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.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-08-30 09:09 pm (UTC)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.