Why was Hey Arnold so grimy?

Aftermath of the 2nd Great Depression.

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it was a 90s thing I think dark shows(in story material and literal animation) were just more popular

That's a weird question. It was just the aesthetic they wanted.

>>90502466
it's new york

They lived in a major city.

>>90502639
we need to go back to that era. I'm sick of happy shows. I want more dark and grim shit to match reality.

>>90502466
Good, likable people can be found even in a grimy urban shithole

>>90503924
Yeah. The setting and the music(jazz) are what helps to make the show stand out.
Everything doesn't have to be sweetness and light.

>>90503894
It actually isn't. It's a composite of Brooklyn, Seattle, and Portland, canonically in Washington.

>>90503924
>>90503997
tv execs just assume kids have a 2 second attention span so it has to be action all the time

>>90503924
Arnold was dark and grim?

>>90504105
I don't feel like the show was dark and grim, more like it didn't sugarcoat anything.

>>90502466
They lived on NY

>>90504200
A lot of things in Hey Arnold go unsaid.
Miriam's alcohol drinking.
Mr. Simmons being gay is hinted at.(Not that being gay is dark.)
Arnold's parents aren't even talked about until later seasons.
Helga's emotional abuse is played for laughs until Helga On The Couch.
All the kids are jerks at times(even Arnold) and nice at other times as many people are.
Grandma and Grandpa are subtly crazy or suffering from some form of dementia.

Best cartoon of all time for what it is.

>>90504024
What, for real? I always thought it was just in New York. Huh. Haven't watched it in ages.

>>90502466
thats the american inner city for you. Espcially during the late 90s when city where just coming out of or were still dealing with drug/gang problems.

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>>90503924
>>90503997
You might want to check out Clarence. Despite the color palette and character designs, a really big emphasis is placed on making the world realistically dirty and shabby.

A big focus of the show is being form a child's point of view, particularly our main three characters. Clarence is an optimist and filled with imagination and glee, and so the world is very colorful and bright. But all the grunge and grittyness is still there. There's discolored spots, mud and dirty water, litter everywhere, a lot of the adults around are very clearly in some degree of poverty, a lot of stuff like that.

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>>90504726
Dat-ass