Skip to main content

Do we need the Ditzy character?

So I came up with this idea in the shower... and I think I have 3 different posts that I want to talk about this subject with... so I'm going to do that... I'm starting with this one because this is something I kind of think is a problem. As a kid, I always laughed at the "dumb" characters in things... and as an adult- I'll admit I still do... but I think it kind of has negative impacts. Girls may act less intelligent because "it's funny." And I'll get more into girls acting "dumb" and calling other girls "dumb" in the next blog... but for now... do we need the dumb characters? No... we really don't... and here are some pop culture examples where there is no dumb characters... so let's get into it.

Crazy Ex Girlfriend is one great example. There are a lot of female characters... in fact it's mostly female characters... and they all might make mistakes or do things that seem dumb or clueless... but everyone is intelligent. Rebecca went to Harvard and Yale... Valencia is vain and I don't think brains really matter to her... but she isn't unintelligent. Paula is going to law school and writes brilliant legal documents. Heather is in college for psychology. Karen is kind of goofy... but she's still a paralegal and knows everything about sex toys... so that's something. No one is really portrayed as unintelligent and that leads to as many funny moments as any other show. The fact that we know Rebecca is smarter than most other people on the show actually makes it funnier when she does something that you wouldn't exactly think a successful lawyer that went to Harvard would do. Like when she pees on Josh's stuff for example. 

Plus it leads to her sort of over-explaining things like when she's actually interviewing a polyamorous couple about how their relationship works. When she questions the grammar of Spiders'... a lot of the best jokes are because Rebecca is smart. 

In a much more popular and much more serious series: Harry Potter. 

A lot of Harry Potter's female characters are from Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw's traits are that they are "Intelligent, Wise, Sharp, Witty, Individual." All of the houses are smart... but Ravenclaw is more known for it... to the point where there's an actual scene in the series questioning why Hermione is in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw... so that shows something right? 

Characters like Luna Lovegood, Professor Trelawny and even Queenie from Fantastic Beasts seem like they might be the sort of "crazy, ditzy" characters... and they are... but they aren't unintelligent. They're all highly intelligent... they just have different motivations than other people and they're more unpredictable and people have a harder time believing them... and this I think I'll get to next week... I'll link a helpful video from the Super Carlin Brothers underneath because they explain a lot of what I'm trying to say about these characters... but I'll have more on that next week... this is going to be a kind of long series... I said there were 3 blogs I have planned for this... but now I'm also thinking of rewatching Finding Dory... and of corse, rereading the 7 Harry Potter books and watching the 8 movies... and Fantastic Beasts... and probably even Cursed Child.

We'll definitely revisit this topic a lot... but the point is... do you know anything with a ditzy character that's better than Harry Potter? Probably not because Harry Potter is awesome... and if you don't like Harry Potter... I respect your lifestyle choice... but I don't understand it. 

Byeee! 
-Shannon 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Catcalling Isn't Okay, and Why It's Okay Not To Like It

Today I went to the grocery store with my mom and grandmother and while we were checking out, some older man says “Ohhhh, Nice! Young Lady! Have Mercy," to me! I was really pissed!  The thing about catcalling though is that a lot of people kind of make it seem like its less of a big deal than it is and that women should be okay with it… And no one should have to be okay with being catcalled. Here are my reasons:   I wasn’t asking for it  A lot of times people shrug it off and say something like “Well if you dress like that you’re just asking for it.” Nope… I was wearing a sweater… a mock turtleneck actually, jeans, and a large peacoat. This isn’t any different than how I normally dress. I shouldn’t have to modify my dress for my safety… also I’m not sure how I could exactly be wearing anything more reserved. It’s a striped sweater with a slouchy turtleneck… I definitely wasn’t asking for it.  I was wearing makeup… but that’s another thing I do every da...
2 comments
Read more

Why "The Ditzy Character" Is Problematic/ Don't Let anyone question your intelligence.

So... I mentioned last week that I don't think we need a dumb female character on TV or in movies and it just doesn't really add anything to the story if there's just a dumb character... of either gender really. It's a cheap gag for laughs... and girls should know that it's not just funny to be dumb... and that people won't like you any better if you act dumb... it's okay to be smart. I'm smart... I don't think I'm the smartest person in the world... I'm sure if I said that many people reading this would disagree... lol. But in school I usually got good grades... maybe not in Science or Math or any of those types of subjects... but English, history. Those are my friends. And as far as English classes go... I was the best student in several of my classes and I'm proud of myself for that... The thing is... I feel like a lot of people won't believe me about that because at some point in my life... I've acted "dumb" beca...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feminish TV : Black Mirror Season 3 Episode 1: Nosedive

I had been wanting to see Black Mirror for a while, and this is the episode Netflix decided to play for me. Oddly, they have Black Mirror starting from the Most Recent Season and then going back to the first season… so it’s the opposite of what they normally do.   Also, in case no one knows, Black Mirror is a horror/sci fi series kind of like The Twilight Zone, but a lot darker and scarier. So each episode is different, different cast different characters, different story… so its kind of like its own movie… but a little bit shorter.  This one stars Bryce Dallas Howard as a woman living in a world where Social Media is everything. People have something attached to their eye that brings up everyone’s profile whenever you look at them, you can see their “Score” which shows how popular they are. 5s are the highest… most people are in the 4 range. Bryce Dallas Howard’s character is in the mid-4’s and she’s looking to bring herself up to a higher 4. There are advantages to ...
Post a Comment
Read more