What Measure Is a Non-Human?/Western Animation: Difference between revisions

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* [[Transformers|Optimus Prime]] has a very clear opinion on this, with his famous "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" motto. The series, though, have sometimes defined sentience in an unsatisfying way - [[Our Souls Are Different|not having a spark]] renders you a 'drone' even if said 'drone' clearly thinks and feels. In a non-canon series of ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' comics (with a few [[Out of Character]] moments, though mostly confined to Megatron being generically evil instead of a [[Magnificent Bastard]]) Bumblebee is told by Optimus not to mourn for {{spoiler|Afterburn}} because he was a sparkless drone, and it's not clear who is right ( {{spoiler|Afterburn}} appears to think and feel, and Bumblebee cared about him and it sure seems a [[Jerkass]] move to callously tell him that the friend he just saw torn in half was just a drone and thus not worth any worry, but he ''was'' a {{spoiler|Decepticon infiltrator, only pretending to be friends with Bee or ''anybody,'' was killed by Megatron in a [[You Have Failed Me...]] moment, and could ''well'' have been acting according to the "make nice with the mark" programming you'd expect an advanced but nonsentient infiltration-bot to have. And since whether he was real or not, any friendship he had with the Autobots clearly wasn't, he kinda ''isn't'' worth crying over either way.}} Still, be nice to [[The Woobie|poor Bee]], huh?)

* Human characters who don't regard ''[[Transformers]]'' as sentient beings are, in general, not treated sympathetically by any series in the franchise. However, it's apparently okay for younger viewers to see a Transformer die, even in a time slot where killing off a human character would bring down the wrath of the [[Media Watchdog|Media Watchdogs]] upon all involved. This may be more of a method of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]].

* In the initial ark of [[Superman: The Animated Series]] a bunch of [[Starfish Aliens]] stumble upon [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|Braniac's]] ship, reactivate him and get swiftly slaughtered for their troubles. Only their silhouettes are visible at that, but their [[Alien Blood|bodily fluids]] are spattered all over a wall. Nothing even remotedly as graphic ever befalls humans. Braniac himself, by the way, is also fair game for Sups to kill.