Well, I just finished watching the
Teen Titans episode "Revolution", and I have to say: what in gawd's name just happened there?
Let me just clarify here. Earlier on, I said that I'd started watching
Teen Titans, and that I liked it; well, scratch that, I positively love it now. I think it's a wonderfully animated, outstandingly acted show that combines action, drama and comedy perfectly to form a supremely entertaining blend, all grounded by five diverse and utterly lovable characters. As such, I appreciate that much of the show's charm comes from its ability to switch between dramatic superhero adventures (such as Season Two's Terra story arc, which had me gripped and frequently quite touched) and crazed comedy (such as the same season's "Fractured", in which a rotund Robin-like imp called Larry turns reality into a crayon drawing).
However, Season Three's "Revolution" (in which Malcolm McDowell's psychedelic Cockney villain Mad Mod creates an alternate reality that repeals the Declaration of Independence and turns the city into a Union Jack-tinted dystopia) had me at a loss for words, and not in a good way. Patriotism's all well and good, and as American animators, they're well within their rights to have a pro-US message, but when you have an entire episode centred around the relentless, flippant mockery of another country...I'm sorry, I just find it grating and kind of offensive. I'm not trying to be some uptight, overly sensitive killjoy Brit who can't take a joke; I
know that both Mad Mod and the British hell he creates were just stereotypical caricatures, but this episode just didn't find anything new or clever to do with them, and instead went for cheap laughs by propogating the tired cliche of the Brits as buck-toothed, tea-drinking imperialists who talk funny.
What really killed it for me, though, was the contrast between that blithe ridicule and the cloyingly earnest, smugly superior way the Titans take inspiration from their American heritage to defeat Mad Mod. Cyborg's "it may not look like it, but this is still America, so I say we vote" line had me almost screaming at the screen ("WE HAVE BLOODY VOTING IN ENGLAND AS WELL!"
), and as for Starfire's little spiel about the birth of democracy...well, it made me temporarily hate Starfire, a character whose sweetness and huggability rivals PPG's Bubbles. Hating Starfire is like wanting to go and shoot a puppy, and I object to any show that makes me want to go and shoot a puppy.
Like I said, I love
Teen Titans, and I've really enjoyed what I've seen so far of the third season ("Haunted", which saw Robin plagued by visions of vanquished archenemy Slade, shocked and impressed me with its dark impact), but "Revolution" left a bad, bad taste in my mouth...
