The Ambivalence of Cuteness: Violence and Cuteness Hand in Hand
- Savannah Edwards
- Apr 24, 2019
- 6 min read
“...Violence has always been a strangely fascinating topic… [we] find [ourselves] unable to look away... even though [we are] frightened and disgusted… [it] is a complex concept that does not come in one solid form.” (The Oxbow School, undt, p. 1). It seems that we have some kind of obsession with violence. We see, hear and experience a saturation of violence within the media, be it through watching the news, playing Pokémon, listening to music, or watching your favourite horror or Adventure Time episode. The intensity of the exposure is much varied from mild to extreme but it remains consistently delivered in every format of media.
However, this is not the only topic to have a firm grip on our attention. Although traditionally thought of as more passive or innocent, the concept of “cuteness” is rapidly “...colonizing our world” (May, 2019, p. 1). Akin to the multifaceted nature of violence, Cute can be delivered in many forms. It is able to charm audiences with ease, for purposes ranging from absolutely frightening and violent to totally innocent. As David Whitley notes in his book; Learning with Disney, “...innocence seems devoid of intention or design” (Whitley, 2013, p.2), making it the perfect vehicle to deliver unexpected and unsettling violence. The purpose of this dialogue is to discuss and explore the relationship between violence and cuteness in the media and why cuteness makes violence seem all the more effective in various genres of film. To do this I’ll be taking a look at the aesthetics of three examples:
The whole cast of Happy Tree Friends, a large number of the cast from Deadman Wonderland and the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The other three are just examples of some other ways cuteness and violence are present in film: The Blue Demons from Galaxy Quest, Chucky from Child’s Play and Gogo from Kill Bill. Although it may be noted that these are more obvious and extreme acts of violence, there are a plethora of examples dealing less graphic or noticeable acts of violence, for example: Adventure Time, Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon, My Little Pony and the list goes on. I chose these particular three for the different ways that the “cute is evil” trope can be utilised.
If you’re queasy with blood I do advise you to skip over the below video as it is very graphic.
Happy Tree Friends, 'Eyes Cold Lemonade' (2002)
“The violence is very graphic, sadistic and often gory. The accompanying joyful music, cute characters and a seemingly kid-friendly atmosphere make the violent parts all the more disturbing and stomach-churning....” (Commensensemedia, 2019) This is a comment from the review site Common Sense Media where parents and kids alike rate various shows, their appropriateness, and so on. This comment was perfect in illustrating what makes the violence so effective in Happy Tree Friends when used in tandem with cute aesthetics. Images of cute, weirdly proportioned, “childish” characters litter our screens and then a barrage of blood and gore ensues, shocking us and taking us out of the comfort of pastel pinks and bright colours.
Though at first perceived to be pure, the “sweet” motives of cute are “...pervaded by cynicism, self gratification, power seeking, and violence, none of these features … intrinsic...” to the perceived nature of “Cute” (May, 2019, p. 6). The interesting thing about Happy Tree Friends is that it isn’t always the cute characters dealing the violence, rather it is often that the violence is being dealt to them as evident in this episode. When Giggles’ face is ripped off we are instantly in a state of “what the fuck” as not only is it just suddenly gorey but we are wondering why it’s a cute pink chipmunk having their face ripped off. It is usually the case that we see these characters dealing the violence.
Deadman Wonderland (2011)
It is rather common in anime that we see psycho cute little girls or seemingly “helpless” and weak but dangerous characters, these are characters that fit into the “Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon” and “Enfant Terrible” tropes (TVtropes, undt.) . In Deadman Wonderland, there are a huge number of these characters. In Hibana Daida’s case, she is illustrated as a 7 year old child, cute and small with a pink dress, large childlike eyes and big red bow in her hair. Although you are unable to see it here, the cover on her case for her insanely disproportionate weapon is representative of a dog plush toy.
Despite these cute visuals she is described by one of the other characters that she “punishes” - Nagi - as a “...a little girl with nothing close to proper at that, a sad, sick twisted little girl with a rotten heart” (Deadman Wonderland, 2008). When her weapon is revealed, we are at a marvel for how such a young small girl can 1. Carry that monster of a sword/whip, and 2. Have such a corrupted idea of justice. Which makes it all the more disturbing when she starts slicing Nagi’s skin off. “...Cute is able to render beguiling precisely because it does so trivially, charmingly [and] un-menacingly…” (May, 2019, p. 6). Despite that violence and cuteness is often used to scare and disturb us in splatter and thriller genres of the previous examples, it may also be used as agency for “light hearted” comedy.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the punchline of the Killer Rabbit is clear. The contrast between what we relate fluffy rabbits to and the unforgiving surrounding environment is stark. The white rabbit sits by skulls and bones in front of a cave, it’s coat is undoubtedly clean, giving it the image of “untouched purity”. King Arthur and his knights are in disbelief that such a small “cute” animal could be as deadly as Tim the Enchanter claims, calling Tim a “Silly Sod” . Arthur sends down one of his knights to take care of it and the knight is brutally killed by the rabbit, his head being gnawed off. What makes this scene even more ridiculous is that rabbits are herbivores, so the notion that a rabbit could savagely rip someone to pieces strikes us all - and King Arthur - as total utter poppycock.
By now, you can easily gather that it is the contrast of what we relate the respective topics to, as the power that cuteness and violence have in their relationship. The way that violence pervades cuteness as a tool for agency can be used very effectively in media as it is the perceived nature of cuteness that tricks us all into a false sense of security, before thwacking us with unexpected violence. It has evolved a significant amount over the decades, whilst traditionally enforcing the innocence of children and serving as an escape from the violence of our world, it is now instead being used to deliver violence and showcase the instability and reality of our world. “Can we define the nature of cuteness as transformative - shifting the monstrosity not even to the realm of beauty (for a cruel beauty is something within the spectrum of monstrous emanations), but to the very space that is thought of as absolutely pure and sweet?” (Brzozowska-Brywczyńska, 2007, p. 1). Yes we can.
Bibliography
Information:
Boas, G. (1938). The Century of the Child. The American Scholar, 7(3), 1-4. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41204351
Brzozowska-Brywczyńska, M. (2007). Monstrous/Cute. Notes on the Ambivalent Nature of Cuteness. Monsters And The Monstrous. Myths And Metaphors Of Enduring Evil, 38, 1-3. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/3255982/Cute_Monster_Monstrous_Cute._Notes_on_the_ambivalent_nature_of_cuteness
Cute and Psycho - TV Tropes. (2019). Retrieved from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CuteAndPsycho
Cute Is Evil - TV Tropes. (2019). Retrieved from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CuteIsEvil
Enfant Terrible - TV Tropes. (2019). Retrieved from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EnfantTerrible
Gilliam, T., & Jones, T. (1975). Monty Python and The Holy Grail [Film]. Britain: Python (Monty) Pictures Limited.
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Montijo, R. (2002). Happy Tree Friends: Eyes Cold Lemonade [Video]. Mondo Media.
Parent reviews for Happy Tree Friends | Common Sense Media. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/happy-tree-friends/user-reviews/adult
Plourde, L. (2016). Babymetal and the ambivalence of cuteness. International Journal Of Cultural Studies, 21(3), 293-307. doi: 10.1177/1367877916674741
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van der Drift, M. (2018). Radical romanticism, violent cuteness, and the destruction of the world. Journal Of Aesthetics & Culture, 10(3), 1426313. doi: 10.1080/20004214.2018.1426313
Whitley, D. (2013). Learning with Disney. Journal Of Educational Media, Memory, And Society, 5(2), 75-91. doi: 10.3167/jemms.2013.050206
Images:
GIPHY. Blue Demons [Image]. Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/12L2uCh2WfhRVS/giphy.gif
GIPHY. Daida Swing [Image]. Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/eFJFLs8biqr2E/giphy.gif
GIPHY. Gogo [Image]. Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/eb5klGgumhBOU/giphy.gif
GIPHY. Killer Rabbit [Image]. Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/9Rd7ocSZ81cHe/giphy.gif
Happy Tree Friends. Shoot the Messenger HTF [Image]. Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/tyttpHipQaMgU7fm968/giphy.gif
Killer Rabbit. [Image]. Retrieved from https://images.bunspace.com/static/groups/159/109/700.jpg
Manglobe. Hibana Daida [Image]. Retrieved from https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/characterprofile/images/1/13/HSntA.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160627120621
Manglobe. Hibana Daida Sword [Image]. Retrieved from https://animetv.store/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/8d900d71031d5b4a0ce51dca673574ab--deadman-wonderland-manga-720x405.jpg
Mondo Media. (2002). Eyes Cold Lemonade [Image]. Retrieved from https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/happytreefriends/images/a/a2/S2E7_Lemonade_Stand.png/revision/latest?cb=20160930022759
Videos:
Hibana Punishment. (2011). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzTVnVdw2lk
Mondo Media. (2007). Happy Tree Friends - Eyes Cold Lemonade (Ep #33) [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=165VjNKRNdw
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Bunny Attack Scene (HD). (2014). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnOdAT6H94s
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