Blogpost # 8: Adventure Time: Depression Again

Adventure Time is an American animated TV series created by Pendleton Ward a.k.a Pen and it was produced by the Frederator Studios in the Nickolodeon channel. The series is all about a boy who is named Finn and his twenty eight-year old magical dog named Jake who encounters a lot of strange and some serious adventures in the Land of Ooo.

The theory of Adventure Time that I have read on about was entitled "The Truth" by Deliah Tomlinson on quotev.com. Adventure Time is about a boy named Finn. He was a thirteen-year old boy who was extremely lonely: having no friends and being ignored by his mother, who was having a difficult time trying to support him juggling two jobs. Finn's only friend was his loyal dog, Jake. A few years later, Jake died of old age. 

After Jake died, Finn got severely depressed and attempted to commit suicide by having an overdose. Rather than dying, he fell into a coma and was stuck in the hospital. Doctors feared he would never wake up from the coma. Unfortunately, they were correct, as Finn would never wake up from his coma, stuck in a dream, a fantasy world Finn had always dreamed of, and told Jake about.

Finn and Jake went on ultimate adventures to save the princesses that were madly in love with Finn. Lady Rainicorn,Jake's girlfriend who was a rainbow colored unicorn who only spoke Korean which leads them to misunderstanding. Finn, however, was in love with Princess Bubblegum, but she never could decide whether Jake was her friend or her lover, which is a great frustration for Finn. His greatest rival was the Ice King, an evil king who ruled the Ice Kingdom, who was upset and depressed because he was forever alone, so he kidnapped princesses so that he can have "pleasure." The Ice King had was so jealous for Finn because the princesses loved him so much.

The more characters that came, the more inanimate objects that came to life, the deeper Finn fell into his coma, growing more insane. It was not another normal child's imagination. Finn still remains in a coma until his dying days, adventuring with his dead dog Jake, never aging, never changing. 

Now I know why my aunt doesn't want my cousin to watch Adventure Time anymore because it's teaching may be sending out wrong messages, possibly depression. And depression has its side effects when it is not treated. According to the article that I read entitled, "Untreated Depression" by  Joseph Goldberg, MD on webmd.com, he says that "Untreated clinical depression is a serious problem." Untreated depression increases the chance of risky behaviors such as drug or alcohol addiction. It also can ruin relationships, cause problems at work, and make it difficult to overcome serious illnesses.

Clinical depression, also known as major depression, is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. Clinical depression affects the way you eat and sleep. It affects the way you feel about yourself and those around you. It even affects your thoughts. Untreated depression also often leads to decreased productivity, both at work and with everyday tasks, missed workdays, physical and emotional disability, and more frequent use of healthcare.

To sum it all up, first, it is not right to prohibit a child from watching PG rated shows. I mean it's not okay that you stop children from watching TV just because you found out this theory, again, it is just a theory. We may not know if it is really factual or not. But of course you should also consider in watching out for your children in terms of depression. You can spend more quality time with your kids and try to have fun as much as possible.