Adult Swim started thanks to surreal, adult-oriented entertainment. While it has divorced itself somewhat from the rest of Cartoon Network by prioritizing more live-action content, animation for older teens and adults is its core source of entertainment. Whether it's anime like Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion or weird, Williams Street-produced comedy animation like Space Ghost Coast to Coast or Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Adult Swim is a haven for animation that is not for kids.
It seems inevitable, then, in an age where Adult Swim cartoons like Rick and Morty become mainstream hits, that some parents, confused by how Adult Swim isn't the same as the rest of Cartoon Network, get angry. However, the controversy surrounding one Adult Swim cartoon, the surreal anthology series Off the Air, has taken the internet by storm thanks to conspiracy theorists reacting to a deliberately grotesque piece of animation aired at 4 AM.
OFF THE AIR
Off the Air presents random segments of animation without context or information, meaning that from second-to-second you might experience something beyond expectation. In many respects, Off the Air represents a return to Adult Swim's more abstract and surreal roots, which is, again, by design. Creator Dave Hughes stated, "I sort of felt like the network was slipping away from its more experimental roots. I had started working for them on Space Ghost, and was so psyched to find a place that wanted to make that kind of programming...And then of course, the network became popular, and ratings started to drive it a little bit more. But everyone working there still loves the strange stuff, and it just seemed to me that we could still do that kind of programming, but just in an after-hours or online block."
The show remained relatively unknown outside the Adult Swim audience. However, despite that and its early morning time block, the show would on occasion net over one million viewers. With Season 10 starting in June 2020, the series looks like it's returned to offer more entertainment to an audience up late enough to appreciate its strange blend of surrealist horror and humor.
THE CONTROVERSY
This recent controversy sparked around one particular short, "PreBirth," that featured pyramid-headed figures spawning babies from out of robotic maws on their triangular heads, before creating a percussion line by mangling and beating the babies against obelisk structures. The babies, in reaction, seem to be having a joy being used as tools for these Silent Hill-esque entities.
However, years after this clip was released, a concerned individual tweeted about the post. In a now-deleted post, one Twitter user posted the clip in its entirety, followed by the statement, "Cartoon Network after hours. They throw it in your face. They hope you aren't the kind of parents who monitors what you[r] kids watch and do. They're busy conditioning them. What do you see here? I see witches abusing babies. This is not ok. This is not funny. #ThesePeopleAreSick."
Ignoring the fact that the clip in question was aired at 4 AM -- well past the time most children are asleep -- the video in question is aired during Adult Swim, a time block where nothing is okay for children. The parents who are concerned, however, seem to believe that not only is this image disturbing, but promoting witchcraft. This situation harkens back to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, where concerned parents believed Dungeons & Dragons was corrupting their children.
The tweet drew attention to truly creative animators who do not care about convention or logic. Off the Air remains a reminder of the sort of old-school Adult Swim content many fans who grew up with the programming block fondly want more of. It's edgy and creative in ways so few modern shows are. It dares to break convention and logic, with a complete apathy toward traditional storytelling. It's like a strange mix-tape made up by the mind of a bored teenager in school who may or may not be on acid. The show is essential viewing for animation fans who are confident watching it won't turn them into a witch.