Can you think of any instances where dumb characters are treated with respect rather than being the butt of mean-spirited jokes?
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Can you think of any instances where dumb characters are treated with respect rather than being the butt of mean-spirited jokes?
Twin Peaks
I can't remember, was Lucy actually dumb or just annoying? ...or did you mean Andy?
both
She was downright moronic in THE RETURN.
forest gump
I don't mean mentally disabled, that's completely different.
Radio
I said NOT mentally disabled
Corky from life goes on?
should have been more specific
He was a high functioning autist
Dougie Jones
Dumb characters dont understand jokes at their expense.
moroner janitor in LA Law
Nice obscure pull
Rain Man
I Am Sam
Haven't seen Rain Man but I Am Sam is an absolute embarrassment of a film.
>Rain Man
Hes autistic not dumb.
Dreamcatcher
Oh yea
Big Head from Silicone Valley
Election
Dumb jock is the only good, honest person in the whole film.
I just watched Election, that's actually a pretty great example. Paul and his sister were the only sympathetic characters.
Hmmm, I totally get where you're coming from but all of the main characters had some redeeming features, some more than others.
Except the teacher of course.
You think Reese Witherspoon's character had redeeming qualities?
Fred from scooby doo is sometimes depicted as a bit stupid but overall reliable, brave, and resourceful.
The original run of futurama had fry demonstrate determination and compassion, as well as a sort of indomitable, if sometimes ill advised, spirit (like when bender got flung in to space).
Xander from buffy. Consistently in over his head, nevertheless the heart of the group, always ready to fight when needed no matter how overmatched, brave, always looking for a way to contributein spite of his limitations, saved the world at least once using the power of friendship all by himself.
Arguably early simpsons homer.
Thanks. Interesting that the only positive examples of this seem to be with male characters. I can't think of a single dumb female character where we're supposed to be laughing with them instead of at them.
What is wrong with her face? Droopy eyes?
She's got the Billie pout
Zoomers jaw muscles are so underdeveloped they can no longer sustain the energy to keep their mouths closed.
No
Well to dip in to the same wells, Daphne from scooby doo is also sometimes depicted as competent and brave despite being a bit unintelligent. Even in more recent stuff she kind of yo yos violently between valley girl and kung fu action girl.
Buffy herself too. She's your average teenage Stacy at the shows outset. Smarter than xander sure, but teaching her to make good decisions is a major part of her relationship with Giles, and although she never becomes an academic, she does grow from idiot kid ith the world on her shoulders in to responsible adult over the course of the show.
Can't think of any movies.
Maybe idiots are best in TV shows where we have time to see more of them and watch them grow.
I don't know. I think I've seen most, if not all Scooby Doo shows and I can't remember Daphne ever actually being depicted as dumb. Maybe A Pup Named Scooby Doo? I remember that one the least. She's been a damsel, a rich girl, a fashionista, and a karate expert but I'm not sure I've seen "dumb". Even in Be Cool Scooby Doo she was more quirky than dumb. And Fred was only dumb in Mystery Inc, as far as I know.
>She's your average teenage Stacy at the shows outset. Smarter than xander sure, but teaching her to make good decisions is a major part of her relationship with Giles
Is she? I thought Buffy was only a Stacy in the movie? I haven't seen either but it sort of sounds like you're conflating recklessness with being dumb, which is fair but... I guess it really depends on what you consider "dumb". There's the "jock-ish" impulsive sort of dumb, which it sounds like you're describing and then there's dumb like Karen from Mean Girls, which is really more of what I had in mind when I made this thread.
>And Fred was only dumb in Mystery Inc, as far as I know.
Well he is definitely less effectual I some of the more recent movies, but I guess that doesn't exactly equal stupid.
Buffy definitely references having been that kind of person, and season 1 is sort of about her adjusting to not being able to be it anymore. Between that and constantly making bad decisions she's not exactly clever, but I guess she's not exactly an idiot either. She's a far cry from the hyper competent all knowing bad ass we seem to get all the time at least. Average intelligence at best, combined with poor emotional intelligence.
Yeah, I haven't seen the recent recent movies to be fair. Or Guess Who.
And, alright, gotcha. The way you were describing Buffy reminded me of Korra from Legend of Korra -- headstrong. The kind of character I would call dumb out of frustration but not mean in it the way Karen or somebody else is dumb.
Daria is a good example of what I mean. Brittany is the "dumb" one. That's her (and Kevin's) role in the series, especially compared to our protagonists. But really, Jane is dumb too. Jane gets horrible grades, barely got into college, and has trashy tastes. The actual smart characters in the series are Daria, Jodie, and Upchuck. Yet Jane isn't really a character we would call dumb. She's not Brittany or even any of the Fashion Club members. Her intelligence is not up for debate and there's no jokes made at her expense.
Am I making any sense?
What about that ginger girl? Darias sister I think.
Quinn. She's my favorite character. She's a little similar to Brittany but by the end of the series we see she's really more shallow than dumb, and she begins to make an effort to change that.
Quinn? She is shown a few times to be brighter than her friends and to have higher ambitions too. She straigh up tells the head Stacy (is she literally named Stacy?) that being attractive and interested in fashion doesn't preclude also being intelligent, but it takes time to get episodes where she is shown like that.
So Quinn isn't exactly that. She is initially presented as shallow and (presumably) unintelligent but had an arc where she gets comfortable with the fact that she is in fact neither of those things.
>(is she literally named Stacy?)
It's Sandi. Pic related. There is a Stacy in the Fashion Club though, she's the one with the pigtails and ironically the "loser" of the group.
Riggggghhhht. Aaand the oootherrrrrrr, iiiiss Tiffanyyyyyyy.
Possibly one of the funniest characters ever conceived. I don't mean to make this thread all about Daria, I just finished watching it for the first time recently so it's still on my mind.
No its a good example of a lot of character stereotypes being broken. Kevin and Brittany are dumb and at times they are made fun of but its never truly out of spite. The same way that all the characters have their flaws and they get pointed out with humor.
You can also look at it in the opposite way as well. Nerds usually get made fun of by jocks, but Daria got along with Kevin and Brittany on multiple occasions.
One thing that Daria did amazingly is depicting a realistic highschool that most shows cannot grasp for some reason. Students mingled with each other, belonged to different groups of friends depending on the situation, and don't hate each other for no reason.
>Kevin and Brittany are dumb and at times they are made fun of but its never truly out of spite
It's not something I really thought about at all while watching but it's a pretty huge distinction. Daria and Jane treat Brittany (and others who aren't like them) cruelly ("cruel" is a bit of an exaggeration of course since its more just light mocking/teasing) but the show itself doesn't. Daria (the series) is fair to almost everyone.
It was a very good show. Makes me want to rewatch it now too.
Romy and Michelle
The landlord's daughter from Spiderman 2
Legally Blonde ffs
Elle Woods was not dumb
>like when bender got flung into space
great fricking episode
It's pretty interesting in the context of OP's question actually. Everyone involved has no option but to assume that bender's return is just a random act of nigh impossible chance, but the audience alone has the information to know that it was Fry's determination on the face of those impossible odds that got bender home.
I stopped with the original ending of Futurama. Does Fry change?
Cabin in the Woods
Dumb stoner is shown to be right and breaking out of the regular traps.
Lisa P maybe
From what?
Nevermind the movie actually hates her
Damn it!
Frick I haven't thought about this movie in years.
What movie?
>rides
Yes pls!
2016-2020 presidency
Doofy.
Doofy?
That's special officer Doofy to you.
Doofy!
Walt Jr from Breaking Bad
he is physically handicapped, not dumb.
One Piece
>dumb girls good
>dumb guys bad
Dylan from American Vandal
this was such an underrated show and he absolutely nailed this character. might give S1 another rewatch because of this post, thanks bro
I hate that this show got cancelled, it was really great
I'll never forget Araki that they barely used his stand. what a fricking waste.
What's eating Gilbert grape, surrounding Burger Barn & John C Reily.
i love parks and rec
adam sandler's character in Airheads
The moron from The Stand was treated pretty good
Forrest Gump
I was rewatching buffy recently and I was surprised at how much of a tard she is. I guess it’s because she spends all her time hunting demons instead of studying so that’s why she doesn’t feel like she’s useless/dumb, because she’s good at other stuff.
Radar wasn’t dumb. A bit autistic, and maybe touch naive, but not dumb.
Earthquake warning Frankie