Subliminal Messages — clonehigh

Subliminal Messages are a running gag in Clone High. Subliminal messages are usually hidden jokes and easter eggs that usually come in the form of a message being briefly flashed on a screen, although other subliminal messages are presented as backmasking in dialogue or words being hidden in the background of certain shots. Many of these messages are so brief and cryptic that many viewers would generally disregard them as animation errors and pay them little to no mind.

The subliminal messages originally started in "Raisin the Stakes: A Rock Opera in Three Acts", as this episode was themed around 60's and 70's rock music. This was a satire on how many of those songs from that time contained, or were rumored to contain, subliminal messages in the music videos and backmasking in song lyrics.

However, numerous subliminal messages do make appearances in future episodes, to a lesser degree.

Occasions

Raisin the Stakes: A Rock Opera in Three Acts

The first subliminal message is flashed on screen at the very start of the episode. Right after Abe roars, an image of DNA Dan with a vintage gramophone is seen, with a speech bubble from DNA Dan saying "Let's go to the dark side, kids!".
The second subliminal message happens after Cleopatra takes a puff of smoke from her raisin spliff. When she does, the cloud of smoke briefly forms the shape of the word "sex" before vanishing.
- This was likely a reference to a perceived subliminal message in the 1994 Disney movie The Lion King, wherein Simba lies his head down in the sand, causing a cloud of sand to fly through the night sky and briefly form the shape of the word "SFX" (commonly thought to be "SEX") before fading away.
The third comes in right before the commercial break at the end of the first act. During the logo of the show, an image is flashed on screen, depicting an anthropomorphic raisin smoking a human in a blunt.
- In the televised airing of the show, the man's face is partially censored by a black bar (pictured). However, this is left uncensored on DVD. It is unknown what the reason for this is.
The fourth subliminal message occurs during The Pusher's song, "I'm the Pusher". During the song, large clouds of smoke resembling The Pusher's face show up on screen and then fade away. As the second face fades away, the clouds form the shape of the words "Smoke Raisins".
When Principal Scudworth stands up to speak before a PTA meeting, the screen briefly changes to a picture of Scudworth flying through a smoke cloud with a bunch of little hearts surrounding him, and a message that says "Scudworth is Your Favorite Character".
While Abe and Cleo sit on the roof, for one frame of animation, their clothes disappear and they are completely naked, aside from some flowers covering their genitals.
A backmasked subliminal message happens when JFK crashes through the sky window and lands in the gymnasium. While stoned out of his wits, JFK mutters a bunch of gibberish as he foams from the mouth. When this gibberish is played backwards, JFK can be heard clearly exclaiming "I am talking backwards to tell you to watch Clone High and for us to get an Emmy. I'm saying that backwards ... cuz it's sneaky."
During the song, "Higher and Higher", while JFK is in a wheelchair, being treated by a bunch of sexy nurses, white text flashes on screen, reading "I BURIED PONCE".
- This is a reference to the song by The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever", which was rumored to have the backmasked message "I buried Paul" hidden in the lyrics, which helped to kickstart a conspiracy theory that suggested Paul McCartney is actually dead.
- This was also foreshadowing how in the next episode of the show, "Litter Kills: Litterally", Ponce de León would be killed off the show.
At the end of the song, Joan sings out "A~A~A~Abe" forlornly. When she does, a single frame of animation splices Joan's face with the face of Mary Magdalene.
- This plays into the religious aspect of Joan's character, in that she was cloned from devout Christian Jeanne D'arc.
- It's also worth noting that during this episode, there was a lot of symbolism comparing Abe to Jesus Christ. Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a romantic and/or sexual past together, so portraying Abe as Jesus and Joan as Mary, plays into the two characters' romantic dynamic.
Finally, at the very end of the episode, Gandhi rides Daniel Feldspar through the skies and as he does, white texts flashes on screen, reading "For more information about raisins, consult your local library".

Changes: The Big Prom: The Sex Romp: The Season Finale

Near the end of the episode, Abe busts into the flash freezer to proclaim his feelings for Joan, only to walk in on the disheartening sight that Joan has just hooked up with JFK, as they both lie naked together post-coitus. In one shot, Joan pulls up the sheet to cover her breasts. Before she covers her breasts, the words "Nice" and "Try" are seen in place of her nipples.
- The joke here is implying that perverted people in the audience were pausing the screen at this time to see Joan's naked breasts, only to get this message instead.

The Cloniest Place on Earth: Missile While You Work

In one of the establishing shots of Cloney Island, fireworks go off, resembling the faces of all the characters. When the firework depicting JFK fades away, the sparks briefly spell out his catchphrase, "I-Err-Uh", before vanishing.

Trivia

In the "Previously On" recap at the start of "Cloney Island: Twist!", a bunch of shots of the previous episode were rapidly flashed on screen. After they ended, the Narrator assured us that embedded in there was a subliminal message, advertising nachos con queso. However, no such message was spotted, (at least that we know of right now) so this quip by the narrator was likely just a joke.
There is a typo present within the last subliminal message of Raisin the Stakes. When the "consult your local library" blurb appears, "information" is spelled "informaton".