Lately, I’ve taken notice of something that has been more and more on the rise online, that being people taking some shows far too seriously. 

Although there is some merit to taking children’s shows seriously, as often, there are mature themes in them, sometimes it’s a little bit silly. For example, if you are seriously arguing about the magic system in “My Little Pony,” I think you should probably take a step back and reflect on what you’re doing.

Another thing surrounding this is people taking slapstick seriously. In a number of online discussions about “Miraculous Ladybug,” people take some moments that are clearly meant for comedy, like for example, one of the characters literally getting thrown in the trash, seriously, and claim the other character is toxic. This is honestly a baffling mindset to have.

Really, I think the main problem with takes like the one weirdly commonplace among older “Miraculous” fans is that people don’t know how to take a joke (although I’m hesitant to say that phrase due to the “jokes” it’s said alongside). A lot of children’s media has jokes made for, you guessed it, children, so it going over some people’s heads isn’t too jarring, but it’s frustrating.

This problem could probably be solved by getting people to engage with more mature media, especially if they’re outside of the media they’re currently watching. More mature media can show people what they’re actually arguing about and show them some themes that are allowed to be more explicit with what they’re trying to say.

This isn’t to say that in order to fully understand the motifs in “Bluey” you have to sit down and watch “Game of Thrones” (absolutely do not do this), but it is saying that sometimes, it’s better for someone to engage with something more fit for their own age, at least in the little pockets of the Internet I found myself in.