Content Warnings: Difference between revisions

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[[File:IfYoureNotACartoon.jpg|link=Beavis and Butthead|frame|In short: [[Space Whale Aesop|Become a cartoon]].]]

{{quote|The preceding program contained scenes of extreme violence and should not have been viewed by young children.~~|''[[The Simpsons]]'', "Deep Space Homer"}}~~

{{quote|The preceding program contained scenes of extreme violence and should not have been viewed by young children.

|''[[The Simpsons]]'', "Deep Space Homer"}}

{{quote|"Well, we warned you."~~|''Edward Van Sloan'', ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'' (1931)}}~~

{{quote|"Well, we warned you."

|''Edward Van Sloan'', ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'' (1931)}}

Warnings given before the airing of a TV show or film, on the box of a video or computer game, on a movie poster, or in a fanfic's summary/[[Fan Fic Header|header]].

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* The ''[[Kuroshitsuji (manga)|Kuroshitsuji]]'' manga, rated Older Teen by Yen Press, usually gets from Yen Press LV for language and violence. The exception was LSV for language, sex, and violence for the volume containing the infamous ([[Does This Remind You of Anything?|but totally non-sexual]]) corset scene. Later on, when ''an actual on-page sex scene'' appears, the volume in question still only gets the usual LV. The scene without any sex in it was just that much more explicit.

== ~~Networks~~ ==

== Fan Works ==

⚫

* Back in 1999, when Animax Latin America was still called Locomotion, the series would start with a content warning featuring Playmobil-like figures doing a slapstick version of what the warning was about. Shortly before the name change, the figures were replaced with actual footage from anime series (for example, ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' for violence or ''[[Agent Aika]]'' for sexual content) representing the warning.

⚫

* In a serious variant, shows on [[Australian Media|Australian television]] which feature deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders feature warnings that the shows "may contain the image and voice recordings of people who are now dead", in order to respect the traditional cultural beliefs of [[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] and [[Torres Strait Islanders]], wherein discussion of the deceased is a taboo. Gotta be sensitive of the natives, man. This occurs significantly more frequently on the public broadcasters, [[The ABC]] and [[SBS]], than it does on any of the commercial broadcasters, to the point where it's practically unheard of on the commercial channels' part. Make of that what you will.

⚫

* For a short time, BBC America ran a warning suggesting that viewers unfamiliar with the accents of the United Kingdom would be well advised to turn on [[Closed Captioning]].

⚫

* One network in Canada's content warning (possibly CTV?) states that the following program "may" contain offensive content. [[It Just Bugs Me|It also "may" contain extended scenes of toddlers hugging puppies]]. It rarely does.

⚫

* YTV's Bionix anime(/Canadian-Content-we-need-to-please-the-CRTC/''[[Invader Zim]]'') block has the exact same warning throughout, even when they are showing shows that really aren't that violent. That said, the more violent shows usually get modified warnings.

⚫

** Usually, your standard [[Shounen]] [[Anime]] and so on have the warning, "This program contains mature themes and is intended for an older youth audience. Viewer discretion is advised." There are several cases where "older youth audience" is changed to "older teen audience" (for things like ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' and ''[[Death Note]]'')... sandwiched between two "older youth audience" shows.

⚫

* In the early days of the UK's ''Channel 4'', programmes of a sexual nature were marked with a 'red triangle'. Dropped after realising that this essentially marked out the good bits for everyone to find.

⚫

* Similarly, for many years Mexican TV networks would superimpose a capital "A" (for "adultos") in the corner of the screen on more mature shows.

⚫

* The Canadian Global Television Network used to precede religious programming with, "The opinions expressed in the following program are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Television Network".

⚫

* [[ABC Family]] runs one of the "the opinions expressed in this program do not reflect those of ABC Family" variety before ''[[The Artifact|The 700 Club]]'', as part of [[Old Shame|its efforts to divorce itself and its image]] from the program's leanings.

⚫

* Canada's Teletoon network runs content warnings during the ''Teletoon At Night'' block, featuring a snarky announcer reading them. Initially, the announcer was extra snarky, punctuating content warnings with lines such as "If you're under 14, then why are you even awake?", though they toned him down however, more recently.

⚫

== ~~Fan Fic~~ ==

* [[My Immortal|"WARNING: SUM OF DIS CHAPTA IS XTREMLY SCRAY. VIOWER EXCRETION ADVISD."]]

** Viewer [[So Bad It's Good|excretion]] is right, considering [[Crack Fic|the]] [[Troll Fic|nature]] of this fanfic.

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* In the [http://www.wcnews.com/fiction/intro.html introduction] for ''[http://www.wcnews.com/articles/art10.shtml Wing Commander 4.123106: The Price of Entertainment]'', in addition to warning about adult language, graphic violence, gratuitous nudity, and sexual content, there's [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|"EWSH Extremely Warped Sense of Humor"]].

* Chapter 14 of ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4020072/1/The_Land_Before_Time_Revenge Land Before Time: Revenge]'' has this warning: "Warning: THIS SCENE CONTAINS SOME INTENSE VIOLENCE!"

== Film ==

* "Contains irresponsible behaviour" -- ''[[Mr. Bean]]'s Holiday'' UK poster

* The video and DVD releases of ''[[Dogma]]'' start with a disclaimer that states that the movie is a work of comedy and not intended to be taken seriously or offend, before going off into a long meandering rant about the platypus intended to represent that [[God]] does, in fact, have a sense of humor even if some viewers don't. What ''else'' could explain the platypus, really?

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* The film [[North]] was rated PG for "a few words".

* Prior to airing the infamous nuclear war film ''[[Threads]]'', at least [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfFa-jlN22U two] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdI_TYAT0z4 broadcasters] aired extended disclaimers telling viewers that the film is incredibly disturbing, but that the decision to air it was ultimately made due to [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped|the importance of its message.]]

== Literature ==

* The ''[[Spitting Image]]'' parody of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs bore a sticker on the front that said "'''WARNING!''' This book carries a salacious warning on the front that is an '''OBSCENE''' attempt to sell more copies".

* [[Older Than Steam]]: [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] uses a content warning in the "Miller's Prologue" from ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''.

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* The first page of ''Helter Skelter'', Vincent Bugliosi’s recounting of the Manson Family murders (he was the prosecutor), is blank save for the statement "The story you are about to read will SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU."

* In the book ''Someone is Eating the Sun'' which is about various farm animals reacting to a solar eclipse, it shows them looking straight at the sun during the eclipse, at the beginning of the book, it warns people not to do this.

== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[The Hogan Family]]'': The second-season episode "Bad Timing," where a frank discussion between David (Jason Bateman) and his [[Girl of the Week|girlfriend]] involves the use of the word "condom." The episode—one of the first [[Dom Com|DomComs]] to address safe sex—had a parential guidance discretion read before the episode, and again during commericals for birth-control products and safe-sex PSAs. (And yes, David and his girlfriend decided to "wait.")

* ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House On the Prairie]]'': Several episodes dealing with racism were not shy about [[N-Word Privileges|using the word "nigger"]], and each of them had a discretionary message alerting viewers beforehand that characters were going to use the word. Michael Landon's excellent-as-always scripts reflected the harsh realities of the 1800s, where men who hated African-Americans regularly used the word in reference to them.

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{{quote|The following contains senior citizens pranking real unsuspecting young people. If you find this offensive...too bad.}}

⚫

== Networks ==

⚫

* Back in 1999, when Animax Latin America was still called Locomotion, the series would start with a content warning featuring Playmobil-like figures doing a slapstick version of what the warning was about. Shortly before the name change, the figures were replaced with actual footage from anime series (for example, ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' for violence or ''[[Agent Aika]]'' for sexual content) representing the warning.

⚫

* In a serious variant, shows on [[Australian Media|Australian television]] which feature deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders feature warnings that the shows "may contain the image and voice recordings of people who are now dead", in order to respect the traditional cultural beliefs of [[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] and [[Torres Strait Islanders]], wherein discussion of the deceased is a taboo. Gotta be sensitive of the natives, man. This occurs significantly more frequently on the public broadcasters, [[The ABC]] and [[SBS]], than it does on any of the commercial broadcasters, to the point where it's practically unheard of on the commercial channels' part. Make of that what you will.

⚫

* For a short time, BBC America ran a warning suggesting that viewers unfamiliar with the accents of the United Kingdom would be well advised to turn on [[Closed Captioning]].

⚫

* One network in Canada's content warning (possibly CTV?) states that the following program "may" contain offensive content. [[It Just Bugs Me|It also "may" contain extended scenes of toddlers hugging puppies]]. It rarely does.

⚫

* YTV's Bionix anime(/Canadian-Content-we-need-to-please-the-CRTC/''[[Invader Zim]]'') block has the exact same warning throughout, even when they are showing shows that really aren't that violent. That said, the more violent shows usually get modified warnings.

⚫

** Usually, your standard [[Shounen]] [[Anime]] and so on have the warning, "This program contains mature themes and is intended for an older youth audience. Viewer discretion is advised." There are several cases where "older youth audience" is changed to "older teen audience" (for things like ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' and ''[[Death Note]]'')... sandwiched between two "older youth audience" shows.

⚫

* In the early days of the UK's ''Channel 4'', programmes of a sexual nature were marked with a 'red triangle'. Dropped after realising that this essentially marked out the good bits for everyone to find.

⚫

* Similarly, for many years Mexican TV networks would superimpose a capital "A" (for "adultos") in the corner of the screen on more mature shows.

⚫

* The Canadian Global Television Network used to precede religious programming with, "The opinions expressed in the following program are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Television Network".

⚫

* [[ABC Family]] runs one of the "the opinions expressed in this program do not reflect those of ABC Family" variety before ''[[The Artifact|The 700 Club]]'', as part of [[Old Shame|its efforts to divorce itself and its image]] from the program's leanings.

⚫

* Canada's Teletoon network runs content warnings during the ''Teletoon At Night'' block, featuring a snarky announcer reading them. Initially, the announcer was extra snarky, punctuating content warnings with lines such as "If you're under 14, then why are you even awake?", though they toned him down however, more recently.

== Professional Wrestling ==

* The [[WWE]]'s programs in the late '90s Attitude Era often had a content warning about violence and sexual situations—delivered by one of the resident Divas, who would [[The Vamp|vamp]] it up through the entire announcement. Sunny had the hottest way of saying, "Viewer discretion is advised"...

* On WWE DVDs, all of the trailers before the main menu are skippable—except for the mildly graphic one that shows the end result of any number of in-ring injuries, with the stern request to "Please DO NOT try this at home".

== Music ==

* A sticker on the cover of some [[Guns N' Roses]] albums reads "This album contains language which some listeners may find objectionable. They can F?!* OFF and buy something from the New Age section."

* [[Liquid Tension Experiment|CAUTION: "Three Minute Warning" is not for the musically faint-hearted, impatient, or critics of extreme self-indulgence. If you fall into any of the above categories, please hit the stop button on your CD player after track #8.]]

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== Radio ==

* One episode of the third radio series of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' finishes with the warning: "The preceding program contains scenes of extreme violence which may be disturbing to some viewers. Time travellers of a nervous disposition may wish to consider listening to something else for the previous half-hour."

** ''Hitchhikers'' offered a straight example when the episode featuring the destruction of the Guide offices was broadcast on [[The BBC|Radio 4]] [[Too Soon|shortly after 9/11]].

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== Tabletop Games ==

* The box for ''[[Chez Geek]]'', as well as its spinoffs, contains the tongue-in-cheek warning "For adult audiences only. Actual maturity not required."

* [[Dungeons & Dragons|Book of Vile Darkness]], a splatbook devoted to evil-aligned abilities, got a mature content warning that was somewhat out-of-proportion to the level of sex and violence actually present in it. Then Book of Exalted Deeds, a good-themed splatbook, got one too! (According to the designers, this was because you need to be mature in order to not be tempted to abuse [[Game Breaker|the overpowered abilities present in both books]].)

== Theatre ==

* ''[[Avenue Q]]'' has warnings such as "PARENTAL ADVISORY: 60% adult situations and 40% foam rubber" and "Not appropriate for children due to language and adult content such as full puppet nudity".

* ''[[Jersey Boys]]'' has this disclaimer: "This musical contains smoke, loud gunshots, strobe lights, and '''authentic, offensive Jersey vocabulary'''".

== Video Games ==

* Games which allow players to send each other content were given the ESRB warning: "Game Experience May Change During Online Play". This is even true for certain games outside the ESRB's region. It's recently been replaced by "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB", maybe for that reason.

** There is a similar one also for Music games with downloadable songs: "Music Downloads Not Rated by the ESRB".

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* Most over the top M rated games have a laundry list on the back of the box. [[No More Heroes]], for example, lists: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language. All understated, of course.

* ''Vegetable Game'' opens with an ominous screen which cryptically states: "WARNING -- Do not play Vegetable Game."

== Web Animation ==

* Parodied at the beginning of "[[Siblings]] [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/489365 Untitled 01]".

{{quote|"'''WARNING!''' The clip you are about to see is FAKE. All the places, characters, and events are more or less fictitious in their presentation and you are expected to know it never happened. It ain't a biography, people, it's an internet cartoon. Expect nothing but lies. LIES! P.S. You cannot refund time, so if I end up wasting yours, then do us both a favor and get over it. Using levitation! Using levitation! P.S. You cannot refund time, so if I end up wasting yours, then do us both of a favor...then do us both a favor and get over it. Using levitation! Using LEVITATION!...''PSYoucannotrefundtimesoifIendupwastingyoursthendousbothafavorandgetoverit Using LEVITATION! LEVITATION! LEVITATION! Using LEVITATION!'' Ti revo teg dna rovaf a htob su od neht, sruoy gnitsaw pu dne I fi os, emit dnufer tonnac uoy S.P. P.S. You cannot refund time, so if I end up wasting yours, then do us both a favor and get over it. Using levitation! ''Peeeeeeeee.Eeessssssssss. Yooooouuuuuuu canooooooooott refuuuuuuuuuuuuund tiiiiiiiiiiime soooooo, if Iiiiiiiiiiii eeeeeeennd uuuuuup waaaaaaaaaasting yoooooooooouuuuuuuurs, theeeen doooo uuuusssssss booooooooth a favooooor annnnnnd get ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooveeeeeer iiiiiit.''"}}

== Web Comics ==

* "''[[Venus Envy]]'' is Rated WEB-14 and probably isn't suitable for younger viewers or those who find the following things offensive: Homosexuality, Bisexuality, Transsexuality, Jews, Slapstick, Mixed-Religion Marriages, Women in the Workplace, Women in Pants, Plot, Girls' Soccer, or Chickens teaching Hard Science. If you find any of the above offensive, please go [http://www.simiansociety.org/ here]."

* ''[[Xkcd]]'' has the message "Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."

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== Web Original ==

* In ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', topics containing either extreme violence or graphic sex are expected to be given content warnings. This usually just results in more people reading it.

* [http://chromagic.blogspot.com/2011/01/101-kickass-things.html This Chromagic post] contains a parody of this at the very start.

* After December 2018, [[Tumblr]] will often display "warning" messages instead of content that might [[Think of the Advertisers!|offend advertisers]]; ultimately, though, this is a subversion, because the message implies the user can click through to the content -- but if they do, they end up at a page about Tumblr's content policies instead.

== Western Animation ==

* "All characters and events in this show -- [[No Celebrities Were Harmed|even those based on real people]] -- are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated... poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone." --''[[South Park]]''

* "Just in case that last disclaimer wasn't enough, this episode contains extreme violence. We would rather run this than cut the violence from the episode because we are American Cowboys." --[[Adult Swim]] before really bloody episodes; as stated, it follows a more traditional (and bland) content warning advising that [[Adult Swim]] is not for viewers under 18...err 14.

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Viewer Discretion is advised. }}

** There was also an episode of the show which focused on this. "The Story of 420" poked fun at this backfiring with video games. First Lady [[Drugs Are Bad|Nancy]] [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] forces Game-a-Vision to put warning labels on all of their games stating "[[Do Not Do This Cool Thing|Playing this game increases the likelihood that you will engage in drug use and deviant sex]]". While Larrity objects at first, he's then extremely happy as [[No Such Thing as Bad Publicity|the labels cause their game sales to skyrocket]] to the point where Reagan then has to ban them from having the labels on their games.

* ''[[Beavis and Butthead]]'' had, not one, but two different Content Warnings during its run; apparently the first one wasn't quite serious enough, so they changed it up a bit without sacrificing the funny:

* ''[[Beavis and Butthead]]'' had, not one, but two different Content Warnings during its run; apparently the first one wasn't quite serious enough, so they changed it up a bit without sacrificing the funny:** ''Beavis and Butt-head are not real. They are stupid cartoon people completely made up by [[Mike Judge|this Texas guy]] who we hardly even know. Beavis and Butt-Head are dumb, crude, ugly, thoughtless, sexist, self-destructive fools. But for some reason the little wiener heads make us laugh.''

** ''Beavis and Butt-head are not real. They are stupid cartoon people completely made up by [[Mike Judge|this Texas guy]] who we hardly even know. Beavis and Butt-Head are dumb, crude, ugly, thoughtless, sexist, self-destructive fools. But for some reason the little wiener heads make us laugh.''

** ''Beavis and Butt-head are not role models. They're not even human, they're cartoons. Some of the things they do could cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested... possibly deported. To put it another way, [[Don't Try This At Home]].''

** As the image at the top of the article shows, they even had to put in content warnings ''during'' the episodes "Stewart's House" and "Way Down Mexico Way". Sadly, not even this bold act can save those episodes from being [[Missing Episode|removed from circulation]].

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== Other ==

* The Anime Boston convention has an extended warning segment before the AMV contest with clips from anime series showing what the warning represents, usually humorously. The [[Fan Service]] warning featured a clip from ''[[Golden Boy]]'' and a character in a [[Stripperiffic]] costume that had the audience rolling on the floor laughing.