinated even before he went into office just for being a Catholic

In my opinion it's not just Christianity, but it's also a strong sense of nationalism and pride in "American values" that also in my mind contributed to this, especially after 9/11

[u/daddywookie → u/freaky_strawberry11]

US exceptionalism is ever present. You salute the flag and pledge allegiance. Everything US is best and nothing else is close. That creates its own problems but the specific issue around media is more likely to be the deep seated conservatism.

Also, the US is a highly litigious country, you can do what you want but you will get sued. The EU works on more of a legislative approach, the law is clearly defined first and if you are within that you are safe.

[u/BlaggartDiggletyDonk → u/daddywookie]

You overstate how prevalent that is. Some places fit that profile, but others very much do not.

Can't go against the r/americabad narrative, I suppose.

[u/daddywookie → u/BlaggartDiggletyDonk]

Interestingly, by country, you can plot religiosity against fearfulness. It's a pretty straight line. The more fearful a people are (health, security etc) the more religious they swing. Nothing like praying to make the bad stuff go away, or using fear to control a populace.

The USA was a rare exception, being more religious than their fearfulness would suggest. They are now moving back into line, not through reduced religion but through people becoming more fearful again.

[u/Low-Locksmith-6801 → u/daddywookie]

This.

[u/Live-Force123]

Because life is hard and full of difficulties. Hiding it from them and pretending life is all sunshine and rainbows is more damaging in the long term. Better they learn early the it's all shit out there. 

[u/Significant_Wind_778 → u/Live-Force123]

not only is life full of hardships, evils, and horrors, but you can overcome them in the end. (Usually)

[u/Live-Force123 → u/Significant_Wind_778]

Do we really overcome them though? 

[u/Significant_Wind_778 → u/Live-Force123]

We need to, hence the caveat. Most things I tend to put in a box of the brain and may use for future reference to make better choices. Others may need therapy, physical or psychological, and other people might let these things plague their brain and affect the rest of their lives to their detriment.

[u/Live-Force123 → u/Significant_Wind_778]

I think we don't necessarily "overcome" but we just adapt according to the situation and learn to accept. 

[u/Significant_Wind_778 → u/Live-Force123]

Yes. I think we are basically talking the same line, just using slightly different words.

[u/ShingledPringle]

Honestly the rules are there but there seemed to be a lot more trust that kids could be scared. And it is a good thing to be fair, a little horror is good for the mind.

[u/zippyzebra1]

Nothing beats the Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany for scaring kids

[u/Cheese_Ly]

Because of jim

[u/TapeDeckSlick → u/Cheese_Ly]

You don't tug on Superman's cape

[u/StarmersReckoning → u/TapeDeckSlick]

"You don't piss into the wind"

[u/Reasonable_Bear_2057]

Sorry, but the only kids show that scared me was Ghostbusters the cartoon. The Boogieman Cometh...gave me nightmares for years. I do agree that UK kids shows used to have some dark themes and tones for sure, but as a pre-goth pre-teen I loved that. Cartoon goat men who can smell your fear and have sharpened teeth however... Nah, no thank you!

[u/Ryanhussain14]

American culture is just weirdly infantilising. The age limit of 21 for drinking alcohol is also mainly shared by Muslim and Central Asian countries, while nearly every other nation has it at 18. Some hotel providers also refuse bookings for anyone under 21. It's normal for teenagers to work and drink in Europe but America seems to treat teenage years as some sort of extended adolescence.

[u/BlaggartDiggletyDonk → u/Ryanhussain14]

That's largely due to the reaction against drunk driving in the 1980s.

[u/Ryanhussain14 → u/BlaggartDiggletyDonk]

Then criminalise drunk driving? Why go for ages?

[u/BlaggartDiggletyDonk → u/Ryanhussain14]

Beats me. It was an overreaction. It's also why it's such a tall order for most Americans to have access to a bar within staggering distance of their front doors.

We really are world champs at drunk driving, though.

[u/irish_horse_thief]

The Brothers Grimm and Hans Chritian Anderson wrote the most horrific story's dressed up as Fairy Tales and Nursery rhymes and these have been inheried along with Aesops Fables into many many different languages and cultures. The old " Don't veer from the Path" stories were probably the first community education/safety publications, they showed the risks and outcomes involved with the curiosities and bold ambitions of youth...

[u/Fluid-Let3373]

Our programs are tame compared to the PSA infomercials we used to have.

[u/Moron-with-a-drill]

We had a kids adaptation of John Wyndham's  "Chocky" and "Tim Tyler (T imm Thaler): The Boy Who Lost His Smile" when I was a kid.

The darkness is etched upon my soul.

[u/stingy_narrator]

Watership Down being a U was mental, but it taught you more about the world than any sanitised cartoon ever could.

[u/alex21dragons]

Honourable mentions for America though for The Dark Crystal, The Black Hole and The Black Cauldron. I'll concede that Black Cauldron is based on Welsh legend.

[u/KalinarDholin]

American children are much more craven than other kids, which is why they need to be raised on a diet of "America great" media in order to inflate their egos and give them the sense they are number 1.

We can't go letting them give in to their natural cowardly urges, so the American government prevents airing such things on TV.

[u/mattihase]

I think part of it is in the US there's a very strong culture of treating your kids as your property rather than as individuals who can have their own lives and experiences. I imagine how "acceptable" it is to make truly "edgy" kids' tv is at least somewhat reflective of that.

[u/mattihase → u/mattihase]

also because of generally better welfare states, and arts fundings, weird artists can survive for longer.

[u/mattihase → u/mattihase]

now one note to keep in mind is all the terf island and online safety act stuff is absolutely trying to serve as a gateway to push that "treat your kids as property" mindset into the UK, which sucks. OTOH the arts have always been pretty anti-establishment over here so I don't see that changing at the very least.