Chapter 1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

     Adventure Time is a T.V. show that is made for kids, or at least that was the target audience. The show itself is quite simple, being about a human boy named Finn and his best friend named Jake, who's a talking magical dog, who both likes to go out on adventures. Every day they meet all kinds of creatures and do all kinds of quirky fun things. It is this kind of story telling that attracts children to keep watching the series. Not to mention, the animation and the way the characters were drawn so simply and in such a cute way is also another eye-candy for the young viewers. 

     Pendleton Ward, the creator of the show, stated that he just set out to make a children's show; One that he would have enjoyed as a child himself. With Adventure Time, he was able to succeed at that goal. It became a huge hit with the children. However, they say that, although the show is for children, it has teenage humour. This is due to the fact that the people who make it don't restrict themselves when coming up with jokes and puns. They don't bother themselves with the idea of whether the children can understand it or not. This is probably another reason why it attracts more viewers.

     Adventure Time has a lot of eye-candy which attracts children to watch it. The way everything is drawn is quite simple yet there are times when they decide to put in a lot of details, mostly just to emphasize the situation or the character's emotion. Also, the manner the characters are designed are quite unique and adorable as well. Another factor that attracts children to watch it. Its humour is also something to note. Although not all the jokes can be understood by children, there are still some that others can still appreciate which probably makes kids feel more interested to watch.

     However, despite the fact that Adventure Time is targeted at children, there are a lot of adults who also watch the show. Whenever one would go to a Comic con or a cosplaying event, he would always see young adults and maybe even ones in their 30's or 40's dressed in Adventure Time characters. Now it is not unusual for adults to be watching cartoons, especially if they are really targeted for adults. However, being that Adventure Time is a show made for children, adults happen to enjoy watching it just as much as kids do. This could be due to the fact that it has some jokes that could only be understood by older people but what other factors make adults feel so interested in the show? 

     At first glance, one would think that this show is definitely for kids judging from how the characters look so colourful and the settings look so magical. But after watching a few episodes, you would start to take notice of some things that's not really just for kids, like the show's dark past. The place where Finn and Jake live, the Land of Ooo, actually takes place during a post-apocalyptic era wherein humans have become extinct, making Finn the only human being left. But even if the show has this dark mysterious past, they still make it fun and happy through all of Finn and Jake's adventures, probably another reason why adults must enjoy watching this show.

     However, this study intends to learn more. This paper will deal with what exactly makes the show so appealing to adults. It will focus on the factors that make adults watch Adventure Time.


B. Statement of the Problem

     This study aims to answer this question:

     1. What are the factors that make adults watch Adventure Time?


C. Significance of the Study

Animators. Animators, who are either just starting their careers or are already familiar with the business, would be able to find this research helpful due to the fact that it can help them learn more about how they can make a cartoon that can be both appealing to child and adult viewers just like Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time. Also, they could use this knowledge to come up with their own techniques on attracting these viewers.

Adventure Time Fans (Mostly Adults). Fans of the T.V. show, especially the adults, can find this information useful if they also wish to learn more about how their favourite show is able to attract the kind of viewers it gets. It could also help the adult fans realize that there are a lot of other viewers their age as well.

Adults and Teenagers Who Want to Prove a Point to Their Parents or Friends. This research can help those who want to prove to their parents (or even to other people) that not all cartoons are "only for kids". Even adults watch the T.V. show, Adventure Time, and enjoy it like the children do.

Future Researchers. This paper will be useful to future researchers who will make similar studies with this topic since there are not a lot of studies on this subject. 


D. Scopes and Limitations

     This study will mainly focus on the factors that make adults watch Adventure Time. So it will also discuss how the show works; its characters, setting, story and possibly some of its relevant episodes. It will also mention what the children enjoy about this show and as well as the adults.

     We will no longer discuss every episode that they have released, only the ones that will come up during the research or will be of significance. We will also not discuss whether the show is really meant for children or not since we have already established that it was initially targeted at them.


E. Materials and Methods

     This research uses a descriptive method since the researcher describes and discusses related articles found on the World Wide Web. Please note that majority of the information in this research is found through the internet. The rest is through surveys which will be done by asking adults and young adults questions, like if they watch Adventure Time and what do they like about the show. This will either be done personally or through the use of the internet once again.


F. Definition of Terms

Cartoon - A simple drawing showing the features of its subjects in an exaggerated way, esp. in a newspaper or magazine.

Character - A person represented in a play, film, story, etc; role.

T.V. - An abbreviation for the word "television" which is the broadcasting of a still or moving image via radiowaves to receivers that project a view of the image on a picture tube.

Eye-candy - Visual images that are superficially attractive and entertaining but intellectually undemanding.

Cosplaying (Cosplay) - Short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. 

Pun - A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Post-apocalyptic - Set in a world or civilization after an apocalyptic fiction, which is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of human civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare,pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural phenomena, divine judgement, runaway climate change,resource depletion, ecological collapse, or some other general disaster.