The fact that this show sunk the Shaggy/Velma ship isn't the thing that bothers me the most. What bothers me the most is the fact that Velma -who was always one of the most confident, intelligent, and inspirational characters in the franchise- has been reduced to nothing more than this show's emotional punching bag!
Think about it. Whenever the writers want to move the plot along, they make Velma behave like the bad guy and/or suffer somehow. When she and Shaggy were together, they made her act like a shrew and cling to him no matter how much he neglected her. Once they broke up, half the episodes showed her either moping over Shaggy, moping about her looks, getting kidnapped, getting the brush off from Fred & Daphne, getting used, getting betrayed, etc, etc. If this weren't a Scooby show, I would predict that she'd be raped and/or killed at some point (and I'd probably be right!). MI-Velma is like a less pitiful version of Rose from the first Full Metal Alchemist anime!
Worst of all, a lot of episodes have made very mean-spirited jabs at Velma's looks. The two main examples are Fred telling her she has ugly skin and the recent revelation that MI-Velma wears the turtleneck to cover up her "neck waddle". This coupled with the extreme sexualization of Daphne (which I'll rant about another day) and the fact that Shaggy went gaga over a skinny Asian chick (with Scooby's blessing, no less!!!) gives off a very disturbing message: Nerdy/homely girls are undesirable and should stay covered and alone. Only girls who are thin and traditionally beautiful have any hope of getting a boyfriend. And if you don't have a boyfriend by the time you're in high school, you're a TOTAL LOSER!!
I hate to play moral crusader with TV shows; but this is Scooby Doo. Little kids LOVE Scooby Doo (and his human friends) and kids are smart enough to pick up on stuff like that. I can't imagine how I would feel if I watched Mystery Incorporated as a child and saw Velma (a character I identify with) being torn apart the way she is in this show.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zvi
Rant ahoy...
Date: 2011-05-08 12:58 am (UTC)Think about it. Whenever the writers want to move the plot along, they make Velma behave like the bad guy and/or suffer somehow. When she and Shaggy were together, they made her act like a shrew and cling to him no matter how much he neglected her. Once they broke up, half the episodes showed her either moping over Shaggy, moping about her looks, getting kidnapped, getting the brush off from Fred & Daphne, getting used, getting betrayed, etc, etc. If this weren't a Scooby show, I would predict that she'd be raped and/or killed at some point (and I'd probably be right!).
MI-Velma is like a less pitiful version of Rose from the first Full Metal Alchemist anime!
Worst of all, a lot of episodes have made very mean-spirited jabs at Velma's looks. The two main examples are Fred telling her she has ugly skin and the recent revelation that MI-Velma wears the turtleneck to cover up her "neck waddle". This coupled with the extreme sexualization of Daphne (which I'll rant about another day) and the fact that Shaggy went gaga over a skinny Asian chick (with Scooby's blessing, no less!!!) gives off a very disturbing message:
Nerdy/homely girls are undesirable and should stay covered and alone. Only girls who are thin and traditionally beautiful have any hope of getting a boyfriend. And if you don't have a boyfriend by the time you're in high school, you're a TOTAL LOSER!!
I hate to play moral crusader with TV shows; but this is Scooby Doo. Little kids LOVE Scooby Doo (and his human friends) and kids are smart enough to pick up on stuff like that. I can't imagine how I would feel if I watched Mystery Incorporated as a child and saw Velma (a character I identify with) being torn apart the way she is in this show.