Progressive Scooby Doo Movies and Dumb Titles

[dastardlyhazard]

Hi! I'm doing research for a paper about Scooby Doo, obviously. My thesis statement is this: The More Ridiculous The Title is, The More Progressive and Politically Aware The Plot Is. (Barring the Velma show, I'm not really a fan of it.) I have only a couple of examples, such as Trick or Treat Scooby Doo, where they canonically (As in said the actual word and she openly identified with it) made Velma a lesbian, giving her a romantic love plot with what is technically the villain in the movie; but not quite, Coco Diablo. Not to mention the entire history of Scooby-Doo, being a direct response to the political discourse and climate of the 1960's to 1970's to even now. Every decade, Scooby Doo has effortlessly taken in the political climate of the public and make that be seen in their show, all the while not changing the core base of the characters. Granted, the older cartoons are a little wonky regarding LGBTQIA+ identities and treatments, I won't deny that at all, but they did make an effort to revise their treatment and awareness of it through the years. Some details about the characters have changed, definitely, but all for the better. Mystery Incorporated did this exceedingly well (My favorite Scooby Doo show, personally.), characterizing all the characters in a light reflecting that of the teenagers during that era, especially reflecting their interests and attitudes towards authority figures and the issues with the economy and real estate, which is what Scooby Doo has been doing for years. I guess what my whole thing means is; Could anyone help me find resources and examples of Scooby Doo being politically aware other than the obvious? I have my rough draft, I just need evidence and evidence is hard, man. Thanks!

[Doo]

Welcome to the forum, Dastardlyhazard!

This is a cool paper idea! I have a few off-handed/obscure examples that come to mind, but I will keep thinking on more:

• The entirety of the Be Cool, Scooby-Doo episode "Vote Velma" is a great political satire, which I would highly recommend watching.
• The film Daphne and Velma briefly has Daphne mention one of her worst fears is that there will never be a woman president
• In The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair", there is a cut scene where Batman and Velma talk about how counterfeit money will undermine the national economy (the example towards the end of the clip)
  
  
• In the Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue episode "Scooby Dudes," there is a brief scene where President George W. Bush gets barbecue sauce dumped on him, while Dick Cheney has a heart attack.
  
  

Best of luck with finishing your paper!

[Ark]

Doo I had no idea George Bush was canon! Ha!

So the only obscure thing I have to add is how it's particularly strange that the Iron Face episode features the Illuminati insignia as the organization helping the criminals on Skull Island. Was the real criminal ever really caught?

[barneynedward]

If you think about it, Velma is actually bisexual most likely given that all of her past love interest in the primary Continuity have been guys and given that the current head of Warner Bros. is a Rabid Trump supporter. It seems very likely that her next one will be too.

[barneynedward]

Mar 6, 2023 5:23:57 GMT -5 barneynedward said:

If you think about it, Velma is actually bisexual most likely given that all of her past love interest in the primary Continuity have been guys and given that the current head of Warner Bros. is a Rabid Trump supporter. It seems very likely that her next one will be male too.

Also, nowhere in trick-or-treat is the word lesbian mentioned. I just got done watching it. Man I hope they sent that warden to an asylum.

[Ark]

Yeah, the media and even Google jumped on this idea that Velma was suddenly lesbian, even though there really was no precedent. That whole thing is very odd in retrospect. Google even had a whole confetti animation about it, yet it was never canon. Who was in charge of that?

[Doo]

Mar 6, 2023 12:54:09 GMT -5 Ark said:

Yeah, the media and even Google jumped on this idea that Velma was suddenly lesbian, even though there really was no precedent. That whole thing is very odd in retrospect. Google even had a whole confetti animation about it, yet it was never canon. Who was in charge of that?

I personally think it was handled well in the movie, but I had a big issue with the media representation of it. As you said, they just jumped on the "lesbian" label and made a huge deal of it, when arguably the movie kept it very lowkey and didn't slap any labels on Velma. I would argue it's a broader issue of modern media though, where they are quick to slap a label on things and attempt to force people into boxes, whereas they should be sending the opposite message.