Dominant Ideologies in Fairly Oddparents

 Write a minimum of 500 words about a TV show that exemplifies two out of the six Modes of Perpetuating Ideologies. Be specific and try to use vocabulary learned in our discussions of Marx, Gramsci, and Ott & Mack. Be sure to explain how the show's character/setting/story/etc. is an example of the mode of perpetuation.

    I loved to watch the show Fairly Odd Parents as I was growing up. Like many shows in the 2000s it got away with leaning on racial stereotypes for jokes. It's hard when you watch comedy to examine tropes because the creators' intentions could be trying to be subversive. In the characters AJ, Juandissimo, and the Pixies however, I believe they are not. To be fair, cartoon characters are caricatures and often ironic. This is problematic however in that it reinforces these stereotypes in kids who don't get it. It's just absorbed as fact. This show is a buffet of racial jokes that probably wouldn't get past rating boards today. I want to focus on these 3 characters and groups because they show the perpetuating of the tokenism, stereotyping, and othering ideologies. 

    One of the main character Timmy's best friends is a young bald Black kid named AJ. I may be misremembering but AJ doesn't really serve to inform viewers about the Black American experience. Narratively he's just a White character, which begs the question of why he's even Black to begin with. When the show wants to talk about Racism and prejudice they turn everyone into grey blobs to show that everyone is the same outside and just different inside. So with at least that much awareness it seems like AJ was relegated to being tokenized. AJ is a genius from a rich family, smarter than most other characters on the show. He definitely follows the "nerdy Black" tv trope where his intelligence is supposed to be something that sets him apart from the racial stereotypes of scary large gangster Black men we sometimes think of. But it leans too far in the other direction. AJ dresses very preppy, I perceive as an attempt to fit in. One could make the argument that the outfit is to emphasize his intelligence, or affluence but Dexter got away with wearing a lab coat all the time. Glasses could serve equally well if that's the case. To me it looks like he's dressing "White". There's something about the fact that he's smart and rich and that his 2 best friends are White that moves him away from scary Black stereotypes to make his inclusion in the show feel safe and believable.

    Juandissimo Magnifico is another fairy who is in love with Timmy's fairy godparent, Wanda, who is married to Cosmo. Juandissimo is a very stereotypical Latin lover. He is sexually aggressive and doesn't care for the relationship she has with Cosmo. He openly mocks Cosmo in front of her. He has his moments in later seasons but he's essentially Pepe le Pew always trying to get Wanda to get with him instead of her. Visually he is buff, wearing a tight white T shirt that he often finds himself without. He carries a rose in his mouth and can dance. Stereotypes like these perpetuate hegemonic ideas about minorities and their priorities. Separating him as a brown person intruding on White family values. Thankfully at least, Wanda usually shows independence giving him a strong no, but that just makes him chase harder. Along with racial stereotypes it implies that toxic masculinity is core to minority beliefs, further widening the Us vs Them mentality. 

    The last example I chose were the Pixies. The Pixies are another race of magical beings that can also grant wishes. In the show's rules I think only one race can use their magic to help kids so they're constantly trying to overthrow the Fairies as the de facto god parents. Beyond the way they dress and act there's not really a difference between pixies and fairies in what they can do. However there is little to no sympathy for the pixies. The pixies always lose, hard, and they "deserve" it. They are played unironically evil and incompetent. The pixies aren't represented by any particular race color wise. Unlike the fairies who wear crowns and bright clothes, they wear pointy starred hats and business suits. Other than the lead pixie, ALL other pixies look exactly the same. They're not given any individuality so it's easy to see them as other. They're portrayed as the more boring race of the 2, who's problem is that they are too caught up in bureaucracy to give kids real fun. While not about the color of their skin, it does perpetuate the othering ideology. It normalizes the idea that other minority groups are different and because of that, worse. It puts out the idea that there are groups out there who disagree with you and it's ok to dislike them.

    Overall I don't hate the show. I think it's more a product of their time. The fact that racial jokes are or were at least normalized makes me think it may have contributed to hegemonic thought. Teaching and reinforcing stereotypes to children early so they get how the social system is supposed to work and where people fit in it.  Maybe the ridiculousness of it all is supposed to be a wakeup call to our own prejudices. Jokes are a 2 way street and the recognition is part of what makes it "funny."