A web series turned television phenomenon
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (DHMIS) had its start as a web series on YouTube about a decade ago. Now, as Sept. 30, the minds behind this show made their television debut as a broadcast show. DHMIS is disguised as a puppet children’s program, but in reality, it’s a surreal horror comedy that takes our characters Yellow Guy, Red Guy and Duck through lessons about family, work and even death.
But things are not all as they seem as throughout the lessons the trio are taught close-minded or wrong ideas about the concepts mentioned. For example, for their death episode Duck read in the newspaper that he had died and he believed it because it was in the paper. The paper he was reading had “Opinion” in big letters so there are various statements being made other than the lesson at hand and they are well thought out and crafted perfectly.
The show may be full of bright colors and funny looking puppets, but it may not be for the faint of heart. As the show goes on, everything slowly starts to fall apart; characters may not like the situation and will actively try to leave.
During the episode about jobs, Duck does not like how he is not given a respectable job and tries to talk to the background characters, but they only say the same few lines or anything that relates to work. He is later attacked and mauled by a creature trying to “fix him” to be happy about his work which successfully happens for a moment before Duck breaks again and gets his friends out of the situation.
There are plenty of similar instances like this in other episodes and some include gore where limbs are being torn apart for shock value.
I was in middle school when I first heard about DHMIS and initially thought it was just another shock value kind of video. However, upon further watching and analysis you can see messages about society, how you should not trust everything you are told and that it is okay to think differently than other people.
The creators of the show Becky Sloan, Joseph Pelling and Baker Terry have an amazing sense of creativity to bring such lessons to an audience in this way. Whether it be through a one-off comment, picture in the background, or just saying it to our faces the whole show is one way to make you think but with the need to entertain. The television show only has six episodes, but they are all great and I cannot wait to see more. DHMIS is a nine out of 10.