Any stereotypes that bug you and why?

U

UJJ

New member
First off, please don't list and explain your choices. Also, I know stereotypes have always been around and probably will be.

Anyway, I really wanted to get this out since it's really been bugging me for awhile:

I hate how Goth kids are protrayed in modern animation.

No seriously, it's annoying. I wouldn't label myself as Goth (I do shop at Hot Topic though), but I can appriciate it and enjoy the style. A fairly large amount of my classmates at school are Gothic and they act nothing like how the Goth kids on TV act. They are actually - gasp - nice people and rarely (if ever!) angst.

Meanwhile, on shows the Goths are always shoving it down your throat how "different" and "dark" they are and angst how non-Goths totally suck. For example:

The Goth kids from South Park
Gwen (of the Total Drama series)
Sam Manson and a whole group of them from the Control Freaks episode(Danny Phantom)
Vanessa Doofenschmirtz and her friends (Phineas and Ferb)

Now, I am aware some Goths (in real life) are genuinely depressed or for numerous reasons. However, not all of them are like that and some simply enjoy the style. You can still be happy and wear the style.

So that's all I have to say. Any stereotypes you hate?
 
Boy, I’m just not sure what you’re looking for here.

Anyhow, I thought the Goths from South Park had a really good episode where they got to shine. By taking on vampire kids they explained themselves well enough.

And Lydia from Beetlejuice, the earliest cartoon goth kid I can think of, was pretty sweet.
 
Basically, any stereotypes that bother you and why.

For example, a show has a black character (or more) that are shown as urban rather than ignoring the stereotype and making them their own person.
 
I'd have to disagree with Gwen. I mean some of the sterotype is present, but she can be pretty cheerful for a cartoon Goth. Heck even Sam isn't a total downer.
 
I'm pretty sure that explaining your choices is kind of a requirement at rabroad. List threads are not allowed.



Hmm, some of my favorite characters listed there.
 
I agree. Even though she kind of looked like a typical stereotype of a Goth person, she didn't really act the stereotype. She was pretty positive towards most of the other characters throughout Total Drama Island at least. I think Sam might be more like the Goth stereotype than Gwen, but I think that was because she showed a dominant preference for black and dark things early on in the series.
 
I think Gwen was a mix of a loner and goth. In an trailer floating on the www, originally known as "Camp TV" who was a "pilot episode" of Total Drama Island. Gwen was only a loner, I guess they keep a part of her character for the final version.
 
One stereotype that has always bothered me in cartoons is that in shows based around a family the mother always seems to be the mature caretaker and the father always seems to either be always working, careless and forgetful, stupid or uninterested in being a parental figure (Homer, Peter, the guy from American Dad). It reminds me of the 40's or 50's where the father was a diciplinary figure and the mother was more or less the nurturer (sp?), I guess it works because all of those shows I mentioned are successful, but just once would I like to see a television show where the mother plays the idiot and the father plays the parental role. I'm sure there are some shows out there, The Oblongs comes to mind, but I would still like to see more male parental roles in cartoons.

I guess it's kind of a stupid gripe, but it's just an observation that I thought I should bring up and see if anyone agrees with me. Anyone?
 
I dislike how on TV, how kids with above average intelligence are typically portrayed as being socially awkward and unpopular. There are some brainy kids who have friends and a social life.

I dislike how black kids are often portrayed as being stereotypically streetwise and urban, rather than being articulate and cultured.

I dislike how girls are often portrayed as being smart, supremely capable and competent, while boys in the same position will be portrayed as lazy, shiftless and/or incompetent.

On family centric shows, I get kind of tired of the stereotype of the perfect sensible mother and the goofy, immature father. I don't have a problem with crazy dumb dads most of the time, provided that it's not overdone, but just once, I'd like to see a dumb crazy mom once for a change.

The stereotype of the kid whose family is so obscenely rich that they make Bill Gates look like he's homeless, and yet he/she attends public school. That never made sense to me.

The stereotype of the "good" girl falling for the "bad" boy. It's just such a clich?.

The stereotype that working mothers spend every minute of the day working and are typically too busy to spend any time with their families. It is possible to balance a job and a family.

The stereotype that only white males can be heroes, while blacks, Asians, Latinos, Indians, etc. are relegated to being sidekicks or 2nd bananas. I'd like to see more shows in which the non-white character is the hero/heroine and his/her sidekick is Caucasian (even though 1 case does come to mind, Static Shock and his sidekick, Richie--Frieda in the comics).
 
Part of it has to do with success, the other I believe is due to fear of backlash for depicting a woman in a negative light.

Though while I can't think of any dumb wives, several exceptional husbands come to mind:

1. James Possible from Kim Possible: He's not only competent, but a genius. He's a respectable parential figure, and his relationship with his wife is a loving & equal one (as opposed to the wife being the smarted and the one in control.

2. The father from Johnny Test (name escapes me): He's seems competant, and is actually serious about maintaining a clean house.
 
That's an interesting topic but well now that you come to think about
it from the very beginning yes it would have to be the image of the two
from totally spy's I lived in the Los Angele's for six months have some
good friends there and they are not vain Shopaholics they are good
people and can be very busy yes but vain and self centered no not
at all or at least the ones i know over there

Dave
 
I dislike how many adults, I've heard talking, think anime is only for kids and is dumb. Many adults only saw Pokemon and since that was a kids show, they get that feeling all of them are (along with Digimon too). I also don't think that many adults give anime a try, because it's not the cartoons they grew up with. If many adults saw a adult anime, they might change their mind (maybe some, atleast :sweat:).
 
The stereotype that only boys can have fun. In too many animated shows I've seen, it's only the boy characters who are allowed to have odd quirks, meet the craziest people, invent wacky things and go on amazing adventures, whereas girls are often relegated to secondary roles like the sister, the crush or the priggish know-it-all whose job it is to keep the boys in line. Just once I'd like to see a cartoon where the goofy, quirky kids who go on all kinds of nutty adventures are girls.

The stereotype of the snooty popular girl who treats the "regular" kids like the scum you scrape off of tomato soup. Not all popular kids are shallow, lookist and/or mean; some of them can actually be nice.

The stereotype that moms can't be or have fun. Too often in animated families, the mother has to be the sensible (and boring) one and often the fun doesn't begin until the mom goes away. I have nothing against sweet perfect moms but it would be a nice change of pace to see a mother character indulge in the wacky antics once in a while. (To be fair, Johnny Test occasionally lets the mom on their show take part in the craziness once in a while.)

Frequently, in situations where a 'light' superhero is teamed up with a 'dark' superhero, the 'light' hero will be characterized as oafish, clueless and painfully naive, while the 'dark' hero is usually portrayed as sharp as a tack and upstages and outsmarts the 'light' hero at every turn. 'Light' heroes can be smart and on top of things; a hero doesn't have to be 'dark' to be cool.

One-dimensional cartoon bullies, especially the ones who just hate the protagonist and go out of their way to torment them for no reason other than to generate conflict in a show.

The notion held by some that anime >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> USAnimation. I have nothing against anime or its' fans, but I do get tired of folks constantly condemning USAnimation while praising Japanese animation. Not all USAnimation is crell, and not all anime is gold. And it doesn't always have to be one to the exclusion of the other. It is possible to like them both.
 
Another sterotype I have is that too many cartoons/anime don't give the females enough roles and/or lines. I remember one cartoon episode, when a female was in this "group", with other guys, and she didn't get one line in the episode she was in (at least not to my knowledge, maybe a grunt or something :sweat:).


Also, that all dubs are bad/dubs that make edits are bad. Just because a few things change, doesn't mean it's automatically bad. Some people even say they "gave the dub a chance" (rolls eyes), yet they hate everything about. They also keep watching the dub, just to make fun of it. Why are you watching a show you hate? Do something else! Please!
 
But really, this seems like a universal trope for every show (live-action and animated alike) that has a high school setting. It gets to a point where I can't recall watching a show set in high school that didn't have a stuck-up girl and her lemmings running everything.


No offense, but you do seem to enjoy saying this every opportunity you can. While the fact that no country has superiority over another in terms of animation quality should definitely be noted, I think that most people here who will listen have already gotten the message.
 
Well, I'm sorry if I've irritated some people with that (certainly not my intent), but it's how I feel. I just get tired of fans drawing battle lines in the sand. I honestly didn't realize I said it that much.
 
Basically how gender roles are applied. Others have said it already, but it's the only thing that really jumps out at me.

Boys/dads are all idiots who can't do anything, have no talents/skills other than getting into trouble. They have little to no moral compass until a female character points out their childish/stupid behavior.

Girls/moms are always geniuses that can do practically anything. Play any instrument, excel in school/work, juggle dozens of activities, etc., yet are almost always unlikeable due to these same traits. They have no personality except to contrast their male counterparts ineptitude.

The entire thing is so stupid. If a boy was shown as being superior to a girl (and God forbid a male could hit a female. Other way around is practically required, though) parents would go crazy. "How are our little girls supposed to grow up when they don't have positive role models?!!?" And when a likable girl is given the lead role, like in the Modifyers, the show doesn't get picked up and supported. The industry is locked into an endless loop of recycled mediocrity.
 
Gender roles are definitely the biggest ones I can think of. It gets tiring seeing girls regulated to the same roles time and time again. I can only think of a handful of girls who take on roles outside the usual. While I'm not a fan of Modifyers, the fact it wasn't picked up because it starred a girl is pretty sad, and speaks a lot about the industry's mindset.
 
To me, the issue of gender roles is more annoying for the girls side than the boys side.

I find guy characters to be the most likable and funnier part of a show. Most of the girls in cartoons are buzz-killers, or "too strong" feminist to the point where they're untouchable. That's why I love a character like Bessie Higgenbottom (spelling?), because she fits the silly, charismatic, and fun character type that is usually only found in the boy characters (Spongebob, Bloo, Johnny Bravo, Ron Stoppable etc).

I would much rather accept a done-that character personality (like Madame Foster, an old lady who's very wild, that character's been done a lot, but it's done a lot because it's fun and it's always nice to see a new take on a fun bit) than a bore like Leeyla or to an extent, Kim Possible (I've never found her fun, it was mostly the villains and Ron).

To me, I think it would be cool to see a girl version of a character like Jack Spicer or Mojo or, heck, even Flapjack. Too often, we get the Marges, Leeylas, Mandys, Wandas, and Wendy/Sharon/whatever other major-minor South Park girl character you can think of in cartoons.
 
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