Ruff and Reddy (created in 1957)
According to Dennis the increasing visibility of queer identities during the 1970s lead viewers to apply queer readings to animated texts more regularly. In an effort to ward off these speculations, producers of animated texts began to create overtly heteronormative characters (example -Strawberry Shortcake, G.I. Joe) or asexual, infantile characters (The Muppet Babies, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Tiny Toon Adventures).
The Scooby Gang becomes a-sexualized in 1988 with the series A Pup Named Scooby Doo
Dennis writes extensively on Pinky and the Brain, which he claims displays the first characters with overtly same-sex identities. Dennis believes this to be a part of their relationship from the beginning and cites examples from dialogue and plot that support his argument. When Brain is asked the question "Are you married during a job interview, take a look at his answer... (you can fast forward to 50 secs into the video)
Denis notes that Brain also introduces Pinky as his "umm... roommate" to his parents. Pinky and the Brain even combine their DNA to create a son, Romy. Dennis claims that the mice live together as men - not mocking a husband-wife relationship. Dennis even believes the famous line "The same thing we do every night..." leaves room for speculation. Examining the 75 "ponderings" (responses to the show's famous question "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?") 13 of Pinky's "I think so Brain but ...." responses have to do with transvestism or fetish costumes, and 12 evoke double entendres. Take a look at this video montage of some of Pinky's responses...
Dennis also contends that Spongebob SquarePants validates same-sex desire. Dennis identifies 6 concepts for locating instances of same-sex desire ...
1) Sharing a Living Space
2) Engaging in Social Activities as a Couple
3) Receiving Social Acceptance as a Couple
4) Failing to Cultivate Valued Relationships with the Opposite Sex
5) Rejecting Romantic Advances from Others
6) Explicitly Conveying Desire Through Flirting of Sexual Banter
SpongeBob and Patrick often engage in social activities as a couple and are even accepted as a couple by others in their world (See- "Valentines Day", Season 1, Episode 15). Dennis also references Season 2, Episode 9 entitled "Dumped" in which SpongeBob and Patrick fight over Gary, SpongeBob's male snail, and the dialogue mimics a romantic love triangle ("Gary, I thought what we had was special!"). Ultimately the audience, Patrick, and SpongeBob learn that Gary was only clinging to Patrick because he wanted the cookie in Patrick's pocket and Patrick proclaims "He only liked me for my shorts!"
Please leave me your thoughts and suggestions!
~Ryan
I LOVE that episode when Gary leaves Spongebob. It's weird, I feel like Gary's a girl for some reason. He never does anything too girly but there's still a feminine quality to Gary.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried Rocko's Modern Life? There's a lot of adult innuendo's in that show. I can't think of the episode but I remember Rocko saying "I've always liked rainbows" and his neighbors and friends replying with "That's disgusting Rocko!" It's on netflix right now instant. That's not the 1st season I can give you that much :)
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI am jealous of your cartoon knowledge. Watching your presentation made me want to go back to the 90s for some Pinky & the Brain. I can't say that I remember too many depictions of queer studies in cartoons, but the John Waters example was awesome. Anyways, just wanted to tell you that your presentation was awesome & I enjoyed it very much!!! It really is an interesting topic that I never really thought of before, so thank you for bringing it to light.
Cheers,
Irene
Hey guys! Thanks so much for the comments!
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I haven't looked too much at Rocko's Modern Life though one of the articles I'm using referenced it a little. Now that I know it's on Instant I'll definitely check it out! Thanks for the recommendation!! :)
This is a really good topic. You would never in everyday thought think that cartoons too are shaping gender roles as well as sexual orientation perceptions. Has it changed and developed more overtime or does it stick to the traditional sense? What are the effects of such things? I think this paper will be really interesting, I remember reading that Disney was notorious for attempting to extremely subtly, to the point of it being nearly unseeable, putting messages and what not into their movies and productions of cartoons. Your main problem will be having to much to write on and having to get in under 10 pages..
ReplyDelete