Undertones in Smiletime

BuffyElevated

BuffyElevated

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Sineya
Ok, so my daughter is obsessed with "Smiletime". I thought it would scare her; instead she wants to watch it 3 times a day. So...
I have been rewatching this episode over and over and the more I watch it, the more I am bothered...
Is it my imagination or are there some definite sexual undertones in the way Polo talks to/acts when sucking these childrens' lifeforce??
I am disturbed by the way he says "Get over here and touch it" an then the sounds he makes when the kids touch the TV.... It definitely reminds me of some VERY unpleasant memories from my childhood, and I wonder if it has that same effect on others?

Maybe I'm being paranoid. Just wanted to open this up for discussion.
 
S
Skytteflickan88
Definitly, I thought it sounded creepy and gross. Real sorry that you have those kinds of memories,
Not like I have childhood memories that reminds me of it but that thought have crossed my mind as well.
 
I always hate that line. I think it's extremely sexual and the fact that it's said to kids, makes me cringe. Glad I'm not the only one who gets a little twitchy by it
 
C
charmingslayer
[No message]
I've always thought that too, from the first time I saw it. I could sort of see what they were doing with that scene, but it got a bit weird, you know?
 
Can't say I've ever noticed it, and with my dirty mind, that's pretty surprising.
 
Yeah I can see what you mean,it did kinda cross my mind when I saw it.
 
I do remember thinking that when I first saw that. I guess I kind of just assumed he was meant to sound that creepy and disturbing, being an evil puppet demon and all. It could have been definitely been less, obvious, though.
 
OMG, SO glad I'm not the only one who thought this. Wow... the more I watch it, the more I am turned off by the whole thing. EW. And it kinda makes me want to tell Emily she can't watch it anymore, either. 🙁
 
Yeah, I think it was kind of intentional. I thought it was sick as well. Very disturbing imagery.
 
The two scenes with the Puppet "seducing" the kids were very creepy.

The rest of this episode was LOL hilarious. Especially when Wolf Girl tried to eat poor Puppet Angel.


Wesley and Fred....:cheering::cheering::cheering:

It's about time!!
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
LOL Yeah the scene where Ninawolf attacks Angel was pretty funny. :D
HisMrs said:
Ok, so my daughter is obsessed with "Smiletime". I thought it would scare her; instead she wants to watch it 3 times a day. So...
I have been rewatching this episode over and over and the more I watch it, the more I am bothered...
Is it my imagination or are there some definite sexual undertones in the way Polo talks to/acts when sucking these childrens' lifeforce??
I am disturbed by the way he says "Get over here and touch it" an then the sounds he makes when the kids touch the TV.... It definitely reminds me of some VERY unpleasant memories from my childhood, and I wonder if it has that same effect on others?

Maybe I'm being paranoid. Just wanted to open this up for discussion.
Click to expand...

No, its not just you. I absolutely agree that there are disturbing sexual undertones in this episode. My reading of the episode has always been that the puppets sucking the life force (or soul) from children is an analogy for televisions "brain-numbing" and enslaving effect on children. This analogy could easily be extended to include sexual abuse as well, because this also robs children of their childhood, aka, their "soul."

I've always found Smiletime very disturbing. And while I can see the parody aspect of the episode, there's a comment being made as well of the damaging effects of any sort of "control" over children; whether it be through television personified as an oppressor, or a molester, or whatever. This is of course ironic, considering Angel is a TV show (although aimed at adults).

Your daughter probably just likes the episode because of the puppets and the songs - she's obviously not aware of the disturbing undertones.

Great topic.
 
Yes, Emily loves it because she thinks Angel is "so cute" as a puppet, and her favorite scene is where he kicks Polo's ass. LOL My kid is her mother's own child. 😉
I'm glad she doesn't see/hear what I do, although my dad was in the kitchen one night when we were watching and said "What in the hell are you letting her watch? That sounds dirty!"
 
I think the creators knew they'd get away with anything as the show was to be cancelled so yeah kinda sexual but nothing to dastardly. I hope.
 
This doesn't have a whole lot to do with the discussion of the more disturbing "Smile Time"'s underlying themes, but I didn't want to waste a new topic . . .

Who loved the face on the Angel puppet? Especially the frowny mouth!
 
bigmoneygrip said:
This doesn't have a whole lot to do with the discussion of the more disturbing "Smile Time"'s underlying themes, but I didn't want to waste a new topic . . .

Who loved the face on the Angel puppet? Especially the frowny mouth!
Click to expand...



And the BROODY eyebrows. :lmao:
 
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