A different take on Velma by HBO

Submitted by borek87 t3_10n8j24 in television

I literally watched EVERYTHING that was released with Scooby from 1969 animations to todays latest movies and I do that regularly with my 12 yo daughter. And as far as I love rewatching one of her favorites "Scooby Doo and WWE" for the 178th time I really LOVE the fact that Velma is NOT the same as Scooby Doo series and movies. And to be honest I am dying out of laughter watching all the YT hate videos and reading hate comments and hate reviews about Velma. Is the series cringe? YES - 100%. Which Scooby Doo wasn't? Tell me... please... because again I have watched ALL OF IT multiple times - there is literally none episodes in existence that I haven't watched at least twice - and I yet have to find one that wasn't cringe - and I love it as this is what Scooby Doo is supposed to be.

People are acting like Scooby was some sort of seriously deep, Oscar worthy drama/criminal. No it wasn't! It was always a stupid, cringy AF, shallow and predictable animation for 7yo's! You want sorta deep story with plot twists and non alternated Scoob universe - watch Mystery Incorporated. And as long as there gonna be Scooby Doo movies or series released as long I'm gonna watch it. Doesn't matter that I'm 35 (I got the daughter for support for now ;)) and the thing is more or less always the same - ghost that's not a ghost, shallow mystery, solving it and "if it wasn't for you kids and the darn dog" - there... that's the plot that you deeply all desire in Velma, but no... Velma is something DIFFERENT and I can applaud that someone had the guts to take it and put it upside down. Again, it's different. Better? Nope... but different.

You know when I knew that the show is not going to be be great? About 10 seconds in the first episode when a bug came out of a locker and a second one came behind it and started to hump it. I literally did a facepalm and said out loud "why?". So yeah it wasn't great, but it was what it was... ok I guess. But the the reviews came and boy oh boy was it a treat. And the real cherry on top for me is that all the hate - and I know that because I watched like 20 YT videos to understand why people have so huge problem with it - really comes down to people that are offended by the white racist jokes or making fun of things like masculinity or occasionally throwing in a grenade like loling out of standup comedians and #MeeToo.

One of the most popular hate videos on Velma goes as far as calling it podophilic and demoralizing. Have any of you people checked with your child lately? Because a 16 yo being interested in his/her own sex and body and discovering that stuff - which many doctors / psychologist / sexologist would consider a natural and healthy thing - having bf/gf and being introduced to alcohol or drugs and dealing with school bullies is everyday school 101 - whether you like it or not. It is what it is and if you thik it's not you're either a stupid parent or an ignorant one. And don't you even try the "oh the times we live in are..."... We all had the same things 20 years ago in school, it's nothing new, stop acting like you're now shocked or discovering this thing for the first time. Drop it... you know, I know, but I guess admitting it is not an option for you all? People are just so touchy these days and they do YT videos about this (and of course for views cause drama and hate sells almost as good as sex and gambling) and could give it -1/10 if it was possible on review sites just to get in that sweet hate train that's passing by. To me it HILARIOUS!

I'm white, straight, atheist middle age man, and I have no problem with any of the racist jokes, soft nudity, intimate scenes, LGBTQ+ themes or when they have a lolz from time to time on a more touchy theme... I really haven't heard ANYTHING that wasn't made fun of or shown in series like South Park or Family Guy (which are hilarious IMO). How many hate videos and boycotts about those two have you seen lately? In fact, compared to those two, Velma should be E rated. I think you have all forgotten that in the end it is - and Scooby has always been - a COMEDY show and you should all loosen your panties and just have some giggle and fun when you hear a stupid, cringe joke that doesn't really land the way it should instead of going on a YT, Twitter or FB rampage on how it's the worst thing in the history of TV shows...

Oh and BTW. In like half of the 20 or so videos I watched on YT about this topic the person who made it was so outraged and disgusted about all the racist jokes that they just couldn't shut up how Velmas skin was not white and her voice (as the whole show btw) was done by an "Indian" referring to Mindy Kaling who is in fact an American. So.... yeah... I swear to god the "hate Velma" club has the same people in it who think Andrew Tate is a top G. Both groups are equaly misguided.

PS. You can - as I know you will - downvote this post to oblivion I really don't care and have already turned off any notifications for this thread as I really don't want to respond or interact with all of the haters.

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Snoo_47610 t1_j67gs13 wrote

I ain't reading all that. I'm happy for u tho. Or sorry that happened.

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dobraf t1_j67jcv5 wrote

TL;DR Velma is cringe but so were old Scooby Doo cartoons. Velma is relatable. The hate is unfounded. Velma is not bad.

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AGVann t1_j67unpt wrote

I read your entire comment, and this is my effort to engage with you earnestly: condensing all the criticism of the show into just 'racists and misogynists' eliminates the nuance that you're trying to defend the show with. Putting all the 'culture war' BS aside, it's just not a well constructed show. The jokes miss far more than they land, it's too genuine in it's mediocrity for it to be satire, and the characters are about as deep as a four second elevator pitch blurb.

Back on to the topic of racism - you've specifically used that word to describe the humor of the show, so you agree it's based around the idea of mocking, humiliating, and shaming someone for their skin color. You'd have to go pretty far back to find a show where the main characters are gleefully mocking someone's race, and expecting the audience to agree and laugh with them. Why is that suddenly acceptable in 2023?

It's not even shock comedy, it's just reprehensible behaviour from someone that clearly thinks the next step after equality is "my turn now".

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brotherkin t1_j69e1ep wrote

This is the correct response

For some reason, OP is doing their best to make racist jokes seem harmless and it's the people that are speaking out against racism and prejudice in the show that are somehow in the wrong

OP compares south parks edgy humor to Velmas and I have to say they come off completely different. South Park clearly makes fun of racism by parodying it and showing ridiculous people in ridiculous situations

Velma doesn't come across as a parody to me. It feels like it's leaning into the "fuck white people" shtick targeting an audience that likes making fun of white people

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EnhancerSpecialist t1_j69oatm wrote

> South Park clearly makes fun of racism by parodying it

Does it now

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brotherkin t1_j69zo5a wrote

Well yeah, have you not watched much South Park?

For example, Cartman is a complete asshole racist bigot douchebag and he says a lot of fucked up stuff.

You know what the difference is? The other characters call him out for it, and Cartman looks like a complete monster most of the time.

That's the difference.

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batsofburden t1_j69jrx9 wrote

> Putting all the 'culture war' BS aside, it's just not a well constructed show.

Isn't op's main point though that the original Scooby Doo was not a great show either, and that's why the level of vitriol in the criticism strikes him as especially ridiculous?

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AGVann t1_j6bb3b8 wrote

The original Scooby Doo was 'not a great show' because it was a kid's show, not because it was full of racist jokes.

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ButtholeCandies t1_j6a66fw wrote

> Back on to the topic of racism - you've specifically used that word to describe the humor of the show, so you agree it's based around the idea of mocking, humiliating, and shaming someone for their skin color. You'd have to go pretty far back to find a show where the main characters are gleefully mocking someone's race, and expecting the audience to agree and laugh with them. Why is that suddenly acceptable in 2023?

The last wide broadcast show to do that was Amos and Andy, which was essentially a minstrel show. You can make a good argument that Velma is a modern day version of a minstrel show with how it mocks physical and cultural traits - by people that aren’t that race/sexuality - in the meanest manner of mockery possible - all for laughs.

It’s going over as well as a modern remake of a minstrel show, so that’s ok I guess.

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Automatic_Randomizer t1_j68psxb wrote

> You'd have to go pretty far back to find a show where the main characters are gleefully mocking someone's race, and expecting the audience to agree and laugh with them.

Honestly, I can't recall any mass market show where that happened. Sure, in some movies, like Disney's Song of the South, black characters were depicted in ways that are uncomfortable and Asian stereotypes were portrayed insensitively, but I don't know of any show with a recurring theme that bad things happening to black folks is funny because of their race.

Maybe I'm wrong. Are there any examples of TV shows more blatantly racist than Velma?

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PopeGuss t1_j67h1wu wrote

Is there something you'd like to get off your chest?

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Owasso_Landman t1_j67hp2q wrote

OP thinks anyone read this 🤣

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bernsteinschroeder t1_j67yg7g wrote

I skipped to the PS (always read the PS first) and confirmed none of it was worth reading.

The "I've turned off replies b/c you're all poopyheads" said it all, that the OP would be furiously refreshing the thread to see new comments.

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Justintime4u2bu1 t1_j6a9r0n wrote

the classic “SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME AND THAT FACT WILL SURELY SATISFY MY EGO” trope

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bernsteinschroeder t1_j6arwyb wrote

Social Media thrives on this trope with various up-vote mechanics...likely to the detriment of many a conversation.

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kingdazy t1_j67h19a wrote

Brevity is the soul of wit.

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ElectricPeterTork t1_j67hyov wrote

My post about Velma would be "Not interested, didn't watch, amused at the reactions from both directions."

But shit, that's not much of a post. And I don't feel like whipping out the thesaurus to cobble together enough words to express that sentence in a novella.

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Escaho t1_j67hxhi wrote

We get it, Mindy, you can write essays. Still not going to watch your show.

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sampletrouts t1_j67iyiw wrote

For anyone who gave up after the first paragraph. OP's post isn't about having a different opinion about the tv show Velma. Instead it's about the people disliking the show. OP claims that everyone who doesn't like the show is a racist misogynist. It's one of those posts where the spit is drooling from the screen.

I don't understand why OP wrote it. He clearly states he has no intention reading any of the reactions or revisiting his post ever again. It's almost a literal version of 'old man yells at cloud'.

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Owasso_Landman t1_j67jh15 wrote

He clearly has interest in reading the reactions is the irony

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bernsteinschroeder t1_j67z417 wrote

> He clearly states he has no intention reading any of the reactions or revisiting his post ever again

Which is the best indication that the OP is refreshing the page frequently to see the responses.

People like the OP want to stir the shit for attention but don't have the stones to defend their opinions. Given how thin-skinned the OP is, though (see below quote of the OP in reply in another post in this thread) I'm sure it's for the best that he doesn't engage :D

> Dude... if you hate my take on Velma, sure... you do you, but don't try smart ass yourself out of the fact you don't even know what a spacebar does. You tried to write a clever line that I "discovered a spacebar" for paragraphs - which is literally not the key for paragraphs* - and now you're trying to backpedal on this.

> * you aren't actually one of those people who when they write a document in word for example insert like 150 spaces to go to the next line are you? Damn... that would explain the dumb mistake. Next time just use Enter. Might be a shocking experience for you the first few times but you'll get used to it.

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bistorta t1_j67m2fw wrote

>Because a 16 yo being interested in his/her own sex and body and discovering that stuff - which many doctors / psychologist / sexologist would consider a natural and healthy thing

Yeah that's totally the same as a room full of adult writers and animators sexualizing 15 year old girls

>I'm white, straight, atheist middle age man

well that explains it.

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[deleted] t1_j67ghzq wrote

[removed]

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[deleted] t1_j67iajb wrote

[removed]

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sevsnapey t1_j67jdhl wrote

> I really don't care and have already turned off any notifications for this thread as I really don't want to respond or interact with all of the haters.

submitted 38 minutes ago (last edited 31 minutes ago)

so that was a lie

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Owasso_Landman t1_j67jbrn wrote

Person who doesn’t understand paragraphs is trying to lecture. 🤣

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borek87 OP t1_j67nuy2 wrote

Dude... if you hate my take on Velma, sure... you do you, but don't try smart ass yourself out of the fact you don't even know what a spacebar does. You tried to write a clever line that I "discovered a spacebar" for paragraphs - which is literally not the key for paragraphs* - and now you're trying to backpedal on this.

* you aren't actually one of those people who when they write a document in word for example insert like 150 spaces to go to the next line are you? Damn... that would explain the dumb mistake. Next time just use Enter. Might be a shocking experience for you the first few times but you'll get used to it.

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GCGS t1_j68exnd wrote

>I literally watched EVERYTHING that was released with Scooby

Wait, i thought Scooby-Doo was not in the show.

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Mr_Strol t1_j687nck wrote

0 upvotes and 27 comments. Glad to see people don’t respect this tripe.

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bngarland t1_j694zew wrote

I am currently on a mission yo watch every episode of every scooby doo show (I'm not much of a movie person but I've seen my fair share). I was excited about velma when I saw it was coming out because it was different. However, after watching the first 2 episodes I had a knee-jerk reaction like everyone else did that it was an awful show. I kept watching when new episodes came out and it's actually not as bad as the first two episodes make it seem. Is it great not by any stretch but does it deserve this much hate no. It as pretty easy to just move along and watch what you want to watch instead of hating on a show that isn't even finished yet.

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Justintime4u2bu1 t1_j6aanmw wrote

I do gotta say that with the whole MCU as well as Disney being Disney, and as they control a large portion of media (fictional or otherwise)

I’m getting real sick and tired of mediocrity being the defining characteristic of a polarizing piece of media designed in a sterilized lab in a ploy to appeal to the ideal that is ‘everyone’ in the mind of the producers.

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anasui1 t1_j695v7l wrote

that's the pettiest thing I've read this year, and basically boils down to "anyone who doesn't like Velma is a - ist asshole". Like a reverse Critical Drinker video, but at least the Scotch is funny because he doesn't take himself that seriously

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rabiddog20xx t1_j697gop wrote

I think it’s incredibly cringe worthy but I still watch it… I never go into anything with any expectations. I find it hilarious that norville is against drugs and his father looks like a true shaggy interpretation. Half of the students are always high and it reminds me of what my high school was like

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realchooby t1_j6ehgeo wrote

I know people are entitled to their opinions but this is really pushing it.

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wr0ngz t1_j69zqqc wrote

Sure HBO Executive sir, I agree (i honestly could not give a fuck)

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Lobotomist t1_j696nu0 wrote

Its one of those shows where you are not sure if the creators are super sublime satirists of today's ( wokeist ) culture , or just bumbling idiots

And truly the best works of satire often are this way.

We will never know if its genius or shit. And its really up to everyone to decide by them selves.
( I know panic is already setting in , seeing that collective mind will be unable to guide you on this one. But you are on your own kid... on this one )

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SOSovereign t1_j6cblhl wrote

It's shit.

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Lobotomist t1_j6d2uki wrote

Hehe. Its definitely a trainwreck. But as I said, its so bad, i am starting to think it must be on purpose. 😂

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Its_it t1_j67yj0n wrote

I'm just happy that whenever this sub gets recommended to me randomly I'm reminded that almost everyone has the emotional maturity of a 13 year old. Holy shit. This person made a short essay about this show and everyone is mocking it being just 6 paragraphs long. There's literally only a single person who actually read it and is trying to engage with them but everyone else is "acting" like they don't know how to read.

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cmVkZGl0 t1_j69tqx0 wrote

Meanwhile they complain about dumb people and others who can't grasp nuanced concepts

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