My hatred is once again justified!! (aka Sexism sucks)

[brendala]

So, a few little birdies told me that Mystery Incorporated improved in season two and I should give it another chance (despite all my VERY COMPELLING REASONS to avoid it like leprosy). So I tuned into today's new episode because I had nothing better to do this morning.

Today's episode featured a Puritan ghost who attacks teenagers on Lovers Lane for acting "impure". Specifically, he likes to target the teenage girls for dressing like harlots. When the gang first meets the ghost, the ghost chastises one random girl for her low neckline, chastises Daphne for her short skirt, and when he gets to Velma.....he remarks that he wont attack her because she is "plain, wholesome, and completely un-tempting to the male gaze". No, really. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING! THE SHOW REALLY DID THIS AGAIN!!!!

Apparently, despite the fact that Velma's skirt is shorter than Daphne's, even sexually repressed Pilgrims are so repulsed by her hideous, fat, masculine body that it doesn't bother their orthodox sensibilities to see her traipsing about with her legs exposed (because religious rules about modesty only apply to hot chicks).

Believe it or not, it gets worse...

--The episode shows a couple of teenage boys cheering the ghost on as he tells Velma that she's not hot enough to be attacked for immodesty. Her "friends" are right there as this happens; but none of them say or do anything to defend her. Presumably, it's because they agree with the ghost.

--There's a scene at Fred's house where Shaggy AND Scooby tease Velma by saying "What's wrong? Are you upset that you're not 'tempting' enough to get onto the ghost's hit list?"
Again, I am not exaggerating! This happens! These two are back to behaving like total assholes toward her for no goddam reason!!

--Later in the episode, Velma is sitting in the back of the van fiddling on her laptop while the gang sets traps. Scooby gets into the van, smiles, and snuggles up next to her. At first I thought this show might be attempting a cute Scooby/Velma friendship scene. But, surprise surprise, when Velma asked, "Why are you sitting so close to me?", Scooby replied, "Since the ghost doesn't want you, you're the safest place to be right now!".
Well, at least he's not trying to bite off her face or calling her a slut like he was for half of season one. I guess calling her ugly is somewhat of an improvement. -_-

--At the end of the episode, it turns out the ghost was a pair of teenage boys who teamed up and staged the attacks so they could rescue the "hot" girls and gain their affections. The boys went out of their way to avoid attacking/rescuing Velma because EEEEW! WHAT MAN IN HIS RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO DATE A FATTIE, AM I RITE?!?!?? I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT THIS MONSTROUS HAM-BEAST!!!!



YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL IT'S A GIRL UNDER THAT FRUMPY TIGHT SWEATER AND MINI-SKIRT!!!!!!



CLEARLY, DAPHNE IS THE ONLY "REAL WOMAN" IN THIS PICTURE!! VELMA'S BODY HAS ICKY BIG BOOBIES AND HIPS AND A BUTT!!! WHAT TEENAGE BOY IN HIS RIGHT MIND WANTS A WOMAN WITH BIG BOOBIES AND HIPS AND A SHAPELY ASS!?!?!? NONE, THAT'S HOW MANY!!!!!
[/end angry bra-burning sarcasm]


**sigh**
I tried to give the-show-that-shall-not-be-named another chance because I heard that one of the other season two episodes was focused on Scooby and Velma trying to become BFFs again. I'm pretty sure that whatever good things happened in that episode were just erased when Scooby teamed up with her douchebag ex-boyfriend to remind her how fat, ugly, and unappealing she is.

This shit has no place in a children's show! It's cruel, inappropriate, insulting to the franchise & characters, and just plain wrong. And a vindictive part of me hopes that the reason this show got shafted with long hiatuses and bad scheduling and whatnot is because some executive realized what a mistake this show was and is doing all s/he can to help it die a quiet death.



I should have known better than to do this again.

FUCK THIS SEXIST FUCKING SHOW AND THE CREEPY MISOGYNIST DOG IT RODE IN ON!!!!!

Comments

[dj-rocca.livejournal.com]

Yeah todays episode was one of the worst ones they've had this season actually. But it also endorses the jock sterotype when not finding Velma attractive. *shakes head*

The one where there IS friendship is the gloom something or other a couple episodes ago. Daphne is utterly useless in that episode, truly. Velma is the main focal point and even Mr. E flat calls her out as the best on the team.

I don't want to say too much given I don't know how many you've actually seen but the ending of the last episode was great as well. And with the way things are going, someone's going to die and its going to be Cassidy.

EDIT:

Thankfully I am built like Velma and my fiance loves it. He loves my curves. I just shake my head but I'm glad.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I just don't get what the writers are doing. Is the "treat Velma like a she-beast even though she's clearly attractive" thing supposed to be an ironic running gag? I can't tell.

I don't know if this show has the balls to actually kill off a semi-main character. Especially since Cassidy is one of the good guys (for now, at least) and is also the only person of color in the show. But hey, if MI fridged the first leading black character in a Scooby show, I could add "racism" to the long check list of reasons why I hate this show. :P

[rezo-eris.livejournal.com]

Weelll looks like Professor Pericles seemingly killed Cassidy in yesterday's episode. However, I REALLY doubt she's really dead because she was seemingly killed in an exploding building in a way that just screams "fake out death" to me. Plus, cartoon characters survive explosions all the time. XD

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

I have to be admit, I've been wondering of watching the second season because I've heard how Velma gets closer to Hot Dog water Girl as a friend (I know she has a name, but it escapes me.) I've seen some fanart and gifs of them as a couple. ( Take a look at this one: http://itswalky.tumblr.com/post/28870904024/i-have-just-discovered-that-my-hard-drive ) It looks like, is Velma finally getting someone that cares about her? She's getting some respect in the show.

However, SERIOUSLY, they seriously went that route? Were there no female writers/staff members that could have pointed out why exactly this plot was a bad idea? *growls* News flash guys, plenty of guys love women with curves like Velma. *Sigh* This show can hurt my head.

[gullwhacker.livejournal.com]

...Jo, do remember that you in a sweater managed to -break my brain- once. Ahem.

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

*loves you both*

[brendala.livejournal.com]

The Hot Dog Water thing was the other reason I gave this show another shot. Her relationship with Velma is actually really cute. However, the gang votes to kick HDW to the curb when they get Daphne back and Velma goes along with the decision because.....she's an idiot who can't let go of her "friendship" with a group of assholes.
Honestly, this show could be salvaged if Velma had realized that her old friends were jackasses and decided to forget about them and stick with HDW (either platonically or romantically). But, sadly, characters aren't allowed to act like intelligent and/or decent human beings in this show.

A lot of people are going on about how "progressive" the subtext between Velma and HDW is. But I think the writers are just trying to be OMG!EDGY!NUDGE!WINK! and the end result ended up genuinely sweet in spite of the awful writers.



However, SERIOUSLY, they seriously went that route? Were there no female writers/staff members that could have pointed out why exactly this plot was a bad idea? *growls* News flash guys, plenty of guys love women with curves like Velma. *Sigh* This show can hurt my head.

The cherry on top is the fact that this show's Velma design is way slimmer and more sexualized than all the previous versions. It seriously disturbs me that this kind of running theme is in a children's franchise.
As much as I HATE executive meddling and censorship; I think this show would have benefited from a network censor hanging around the writers' room and telling them, "Hey guys? Don't forget, little kids watch Scooby Doo. So maybe it's NOT a good idea for you to sexualize the hell out of Daphne while bashing Velma's physical appearance every other episode. It's not funny. It's just sexist and mean and not appropriate for this franchise"

I just don't get what the writers are doing. My theory is that the "treat Velma like a she-beast even though she's clearly attractive" thing is supposed to be an ironic running gag that was executed poorly. That's the only explanation that makes sense to me.

[amelia-seyroon.livejournal.com]

The Hot Dog Water thing was the other reason I gave this show another shot. Her relationship with Velma is actually really cute. However, the gang votes to kick HDW to the curb when they get Daphne back and Velma goes along with the decision because.....she's an idiot who can't let go of her "friendship" with a group of assholes.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

[amelia-seyroon.livejournal.com]

....that gif. Squee!

And....I seriously have no words here. This show just shattered my brain like little pieces of glass. =___________=

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I get the feeling that the gay subtext was only put there to be ~*edgy*~ and not because they wanted to craft a genuine relationship (romantic or not) between two girls.
I have my issues with the "Velma is gay" fan theory (mainly, the typical reasoning behind it). But I could accept it happening in a new incarnation if it was done right. I have a feeling this show wont keep getting it right for long.


And....I seriously have no words here. This show just shattered my brain like little pieces of glass.

I'd say "try watching it if you don't believe me". But your head could explode if you don't have a high tolerance for sexism and bullcrap. Let me put it this way:
Think about all the romance problems that plagued Legend of Korra. Now imagine those problems magnified by a thousand and remove ANY redeeming features and/or personality traits from the characters. And then imagine Pabu calling Korra a "whore" and trying to bite her. THAT is Mystery Incorporated in a nutshell.

[jordan179.livejournal.com]

I've never understood the assumption that Velma's repulsive -- she's cute, smart, kind and curvy -- basically a check-list of everything I like in a woman. And I felt that way about her even as a small boy, even when I wasn't sure exactly why I liked girls.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I don't get it either! I think Velma is adorable (and I know she has a bigger fandom than Daphne)! And I like how she's a curvy, big-busted character who isn't either a matron or a sexpot. Characters like that are hard to come by.

I think this show might be going for "ironic" humor by having every character treat Velma like a she-beast even though she's clearly attractive (kinda like that Pig-Face episode of The Twilight Zone). But if they are, they failed.
Seriously, there's one episode where another character assumes Velma is a boy the first time she sees her. Despite the fact that MI-Velma is rocking a mini-skirt, hair bows, and a freakin' set of D-cups! I mean, really! WTF!!?!?

[sarajayechan.livejournal.com]

WHAT?!

That had to be a parody of some kind. If the writers honestly thought this was acceptable in this day and age, they should be fired. And then bound and gagged and given to the SJW crowd.

Seriously, did Velma kill someone's mother or something for the writers to keep shitting all over her like this? I hope this shit gets cancelled.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

My guess is that Daphne was the writers' favorite Scooby Girl growing up and they're just playing out their fan-fiction/fap fantasies via this cartoon.
Either that or the "have everyone treat Velma like a she-beast even though she's clearly attractive" thing is supposed to be an 'ironic' running gag that they executed badly. Either way, turning Velma into Meg Griffin is all kinds of wrong.

The only comfort is that the shit being introduced into MI's canon doesn't appear to be seeping into other current Scooby Doo productions.

The fact that so many people ADORE this show and say it's the best Scooby Doo show since the 1969 original makes me sad. I mean, even if you could pretend that all Scooby shows before MI don't exist and judge MI on it's own merits, it's STILL terrible! I feel like I'm crazy because it seems like only me and a couple of my friends are upset at what this show is doing to beloved childhood icons.

I have a theory that some high up Cartoon Network executive hates this show as much as I do and is actively helping it die (that would explain why a show based on a super popular franchise has gotten shafted with so many LONG hiatuses). I really hope I'm right.

[sarajayechan.livejournal.com]

Either way, turning Velma into Meg Griffin is all kinds of wrong.

Is it too much to hope that Velma goes apeshit and beats everyone within an inch of their lives in a future episode? And then runs off with Marcy? I don't even watch this show and I want to ship Marcy/Velma because Marcy's the only one who actually GAVE a shit about the girl.

The sad part is, I still want to see it for myself. Just out of morbid curiosity. And...I'll admit, parts of the actual PLOT are kind of intriguing.

[rezo-eris.livejournal.com]

I've explained my reasons for enjoying the show before, but even I wouldn't call it the bst since the 1969 original. "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" and "What's New Scooby Doo" are probably have it beat in that regard. And I sincerely apologize for this, but I was never much of a "blank raped my childhood!" kind of guy. XD

Also, this show isn't going to get "cancelled". It's going to flat-out end with episode 52. That's been comfirmed already. Even so, your theory about CN wanting to rush it out still stands.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

What the FUCK?

What is this, the fucking fifties? Jeez.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

At least stuff from the 50s has an excuse for being sexist (the culture was different back then). Something made today has no justification for being more sexist it's 1969 counterpart.
I mean really, where are the network censors when we actually NEED them!?

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit tired of the entire universe agreeing that Velma is ugly. I mean jesus, she's obviously confident enough to wear a minier skirt then Daphne.

[rezo-eris.livejournal.com]

Okay, hold on. I can see where you're coming from with all this due to the show's past history with this sexist stuff, but the only thing I can honestly justify being mad at was Shaggy and Scooby's teasing Velma for her getting put down. Because that wasn't even friendly teasing, that was just mean spirited and making a bad situation worse. Shame on them both.

HOWEVER, you're also complaining about sexism coming from the freaking BAD GUY(S)! Seeing as the "sexually repressed pilgrim ghost" was actually two horny, shallow Jerk Jock teenage fratboys whose obsession with girls like Daphne based on "hotness" was shown to be a BAD thing and the reason they were commiting these crimes, and that they avoided Velma due to them not finding her hot showed how bad and unpleasent they were.

And again, you and I wish that there was at least SOMEBODY in the episode who would stick up for Velma rather than act the way Shaggy and Scooby did. Like Fred and/or Daphne telling them off for it. But alas, Victor Cook must think the show's gone this far with crapping on Velma and they're only SLIGHTLY going to ease up now.

The part with Scooby's "safest place to be right now" just struck me as your typical "backfired compliment" that you see in cartoons so far. One character isn't saying something to be mean, but it only makes the other character feel bad and he/she sarcastically goes "well gee, thanks alot". No big deal and nothing really offensive like the "abusive Scooby" from the first half of the show. And I'll admit, I DID kind of laugh when Velma stuck it to the sexist fratboys when she caught them and was all "IN YOUR FACE!" and Scooby goes "Velma, you're scaring me!" Ah, if only Velma could "scare" people more often (And by really taking charge, not by being a bitter harpy. XD)

[brendala.livejournal.com]

The horny jocks being assholes toward Velma wouldn't have bothered me if it had been an isolated thing. But that combined with the show's history AND Shaggy&Scooby's cruel behavior makes it hard to ignore.
Also, I just don't GET what the show is trying to do. Velma's design in this show is really cute (and a lot thinner and more conventionally attractive than other versions). So is the show being "ironic" when it has characters treat her like Meg Griffin? Do the writers really think that all non-conventionally attractive girls are gross? Is Seth MacFarlane ghost writing for them? Why the f**k does this "Velma hates her body and so does everyone else" thing keep coming up? And why do the writers think it's funny!?



The part with Scooby's "safest place to be right now" just struck me as your typical "backfired compliment" that you see in cartoons so far.

I could accept that if it weren't for the fact that Scooby was gleefully teasing her about not being "hot enough" just a few minutes before.
Yeah, it's not as bad as him physically threatening her in season one. But that's not saying much.

[rezo-eris.livejournal.com]

I cannot answer any of that. I'll never get it myself.

Scooby probably just changed his tune when he remembered how scary the ghost was and now saw Velma's "undesirable" status as an asset. Yeah it was more about him than it was about her, but I'm just glad he stopped being a jerk.
And I'm not sure anything this show's done since him physically threatening her has been as bad as that. That, along with everything Shaggy/Scooby/Velma related in those first set of episodes, was the show's lowest point for me. No, not even Shaggy's recent escapade could top it.

[rezo-eris.livejournal.com]

OK, JUST got done seeing this episode again, and I can defenitely argue against all your points here.

"Apparently, despite the fact that Velma's skirt is shorter than Daphne's, even sexually repressed Pilgrims are so repulsed by her hideous, fat, masculine body that it doesn't bother their orthodox sensibilities to see her traipsing about with her legs exposed (because religious rules about modesty only apply to hot chicks)."

All that means is that he wasn't REALLY a sexually repressed pilgrim, but a shallow, horny teen jock who was too much of a coward to play the part the whole way.

"The episode shows a couple of teenage boys cheering the ghost on as he tells Velma that she's not hot enough to be attacked for immodesty. Her "friends" are right there as this happens; but none of them say or do anything to defend her. Presumably, it's because they agree with the ghost."

It was only one teenage boy, and the ghost IMMEDIATELY attacked him and his girlfriend afterwards, so her friends didn't have the time to defend her! The implication that they agree with the ghost wasn't there at all.

"There's a scene at Fred's house where Shaggy AND Scooby tease Velma by saying "What's wrong? Are you upset that you're not 'tempting' enough to get onto the ghost's hit list?" Again, I am not exaggerating! This happens! These two are back to behaving like total assholes toward her for no goddam reason!!"

Seeing that scene again, I'm convinced that it was meant to be them teasing Velma like teenage friends do sometimes. However, I can see why this one backfired because the show made Velma out to have self image issues before, so this very well could've been hurtful towards her rather than just all in good fun like the characters (and writers) were intending.

I already explained Scooby's backfired compliment, as well as how Ethan and Gary's mindset about "desirable" women was meant to be despised. And I'm pretty sure we were even supposed to feel good for Velma when she got to rub it in their faces how she caught them. I'm sorry, but the more I think about it, the more this entry seems like insane feminist rambling about percieved sexism that wasn't really there. Especially when it gets to the swearing and Moral Guardian claims of how "no kid should watch this!!!" at the end there.

HOWEVER, tommorow is the "Shaggy date rape" episode. I don't think I can defend that one.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I agree that this episode isn't problematic on it's own.
However, it becomes sexist when it's taken in the context of the series as a whole. The first season heavily hinted that Velma has body image issues without ever properly addressing or settling them (in addition to making her the show's emotional punching bag). It has made a lot of jokes at the expense of Velma's looks (some of which were VERY cruel). AND it relentlessly sexualized Daphne in the form of fan-service that is WAY inappropriate for a Scooby Doo cartoon. So having an entire episode where the running gag is "LOL Velma is the only chick the ghost/jocks wont touch LOL" just seems needlessly mean-spirited and sexist.


Seeing that scene again, I'm convinced that it was meant to be them teasing Velma like teenage friends do sometimes.

But Shaggy isn't just her friend. He's also her ex-boyfriend. The same ex-boyfriend who spent their entire relationship treating her like some shameful secret before publicly dumping her in the most humiliating way possible (and then he openly pursued a hotter, thinner girl after telling her "I'm not ready to date"). And Scooby exacerbated that debacle by treating her like some home-wrecking whore. So being teased by THEM about her looks and lack of hotness/desirability is far more hurtful than being teased by, say, Fred or Daphne. It was yet ANOTHER moment of needless cruelty toward Velma's physical appearance that we're expected to see as "funny".
It still isn't funny.

Yeah, Ethan and Gary were made out to be pigs and Velma got her "screw you" moment at the end. But neither this episode nor any of the others ever refuted the whole "Velma is a fat she-beast" opinion. It just reinforced that Daphne=HOT and Velma=NOT.


I agree that my rant may have gone overboard (in the end, I never did report to any Parental Watchdog sites LOL). But I stand by my opinion that this show (and this episode) have uncomfortable sexist overtones and are not something very young kids should watch. If I had a young child (especially a girl) I wouldn't feel comfortable letting them watch MI.

And I am sure that the writers didn't intend to make a sexist episode demeaning fat chicks. But, like the "loopy gas" episode, uncomfortable undertones abound anyway. I've seen the writers in interviews and they seem like perfectly nice dudes. I don't have any beef with them personally. I just think they had no place writing a show that focused on melodrama and romance and had female lead characters. They clearly don't know how to write any of those things.

[rezo-eris.livejournal.com]

That's kind of what I said in the point about Shaggy and Scooby teasing her. Had the show not shown Velma's self image issues about her body as a serious thing (or rather, not shown them at all) before, this wouldn't be as much of a problem. And even so, it still would've been nice to see this episode treat the issue of girls' looks and how guys view them as something other than just a big joke. Though I'm forgetting when Daphne was ever THAT heavily sexualized aside from that stupid Hex Girls episode.

I think maybe we're supposed to forget all that happened in the first half of the first season? 'Cause I sure as hell would like to! But as it stands, yes, those were the wrong characters to have tease Velma.

Yeah, while I see that it did nothing to refute "Velma is a fat she-beast", I didn't think it did that much to ENFORCE it either. A "Daphne=HOT, Velma=NOT" mentality isn't the same as "Velma is a fat she-beast". In fact, just the previous episode made the implications that Shaggy was UGLY because a person who's views were "ugly=beauty" found him attractive. Is that male appearance sexism? Coincidentally, that same episode was one of the ones that portrayed Velma and Hot Dog Water, neither of whom are conventionally attractive, in a positive light.

Hopefully when you have a child, MI will be off the air. XD

But as I've been really watching this second season, it only reinforced what I thought of the second half of the previous season. I'm just not seeing the colossal badness that you seem to see in this show. The stuff I enjoy about it just FAR outweighs what I find stupid or disgusting about it. And really, for this show, it's less that they have no place writing a show focused on romance and soap opera melodrama so much as those things have no place in a Scooby Doo mystery show. If those were taken out, the show would be near perfect rather than just good or great like I see it as now.

But like I said, I've got nothing to defend the loopy gas one. They'd be better off not having Shaggy ever do something like that.