The following are two separate posts on Pixar Planet by TDIT in reply to several members’ opinions on Derpy Hooves’ recent portrayal in ‘The Last Roundup’, an episode from ‘My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic’. The pivotal scene where Derpy’s name is canonized drew controversy and criticism when fans wrote in to object to the name and behaviour of the character, which they felt was offending to the mentally-disabled. The episode has since been removed from iTunes for unspecified reasons.
Post on January 24, 2012
“I did enjoy the scene, although I do agree with the points you’ve raised regarding how it might be regarded as insensitive. I’m sorry about your friend and the pain she had to go through being called names behind her back; everybody deserves dignity and respect. Like you said, I don’t think the creators intentionally set out to demean those with intellectual disabilities, but since this was (perhaps unfortunately) the name the fanbase went with, they had to go with it for the namedrop. Perhaps a more neutral name like ‘Bubbles’ or ‘Muffin Top’ or even ‘Silly Willy’ would’ve been more tactful instead. But then you’d have another round of whiners complaining about ‘Golden Harvest’ or ‘Hearstrings’. Besides, we could attribute her being referred to as “Derpy” to Rainbow’s callous personality, so it could simply be a nickname people call her.
I’ve given this matter some thought and realised that giving ‘silly’ characters silly names in animation is nothing new. Disney has Goofy, Warner Bros. has Daffy, Pixar has Bubbles, Dreamworks has Lord Farqhuad, etc. ‘Derpy’ can be seen as an intellectual epithet, but it was never meant as a mean-spirited jibe for the majority of fans, only as a term of endearment. Not that there aren’t cruel fans who delight in seeing Derpy getting into trouble, but that’s probably why she’s so empathetic to all of us - cos’ we all make mistakes and we don’t know everything. Unlike say, Jimmy from South Park or Scrat from Ice Age, who play Butt Monkeys, Derpy doesn’t necessarily have misfortunes happen to her as cause them indirectly. And deep down, she’s just well-meaning and friendly, from what we’ve seen so far.
It’s good that the episode writer is aware of the repercussions of making the name Canon, and even then, it might not be entirely her fault. Maybe some higher-up or lower-down suggested she throw the fans a bone and make their day, so she just wrote it in.
Overall I’m really happy the creators have finally acknowledged her fanon name and personality, but reading posts by mentalguru and a few others elsewhere about how the name and voice has upset them makes me feel bad somehow (not blaming y’all, just that now I see that scene in a different light).”
Post on Feb 07, 2012
“I listened to balddumborat’s opinion video (we can all comiserate together over why she wasn’t picked to voice Derpy, as unlikely as it would’ve been) and was about to post it here, but someone has beaten me to it. Curse you, you have foiled my well-laid plans (well, actually my plans are mostly badly-laid, but I digress)!
Personally, I feel that both sides have an equal point on the matter. On the one hand, the word might be ‘loaded’ and offensive to some, and it’s better to err on the side of caution and be polite. On the other hand, to treat the mentally-disabled in a special manner (pun unintended, honestly) is in itself reverse discrimination (or affirmative action).
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t treat everyone with respect, because we all deserve it. But as balddumborat pointed out, there have been silly characters in the show before - like Snails, and Pinkie Pie to an extent. And of course, the entire Mane Six are stereotypes personified. You don’t see tomboys, or nerds, or beauty queens getting outraged over the (sometimes) heavy-handed depiction of their personalities. Maybe it’s because it isn’t as controversial or culturally-sensitive as a mentally disabled person. It shouldn’t be that way, really. I’ve had friends and relatives with such conditions but I talk to them in a normal manner, just that sometimes I have to be aware that they may require assistance with some tasks (just like an elderly person or a pregnant woman, you talk, you joke with them, but you’re aware of their needs).
Again, I don’t think they intentionally set out to outrage the mentally-disabled community. Perhaps they were being insensitive, but again the interpretation of the word is subjective. Disney has Goofy, and Dopey. Warner Bros. has Daffy. Cartoon Network had Billy from Billy and Mandy, Ed from Ed, Edd, and Eddy, I.R. Baboon from I.M. Weasel, etc (The last three from CN in particular, are as Robert Downey Jr. from Tropic Thunder would say, “Full Retard”). There’s a whole legacy of silly characters with silly names, but because MLP has entered the cultural zeitgeist, the helicopter parents, special needs caretakers and sensitive people take notice. Why the double standards, the hypcorisy? Why can’t a googly-eyed, klutzy pony have a nickname in a kid’s show? You might as well take out Timmy from Southpark (whose portrayal I find waaay more offensive than Derpy), or never have Forrest Whitaker act in any movie, because we refuse to ackwnoledge the existence of wall-eyed people.
Nobody complained when Snails spoke in a slurry voice, or when Twilight and Pinkie briefly ‘lost it’ in [i]Lesson Zero[/i] and [i]Party of One[/i] respectively (at least, not to my awareness). ‘Brown Syndrome’ folks never said a word when they made her eyes her defining feature. But you get a mare acting clumsy (notice, she’s merely being clumsy and blissfully ignorant, but not incapable of coherent speech or thoughts) and people get up in arms about it.
All that said and done, though, the way how people who voice their objection to Derpy were instantly dismissed or derided is not fair either. We should respect opinions from everyone, whether we agree with them or not. Even universally abhorrent things have shades of grey in them, depending on the context and circumstance (and which moral philosophy model you support). So while I, on a personal level, am not offended, I can understand how others can be, and they have my sympathy (I don’t know if that came out right). We shouldn’t shoot someone down when they say “I’m hurt by this statement/remark/character’s name/etc.”, but rather try to find the reason why.
You ask my opinion, I think they should keep Derpy in. I don’t mind if they change her name to Ditzy and change that awful voice (Tabitha in fact admitted she thought she was voicing a stallion! See, people derp all the time). But please don’t remove her entirely; to deny her existence or character as a simple-minded but good-hearted pony is still discrimination in my books.
On another note, the line between affectionate parody and cruel mockery can be very thin. Most people don’t see a problem taking the Mickey out of Twilight movies or Justin Bieber (and believe me, it does get downright mean-spirited at times), but when they do it to Schindler’s List or Stephen Hawking, we get outraged. Does a movie having serious themes mean it is immune to criticism or reconstitution? In this liberal age where we have ‘Hitler Rant’ videos, maybe not now.
Do we ascribe a greater human value to Stephen Hawking than Justin Bieber? Ignore the obvious answer that Stephen Hawking achieved more in contributing to the collecting knowledge of mankind than Bieber and that Bieber is able-bodied; what I mean on a fundamental level is why don’t we treat the two with equal respect as good-natured and law-abiding (as far as I can tell) human beings? Make a ridiculous parody of Bieber being blown to smithereens and nobody blinks. Do the same thing with Stephen Hawking (even though such a parody would have nothing to do with his disability) and you’re asking for trouble.”
Just another day at the office.
