“What are you into, hm?” “I’ve always liked rainbows.”
“We don’t like you’re kind around here!”
Rocko's Modern Life debuted on Nickelodeon in September of 1993. Created by Joe Murray,
a cartoonist who didn't even want to make a TV show, Rocko was part of an unlikely revolution
in TV animation, along with Ren & Stimpy, Rugrats, and Doug — a new wave of cartoons
that rejected the tarted-up toy commercials of the 1980’s ...
“Come in you royal boob!”
… by embracing the eccentric and sometimes shocking visions of their creators.
“Spin around and shake that booty!” “Like this?”
“Beautiful!”
At first glance, Rocko's Modern Life looks like a sweet kids’ show. A plucky little
wallaby and his quirky friends get into comic mischief around their surreal suburb. But
in an effort to reflect … well, modern life, the show is loaded with adult humor and double
entendres you may have never noticed.
“Oh baby. Oh baby. Oh baby.”
But as bold as Rocko was, there were still some topics that were too hot to approach
directly. And others that would take decades to come
home to O-Town
“I’m not Ralph anymore. I’m Rachel.” “Wow, cool!”
“That is awesome!”
Hey friends, I’m Matt Baume. I make videos about pop culture. And today I want to show
you how Rocko’s Modern Life might’ve managed to explore queer themes in TV animation long
before the lesbian space rocks and gay rat husbands we enjoy today ...
“Are you having cake?”
… upholding a long, proud tradition of subversive humor in cartoons.
“I’d like to see something nice in a pair of bedroom slippers.”
“Confidentially, so would I.”
And by the way, if you want to watch any of the cartoons featured in this video, I’ve
got links in the description. And a link to my Patreon, where I’ll be posting even more
about the history of animation, Nickelodeon shows, and censored cartoons of the 90s.
So if you were of a certain age in the 1990s, Nickelodeon dominated original animated shows.
It started with Rugrats and Doug and Ren & Stimpy in 1991. Rocko’s Modern Life followed in
93. The show was created by Joe Murray, who said at the time that he hated TV animation
— so of course, Nickelodeon gave him a show to see what he’d do. What he did was create
a satire of modern life, with Rocko wandering into awkward social situations full of zany
and often very gross visual gags. Watching it now, you can clearly see how a lot of the
folks who made Rocko would go on to create Spongebob in 1999.
But for now, let’s focus on a 1996 episode of Rocko entitled Closet Clown, which is SUPPOSEDLY
about clowns. But if you know where to look, there are hints of a deeper meaning littered
throughout.
The episode starts with a clown and a duck driving through the suburbs, as they so often
do. They get a flat, while inside a nearby house, Rocko’s neighbor Mrs. Bighead is
on the phone with … well, someone.
“You too, sissy. ... Sis sends her love.” “You don’t have a sister.”
“Well, that’s peculiar.”
So here we have a character who sounds like Harvey Fierstein talking to someone called
sissy, which to be honest sounds like a lot of brunches I’ve been to. Anyway, outside
the house, the clown’s trying to fix the tire, but he just inflates duck making him
big and round. Ed hears the commotion and rushes outside, upset. Very upset.
“We don’t like your kind around here!” “Take your freakish sideshow back to Scandinavia!”
Wait, what? Scandinavia? Why there? Well, in 1996 Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were known
for being the first countries in the world to offer recognition to same-sex couples.
Scandinavia had a reputation as a haven for queer people — Denmark decriminalized homosexuality
in 1933, more than 70 years before the US. It was the site of some of the earlier gender
confirmation surgeries, though they weren’t called that at the time. And relationship
recognition came to those countries in the late 80s and early 90s. Not everyone watching
Rocko’s Modern Life would have known that — kids almost definitely wouldn’t — but
if you DID know, hearing Ed tell someone that “their kind” should go back to Scandinavia
would make you prick up your ears.
And sure enough, the clown and duck escape back to Oslo, bon voyage.
“I’ve been doing fjords all my life.”
But they leave behind their truck — and … a nose. Ed finds it the next morning.
And something about it speaks to him. He’s curious. He likes it. But he’s also embarrassed
when he’s almost caught with it. He’s internalized some clown-related stigma, which
… fair enough, it can be a little uncomfortable to see a clown where it’s not expected.
Honestly I find Ed’s nervousness here deeply relatable. His fear of being caught with a
clown nose is me nearly getting caught reading XY Magazine in a Waldenbooks in 1996. I used
to hide gay magazines inside newspapers so nobody would know what I was reading.
And a quick sidenote, you see the way Ed’s hiding the nose behind his butt? I don’t
know why I’m telling you this, but many years ago, my partner was talking in his sleep
and said to me, “so… do you have a clown nose on your butt now?” … which made me
irrationally angry. I can only assume that when he dreams of me, this is what he sees.
Anyway, later at work, Ed can’t get the nose off his mind. He runs to the bathroom
to engage in a little cheeky washroom clowning, and he’s having a fine time … until, like
George Michael, he’s caught.
“Bighead, I’d like to see you in my office, please.”
Now I want to point out that the story so far seems to be about clowns, but if you’ve
been paying attention, you might notice that the animators seem to be dropping little hints
that it’s really about something else. The word “closet” in the title, sissy, Scandinavia,
the feeling of discovering something thrilling about yourself, and then the shame of keeping
it secret.
Sure, maybe none of these things mean much by themselves, but when they’re combined,
they fit together into a pattern that seems to point towards a big gay metaphor.
But was that really their intent? Or am I just reading too much into it? It could be
that I’m just projecting. After all, commenters often let me know that TV shows don’t actually
MEAN anything.
“Nothing means nothing!” “Nothing means nothing, what does that mean?”
Maybe I’m just seeing what I want to see. But we’re going to come back to that…
first look at what happens to Mr. Bighead once he’s caught clowning. He arrives at
his boss’ office, where there’s a surprise waiting for him.
“Ring a ding ding! I had a funny feeling about you, bighead!”
The boss is also a clown!
“See when you do clownery, the clown comes back to bite.”
This is a big moment for Bighead, and once again I can relate. His secret is out, he’s
been exposed, he’s panicking.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t gone public yet?”
“You must be joking!” “Do I look like I’m joking to you?”
Also, Bighead’s learned that someone he knows shares a similar secret. His boss is
super enthusiastic, totally comfortable being open as a clown — quite a change from his
public persona. Plus, he seems to be connected to a whole clown community that Mr. Bighead
didn’t know existed.
“Hello, chuckles, Doodoo here. Say, I’ve got a new one...”
The boss insists that Bighead take the next step and start clowning in public. Bighead’s
nervous...
“I’m not ready…..”
But he gives it a shot, showing up to perform at a birthday party.
“Where’s the clown? There’s supposed to be a clown!”
Oh don’t worry, they’re here. Ed apparently has a knack for clowning, he’s a huge hit.
“Thank goodness for clowns like you.”
His career starts to take off, he’s clowning all over town, and it feels amazing. He’s
having the time of his life. But he’s also keeping it secret from friends and family,
including his wife.
“No secrets between sailors.”
Of course, it’s only a matter of time before Ed’s found out. And sure enough, the fateful
day comes when he shows up at a party, and sees all of his friends in attendance … and
his wife.
Once again, being found out unexpectedly like this is deeply relatable to me. In 1996, I
went to a conference for queer youth called, and this was the real name, “Children from
the Shadows” — I don’t know why they called it that, it sounds like a conference
for young vampires! But anyway, while I was there, doing my best to flirt with a boy I
liked, my heart nearly stopped when I saw my parents across the room. They’d apparently
decided to come to learn how to be more supportive, which was an extremely wonderful thing for
them to do. But it sure was a surprise!
As it turns out, the people in Ed’s life are supportive too. His wife still loves him,
his friends understand.
“Everyone has secrets. That’s what makes us special.”
“Sometimes I like to pretend I’m a pixie.” “I’m wearing European-style undergarments.”
“There, you see? And well, I’ve always liked rainbows.”
Oh no, not rainbows. Apparently that’s one step over the line, because everyone is disgusted
by Rocko’s admission and chases him out of town. The end! But not really the end,
because even though Rocko’s Modern Life went off the air later that year, it came
back for a Netflix special in 2019 to find that life has become even more modern — in
ways both good and bad. And we’ll get to that in just a bit.
But first — the question remains: Is this 1996 episode, Closet Clown, meant to be read
as a metaphor for being gay? Or is it just about clowns?
Well, before we answer that question, let’s take a look at what came next. Rocko got launched
into space, in the series finale in late 96, as one does, and then came back for a Netflix
special in 2019. During that time he was away, American animation continued to evolve, like
a Diglett.
For one thing, cartoons started aging up. There were new shows meant for teens, like
Daria and Mission Hill. Shows meant for adults, like King of the Hill. Shows for both, like
South Park. And shows for no one, like Duckman.
“What the hell are you starin’ at?”
All of those came within a year or two of Rocko’s Modern Life, all of them were targeted
to older audiences, and all of them included queer characters.
Some of this newfound representation was good, and some of it was … well, here’s a 1998
episode of Cow and Chicken, which features a women’s motorcycle gang called The Buffalo
Gals:
“Oh, the Buffalo Gals, a motorcycle-riding gang that randomly bursts into peoples’
homes and chews on their carpet.”
Later on the episode shows them playing a rousing game of softball ... before Cow beats
them all up. It’s not great! For a more pleasant depiction of a ladies’ sports team,
consult your local Steven Universe.
“Heyyy Ruby.” “What are they doing?”
“Flirting.”
Throughout the 2000s, creators of ‘90s cartoons began talking openly about the queer themes
and characters that they considered part of the shows when they first aired, even if it
wasn’t explicit at the time. Greg Weisman, who created Gargoyles, said that Lexington
was gay, but that if he’d put that on the show, he’d probably have been fired. Greg
also revealed that Lexington had a crush on Staghart, which … I saw him first.
Hey Arnold’s creator revealed that Mr. Simmons was gay. The producer of Mystery Incorporated
revealed that Velma was lesbian.
“Is there something going on between you and Shaggy?”
“No.”
Arthur gave Mr. Ratburn a wedding. Patty came out on The Simpsons.
Steven Universe even featured a same-sex wedding — and yes it’s complicated because they’re
aliens and these bodies are technically projections from their gems, but come on I think it counts.
And that brings us up to Static Cling. It’s 2019, and Rocko’s back from outer space.
He’s surrounded by changes — and one of the biggest of all is with an old friend.
On the original run of Rocko’s Modern Life, the gang meets the Bighead’s kid, voiced
by Joe Murray, who makes Rocko’s favorite show, a cartoon called The Fatheads. Mr. Bighead
is ashamed to have an animator in the family, and at one point declares:
“I have no son!”
Funny thing about that. Turns out, he was right. In Static Cling, Rocko goes looking
for his old friend and learns…
“I’m not Ralph anymore. I’m Rachel.”
And just like that, everyone’s fine with it.
“Wow, cool!” “That is awesome.”
The gang’s reaction is surprisingly … Klingon.
“Curzon, my beloved old friend!” “I’m Jadzia now.”
“Well, Jadzia my beloved old friend.”
But not everyone’s so accepting at first. Mr. Bighead seems to have forgotten how kind
everyone was when to him he came out as a clown.
“I’m not your son, I’m your daughter. And I’m finally happy.”
“I have no daughter!”
And even though Rocko accepts Rachel, he’s upset to discover that she’s changed his
favorite show, the Fatheads, by introducing new characters.
“You! You changed it, Rachel! You changed the Fatheads! It’s too much change!”
This gets to the heart of what Static Cling is about. Change, or at least, being afraid
of change. Ed’s stuck in the past, and doesn’t like that Rachel isn’t the person he thought
he knew. Rocko’s stuck in the past too, and wants everything to go back to the way
it was in the ‘90s.
But he’s talked out of that by, of all characters, Mr. Bighead. One of the changes that Rachel
made to the Fatheads is a tribute to her loving parents. Mr. Bighead realizes that as difficult
as change is, he’d rather accept it than live without his daughter.
“Rocko, we can’t live in the past … we can be grateful for it. But life isn’t permanent.
And if we don’t embrace what’s now, we miss out on a lot of the important stuff.”
And with that, Rocko suddenly sees that change can be good. Rachel owes her happiness to
change. In fact, the character Rachael exists because of all that change in the animation
industry. When Static Cling came out, Joe Murray revealed that he worked with GLAAD
to develop the storyline, focusing on Rachel as a main character and her transition as
a key element of the script. That would have been unthinkable twenty years earlier, when
anything remotely queer had to be hidden or censored in animation.
And Joe revealed something else as well. For the first time, he talked about just what
they were up to with that Closet Clown episode. So we finally have an answer about whether
it’s supposed to be a big gay metaphor, or if I’ve reading to much into it this
whole time. And the answer is, quote, “it was intentional. … members of the staff,
some of whom were openly gay, decided to make the episode a metaphor for being in the closet.”
In other words — Rocko’s Modern Life has been waiting 20 years to be able to tell queer
stories and now they finally can. It’s perfect that Static Cling is a story about accepting
change, because change is what made it possible to tell the story. Turns out, modern life
isn’t all bad.
By the way, as part of making this video, I gathered a lot of stories about the history
of animation and the development of Nicktoons that didn’t fit in this script. But if you’re
interested in stuff like the golden age of cartoons, the impact of anime, and the huge
gamble that Nickelodeon took on shows like this, I’m going to be posting additional
videos over on Patreon. Check that out at patreon.com/mattbaume. And subscribe to my
little newsletter at mattbaume.com for a sneak peek at what I’m working on next. Now if
you’ll excuse me, I’ll take the physical challenge.
“Find the flag, find the flag, it’s in there somewhere.”