thegirldreamsgcios:

oh the nostalgia

ed you are perfect

patrick is my spirit animal

i cried at the end of this episode!

man they just don’t make cartoons like this anymore

ABLEIST!!! JESUS FUCK WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT, GUYS WE HAVE TO PETITION FOR THEM TO CENSOR THIS EPISODE

I know, I know, this subject is old, just leave it behind, I’m sick of all of this drama and I ain’t even in this fandom, you’re taking things too seriously, but I REALLY wanna get this off my chest.

The overall theme/tone of a series can affect how a character is interpreted by an audience. Most of the examples on here come from shows that exaggerate for humor’s sake. The Disney cartoons and Ed Edd and Eddy have slapstick and characters with exaggerated personalities, Spongebob as well to a lesser degree, and Grim Adventures….I’m not sure how to label the show exactly, but it definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously. None of these shows do. That’s why the audience doesn’t take the characters or their actions too seriously (at least in theory).

Another thing with these characters: they’re major characters that pop up frequently in the show. If the show wanted to, they can further develop the character. I don’t mean development in a ‘super serious tragic back story’ way, but just little touches and scenes of the characters showing their love and loyalty to their friends, show the kind of things they like and enjoy, the little things that show that the characters are more than just their silliness.

The Bunny example came from a single episode of The Power Puff Girls, a show that’s more action orientated. Characters are more likely to be played seriously in this show, and Bunny is one of the more ‘serious’ one-shot characters. While she did show some more disabled traits, the episode didn’t use it for humor if I recall correctly. Bunny messed up a lot, but she eventually proves that she is a capable person by saving the girls at the end. She gets positive character development and sympathy from the audience in her single episode, making her more than just a ‘playing a disabled-like person for laughs’ character

MLP:FIM isn’t purely a comedy cartoon, it’s more of a slice-of-life/adventure series. While the show isn’t afraid to use slapstick and exaggerate, it’s not a main focus.The main cast aren’t one-note characters: Rarity isn’t just a fashionista snob; she’s an artist who strives to improve her buisness, yet is a very generous person. Pinkie Pie isn’t just a pony who is hyper-active and random, just see Party of One or listen to her song Smile. The show goes to this length to give their characters depth not only to show ‘there’s more than one way to be a girl’, but also to better promote the love-and-tolerance moral when the characters have to deal with each other’s flaws and differences. The show takes itself a little more seriously than most of the above shows, hence the audience takes the characters and plot more seriously (hell, I think the fandom sometimes takes the show WAAAAAAAAAAAY more seriously than the show itself does). 

Derpy is just a background character who the fans started applying a personality and life story to, interpretations ranging from her being silly and messing things up all the time (a interpretation some people have had issues with before The Last Roundup aired) to her being a dedicated mail-pony and a very loving single mother. But all of this is fanon-only, and Derpy’s appearance in the show was just a one-note character who is very clumsy to the point of destruction. That’s not a problem by itself, it’s okay for a some-what serious show to have a one-note character. By the way the show portrayed this in the episode, it can give people the impression that she’s disabled.I’m sure that wasn’t the intent of the crew behind the episode, but author intent doesn’t control how people will interpret it. To quote this bit, “while you can defend your intent, it does not necessarily render their interpretation invalid.”

And you know what? It’s not a problem if Derpy appears disabled. The issue is that she’s a one-note character who will never pop up again and she’s played completely for laughs. If you interpret her as just clumsy, then this isn’t an issue. If you interpret her as disabled, then this can be offensive. You know that she’s not going to get the same development as the mane cast; more likely than not she’ll remain a background character forever. The general audience won’t know her as a mail-pony or a loving mom (not everyone who watches the show keeps up with the fandom and their fanon), they’ll only know her as a joke character. So for a show that has developed characters to teach the ‘love and tolerance’ moral, to a have a seemingly disabled character played solely for laughs seems pretty hypocritical and offensive. 

I admit, I’m still mulling over my own personal opinion on weather Derpy is truly offensive or not; I’m in no position to make that call as a person who never dealt with disabilities herself nor is familiar with the disabled community.The most I can truly say about her appearance itself that I would have preferred her being called ‘Ditzy Doo’, and I can see how she can be interpreted as offensive. I just wanted to explain how people can have a problem with Derpy/Ditzy despite similar silly characters existing in shows previously with no well-known drama caused over them.