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Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and "Aqua Teen Hungerforce" as Rabelaisian Carnival
Author(s): Angela Farmer
Source: Studies in American Humor, New Series 3, No. 17 (2008), pp. 49-66
Published by: American Humor Studies Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42573537
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Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and Aqua Teen Hungerforce
as Rabelaisian Carnival
Angela Farmer
Totushomofitexcrementum.
-VictorHugo
From the outset,I concede that this paper aims to bring two seemingly
disparate fictionstogether:the Early Modern fictionof Franois Rabelais and
the cultish contemporaryanimated television program,Aqua Teen Hungerforce
(popularlyreferred to as ATHF),1 a componentof CartoonNetwork'sAdult Swim,
launchedby TurnerBroadcastingSystem(Time Warner)in 2001 .2 In orderto make
thisconnection,I will relyheavily on Mikhail Bakhtin'sreadingof Rabelais and
His Worldwhichsituatesthemedievalwriterin a postmoderndialogue,deciphering
the codes of language and ritualof the carnivalsquare by locatingand translating
Rabelais's subtextsof laughter,vernacular,festival,feasting,the grotesquebody,
and the lower stratum.3 The goal of thispaper is thento draw a parallel between
Aqua Teen Hungerforceand Rabelaisian carnival as representedby Bakhtin,
showingATHF to be a vehicle which not only serves to satiricallycensureofficial
policy and to critiquepopular culturethroughribaldryand the grotesque,but also
to create a sense of communityby establishingan inside culturethroughthe use
of vernacular"in-jokes." On the surfaceATHF is geared toward "grossing-out"
the audience witha devoted mise-en-scneof vociferousexpectoration,animated
effluvium, and geysersof blood. Though it seems thatbody-comedyand abusive
language are geared towardnothingmore thansordid-farce, we know thatthereis
always an imbeddedelementof subversionand therefore revolution.4
Those things
which are consideredhigh are subject to being broughtlow therebyoverthrowing
anypositionofprivilege;hence,forthelowlyand marginalized,burlesquecontains
potentiallyrebellious,even emancipatory, powers.
Hallmarkto gross-outartis scatology,sexual perversion,and billingsgate.
While most toilethumoris generallyaccepted as a puerile fixation,JeffPersels
and Russell Ganim remark:"Sexuality in all its myriadformshas long been the
darlingof academic readers,a once marginalized,now legitimatefieldof critical
investigation,commentaryand theorybuilding. Scatology,however,arguablyan
even more universal functionthan sexuality,still retainsthe power to make us
blush,to provokeshame and embarrassment" (7). What's more,manypostmodern
writers,like NathanialWestwhose Balso Snell searchesformeaningin theentrails
of the Trojan Horse, use comic scatological metaphorintendedto censure social
conventions like bigotryand hypocrisy.5Further,scatological humor has the
potentialto go beyondabsurdity.In theabsurdwe find,nota logical impossibility,
but what is perceived to be a human impossibilitywhich threatenscoherent
meaning. The humorof the carnival does not collapse into nihilismor despair,
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George Washingtongrill which "doesn't use carbon based fossil fuels or emit
chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, whichare themainculpritsbehindglobal warming,"
Master Shake purchasesthe Char-Nobyl6000 Radio-Active Grill,a barbecue grill
which uses "actual pieces of the sun combined with some radioactivevials from
Chernobyl"and causes heat shimmeringwhich extendsforseveral feet,lightsfire
to Carl's back-hair,and beginsto meltthemucus man. In defenseof his grill,Shake
declares, "He's not melting.He's chillaxing.If you can't speak the language, go
back to Mexico-where you were born and are from."Later in the episode when
Shake is tryingto findsomeone to turnoffthe grillforhim,he says, "Wait! Mex-
Mexicans! They'll do it! They'll do anything.[Aside] Who here knows Spanish?"
This kind of racial billingsgateis not uncommon in ATHF. In "Total Re-Carl,"
racialism is directednot only at "Mexicans" but at blacks as well. When trying
to reanimateCarl's head, Shake brings an elderly black man's body for Carl's
reattachment. When Carl is shocked at the appearance of his "new" body, Shake
says, "This is not a timeforyou to be pickyCarl. That's all you can get when you
go to the West End." Such commentaryis not directracismbut is rathera critique
of racism. By puttingthe commentsin the mouth of an immoralcharacter,the
commentarybecomes a satiricalcritiqueof racism.
The "Global Grilling"grilldoes morethanelicitShake's racial commentary
to "Let theMexicans do it"; it also createsa "flavorbeam," a blast of radiationthat
extendsto theheavens and sets clouds on fire.It also hastensglobal warmingwhen
Shake accidentallyleaves it on over night:"It's in self cleaning mode," he tells
Frylock,who replies,"It's in burn-a-hole-in-the ozone-mode!" Ever the Freudian
egoist, rather than take for
responsibility the catastrophe,Shake slathershimself
with cream cheese in place of sun-blockso thathe can comfortablysit in Carl's
pool (whichhas melted).Frylockchides,"Or we could shutthe[censoredprofanity]
grilloff!"But it's too late; theplanetis in ruins,a tidalwave has washed overNew
Jersey,and a Polar Bear has driftedintotheAqua Teens' yardwhere he proceeds
to eat Meatwad's head. The only thingwhich can survivethe plightbroughton
by Shake's self-absorptionis a race of "Mucus Men" who eventuallyenslave the
Aqua Teens and Carl; Meatwad alone is spared and made the leader of the Mucus
Men. The whole episode turnsout to be imagined,and, in theratherabruptending,
Meatwad picks up an Americanflag,while Shake addresses the audience, "That's
whyyou gottaeat yourboogers. . . That's themessage I'm spreadingto America."
This is amusingbecause typicallyFrylockmoralizesat theend of each episode; for
instance,at the end of "Universal Remonster,"Frylocktells Oglethorpeand Err
(who have been stealingcable), "Look, You don't need TV. Itjust ends up owning
you. Next timeyou getbored,tryreadinga book." His platitudesare ironic,and he
regularlybacks down fromhis high-mindednessand takes a morepracticalstance.
Afterbuying a high definitionplasma screen TV, Frylockdeclares thatTV is a
waste of timebut "We [beep]-ingneed it!" But for"Global Grilling,"it is Master
Shake who climbs on the proverbialsoapbox. The situationis humorousenough
in and of itself.The ludicrousnessof Shake's explanationof the dangersof global
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grillingmushroomsas he tells us, "Our futureis at stake, and it's in your nose.
You've gottaeat yourboogersAmerica - foryourgrandchildren'sLIVES!" While
thisepisode has lmentsof abject repulsion,it is firmlybased in a critiqueof the
currentecological debate.
Like "Global Grilling,""Revenge of the Trees" illustratesconservationist
concern but does so withina carnivalesque frame; Master Shake, afterhaving
dumpeda vatof cookingoil intheforest,is puton trialbyjustice-seekingtrees.This
episode addressesecology froma dual perspective-itis about morethanjust trees.
The incitingincidentis, in fact,the consumptionof meat. Planninga Labor Day
cook-out,Frylockhas preparedtofu"steaks" forthe trio and Carl. Discontented,
Carl walks away saying,"Yeah, happy Fucking Labor Day there,"until Master
Shake approacheswitha cow (which he "got" froma farm).Together,Shake and
Carl injectthe cow withcheese, hoist it over a giantflash-fiyer witha crane,cook
in
the animal whole, and thenconsume it while squatting the driveway.Frylock,
frustrated at thegroup's insistenceon eatinganimalflesh,remindsShake to dispose
of the oil at a recyclingfacility.It is only afterthe fryerattractsverminand flies
thatShake takestheoil, notto a recyclingcenter,butto thewoods wherehe dumps
thedebris.As usual, a surrealsequence of eventsfollows (includingShake tarring
his entirelawn to keep thevengefultreesfromtakingroot),and thegroupis puton
trial.In the end, the trees,who have no writtenlaws because paper is an atrocity,
cannotfindjustice, and Frylockpresentshis characteristic oration.
Racism and ecological concerns are not the only carnivalized criticisms
imbeddedin ATHF. Homophobia,misogyny,and healthcare come underfirein an
absurdistfashionas well. For instance,Carl, ever the er-masculinehomophobe,
makes anti-gaycommentsin nearlyeveryepisode; ratherthanagreeingwithCarl,
the audience is expected to recognize the commentaryas unreasonable. In the
episodes "Love Mummy,""Mail OrderBride,""FratAliens," "The Clowning,"and
"DustyGozongas," Carl's treatment ofwomenand sex is disparaginglyrepresented.
Carl's fixationwithpornographyis humorouslyrepresentedas irrationalin "Global
Grilling";as New Jerseyis floodedby a tidalwave froma meltedpolar cap, Carl's
only concernis his video collection. Drowning,he cries, "Oh, no - no - no - no!
My father'samateurporno! I love you dad! And all thosemoneyshots!" Immature
sexualityand homophobia (and drivingwhile drinking,fraternity hazing, and a
plethora of other social practices) are critiquedthrough scatological frameof
a
inebriatedpurgationin "Frat Aliens." When Carl erects a laser securitysystem
thatis so invasiveitcan be seen fromspace, two drunkencollegiate aliens, Skeeter
and D.P., land in Carl's yardand attemptto initiatean affairwithone of theAqua
Teens. Though thegenderof theTeens is assumed male (the masculinepronounis
used in thescript),thereis nothingspecificallymasculineabout any of themexcept
Frylockwho sportsa deep voice and facialhair.19 Afterstrikingup an argumentwith
Carl, D.R threatens:"Do you want me to mess up yourpizza face in frontof your
girlfriend overthere[indicatingFrylock]?"ThoughFrylock,Shake, and eventually
Meatwad rejectD.R's repeatedadvances, he tells Skeeter,"This girltotallywants
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me." In its sick and twistedway, this scene provides ATHF's audience, for the
mostpartcollege age viewers,a muchneeded exhortationthatregardlessof alcohol
intake,"no" means "no."20Adding to theirmisogynisticremarks,Skeetertriesto
make D.P. leave. He does not tell him to leave Meatwad alone because (s)he is
uninterested, butratherderidesMeatwad's appearance; Skeetersays, "Dude forget
it. She was sportingsome major lbs," to which D.P. replies, "Ah, common. It's
like a moped; funto ride untilyour friendssee you." The Frat Aliens are not a
model to be followedbutrather,muchas theShrovetidecarnivalservedto critique
unacceptablesocial behaviors,functionrhetorically likean epidictic;theFratAliens
are vile and thereforetheaudience is instructedby theirnegativeexample to (in the
folkvernacular)"don't be thatguy."
Ever abused by Shake's undeniablepleasure-drive,Meatwad is portrayed
as an innocent.Unlike the Ego, which is able to completelyharnessthe impulses
of both Id and Superego, Meatwad is a keen observerof human nature.In his
critiqueof Rabelais, A. N. VeselovskicomparesRabelaisian cynicismto "a healthy
village boy" who is dirty"withspringlike,animal gaiety"(Bakhtin146). However,
neitherRabelais 's Pantagruelnor Meatwad are the innocentsof theManneken-Pis
of Brussels; both are childlike,but theyare also openly vulgar and sexual. And
as truthfalls fromthe mouthsof babes, Meatwad is typicallyrevealed to be the
silentsage. This too creates humoras he more usually performswitha childlike
demeanor.In "Universal Remonster,"Meatwad thinksthe dysfunctionalTV is a
snow globe, and in "Total Re-Carl," Meatwad's artlessnessis revealed; when, in
"T-Shirtof the Living Dead," he is grantedthe power to do anything,Meatwad
summonsThe Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. While Carl's disembodiedhead is
connectedto Frylock's computer,Carl's thoughtsare translatedinto textand he
startsinterjecting vulgarity,or as Frylocksays, "droppingF-bombs." Frylocktells
him, "Don't look over here. These are words you don't need to learn," and the
followingdialogue ensues:
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Notes
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12Felix the Cat was revivedin the 1950s, and the series ran as rerunswell intothe
1970s. For fullinformation about the legacy of Felix, see JohnCanemaker,Felix:
The TwistedTale of the WorldsMost Famous Cat.
13In 1968 thislistwas created UnitedArtists
by (thenownersof theA.A.P. library).
"The Censored 11" are consideredtoo racist or too politicallyincorrectand are
currently withheldfromdistribution.
14 P. Dennis outlinestheways in which animatedtelevisionprogramsfrom
Jeffery
the 1950s to the presenteitherconcede to gay and lesbian identitiesor (in surreal
cartoons) ignore gay and lesbian identitieswhile presentingsame-sex desire as
ordinaryand even vital and worthwhile.
15
IncludingtheX RatedFritztheCat (1972), a graphicadaptationof Tolkien'sLord
of the Rings (1978), and the sexually explicit live-action/animation Cool World
(1992) staring Kim Basinger and Brad Pitt.
16For a more
complete conversationabout animationand aesthetics,see Judith
Yaross Lee's work (forthcomingin 2009 by the UniversityPress of Mississippi),
Twains Brand: Humorin Contemporary AmericanCulture, whichaddressesrecent
Americangraphichumor.
17"Gross-out"describesa ftedmovementin visual, musical,and
performanceart.
18What's more,therootof "carnevale" is 'carne' - "meat"
(carryingconnotations
of food and feasting)or "flesh"(carryingconnotationsof bodies and sex).
19There are
frequentreferencesto genderconfusionin both the series and in the
film.
20There is also an element of in this episode. Feeling
anti-anti-homosexuality
vulnerableafterhis encounterwiththeAliens, Meatwad reassertshis masculinity,
"I'm a man's man! . . . And if y'all need me, I'm gonna be in the garage hanging
sheetrockaround the engine I'm rebuilding!" But to show his immaturityand
worldlyinexperience,he reappearsat the end of the episode wearing an earring,
black spandex and a studdedleathercap and declares: "I'm notbi. I'm a man,boy.
I'm macho. Far as that,how come my muscles be all big wearingthis spandex?"
Shake replies,"Right.You're full-blowngay,"and theend creditsrole.
Works Cited
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