The Fridging of Velma Dinkley

[brendala]

Now that Mystery Incorporated has ended it's American TV run, I feel the need to post this essay. I know I've ranted about this subject excessively already. But this write up is my attempt to calmly explain why the way this show went down bothers me so much. I hope you all will take the time to read it and let me know what you think. Even if

Comments

[dj_rocca]

My icon summarizes my feelings on your essay.

[brendala]

I'm glad you (and Hayley) liked it! Just out of curiosity, did you see the finale yet? Good Lord, that thing had plot holes so big you could drive the Mystery Machine through them! O_o

And now that I've got your attention. I wanna get your opinion...
I'm a bit torn on whether or not I should post this essay in our Scooby comm. Even though I believe my complaints about Mystery Incorporated are legitimate; I don't want to alienate the people who do like the show and/or make them think the mods have a vendetta against MI fans. Especially since some members got upset when I made all those MI gag comics.
What do you think?

[brendala]

Thank God for Korra! Here's hoping that show is successful and we get more shows about badass female characters who care about something besides getting a boyfriend.

[earthstar_moon]

*claps* I love this because this states everything that is wrong the female characters with this show. When you compare this show to a show with positive female characters (like Avatar or MLP) the differences become really clear. Heck, I would even argue that Totally Spies had more positive characters, even though that show is stereotypically girly. (It annoys me how every girl in that show is boy crazy.)

Also, looking back on it, that Twilight parody just felt shoehorned in. Think about it, they didn't really poke that much fun at it or do much with it. If the author in the show was an entirely different series it wouldn't have made a difference. It just felt like they put it in because it's popular and they figured fans would like it. @_@

[brendala]

MLP is impressive because it's one of the few shows I can think of that has a majority female cast (the only others are Jem and Facts of Life). And NONE of the girls are defined by being boy-crazy or having some unrequited crush or whatever. And I love how the "Brony" movement has proven that a show with an entirely female main cast can be embraced by men if the writing is good and doesn't wallow in clichés.

Even though I never liked Totally Spies, it never bugged me all that much. Yeah, it annoys me that ALL the female characters were boy-crazy dingbats; but "stupid valley girls as secret agents" was the whole point of the show. You knew that going into it. So anyone who watched and got offended by it would only have themselves to blame.
With Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, I went in expecting a show about a group of BFFs/Nakama solving mysteries together and I got f***ing 90210 instead! >_<

Aside from the rank hypocrisy of a show like Mystery Incorporated ripping on a terribly-written romance, another thing that got to me

[earthstar_moon]

Yeah, I know the show is a parody and I will admit it's not a terrible show, it's not a great show, but it's not terrible either. I just don't care for shows when they make every single girl crazy about boys and fashion. Having one character be interested in fashion and boys is fine, it's normal because there are girls like that, but I know plenty of girls in high school who could care less about either subject. With that said, I will state that I prefer the characters in Totally Spies over MI Daphne and Velma. (At least the totally Spies girl knew when to dump a guy for being a jerk

[brendala]

A while back, the subject of the Bechdel Test came up in a discussion at the Scooby comm. Everyone racked their brain trying to remember if MI-Velma and MI-Daphne ever talked to each other about ANYTHING besides their love lives. Turns out the only time they did was when Daphne asked Velma what fertilizer smelled like. That's a pretty apt metaphor for this show, isn't it? XD

I've heard that Twilight has some awesome side characters (heck, my sisters have told me that they actually liked the books before they became all about Bella and Edward's stupid romance). And I agree that most of the hate for it stems from the fandom and not the series itself (after all, it's not like Meyer is the first person to get romance and Vampire lore laughably wrong).

[slyfoxesq]

...........Whaaaaaaaat D: D: D:

(Hi, I saw your post linked while I was lurking in equestriamlp and was curious!)

I didn't even know there was a new SD cartoon, but as another lifelong Velma fan (the last Halloween that I actually dressed up, I talked my whole friend group into being the Scooby gang just so I could be Velma), this situation distresses me greatly ‐ and congrats to the creators, you have ensured that I have no desire to watch this show, ever. :|

her character was twisted and warped into a looney, vindictive, boy-crazy, bunny-boiler twit...

Despite its rage-inducing nature I loved this whole post, but I have to say the "bunny-boiler twit" absolutely killed me. :)

[brendala]

HI! Don't worry, I was hoping that my sly digs at this show would get noticed by someone over there (that was my little ulterior motive LOL). ~_^

Unfortunately, Mystery Incorporated really is as bad as I said it was. This show is so sexist and horrifying that it got me on a big "feminist kick" and now I over-analyze the hell out of every show I watch (specifically, how the female characters are treated). It's part of the reason I fell so head over heels in love with FiM. After watching this abomination destroy a beloved childhood icon, it was a GODSEND to see a show that actually knew how to write females properly (and also managed to reboot a series from my childhood without pissing on my childhood memories).

And, believe it or not, I wasn't trying to be funny with the "bunny-boiler twit" line. So I'm REALLY glad you liked it. ^_^

P.S. I'm such a dork that I have TWO Velma costumes (one "classic Velma" and one based on her Pup Named Scooby Doo outfit

[timbeon]

'nother one who wandered over from equestriamlp

...Wait wait wait wait wait. They did what to Velma? Velma was the best back in the older Scooby shows. D: In the original series, Velma kind of felt like the glue that held the Fred+Daphne duo and the Shaggy+Scooby duo together, since she'd switch which pair she went with whenever the gang split up

[brendala]

Nerd girls in fiction-land usually fall into one of 3 categories (or a combination of the first two):
-The punching bag that everybody picks on and has no characterization beyond that
-The "ugly duckling" in a makeover story
-A scientist with 5 phDs in unrelated subjects who looks like a Victoria's Secret model who just turned old enough to legally drink last month and is wearing a slutty scientist Halloween costume and half or more of her lines are "my eyes are up here ugh men."

THIS! Before this show came along, Velma was one of the few "nerdy girl" characters who didn't fit into any of those boxes. I related to her when I was in my young, awkward phase and loved how unique and awesome she was. And it makes me sad to think that, for a lot of little girls today who feel those same insecurities, this version of Velma will be the first one they get to know. A girl whose defining character traits are her obsession with a boy who treats her like dirt and her belief that she's too fat for people clothes.

heck, that's probably why A