Connor Philpot

English 1010
The Accents and Biases of Cartoon Villains
 
When I was kid, I used to watch the cartoons that were playing on Disney Channel, Cartoon
Network, and Nickelodeon religiously. They had a big impact on not only my humor, but the way
I perceived characters. One of these shows was Phineas and Ferb. In this show there was a
character named Dr. Doofenshmirtz. He was made out to be a bumbling funny guy, and not
necessarily a villain. His schemes were always either very strange or petty. He was from a fake
foreign country known as Drusselstein, meaning he had a thick accent. It was an iconic part
about his voice. Doof was a deconstruction of the foreign bad guy trope, which I didn't fully
recognize until I got older. When I became a teenager, I started to realize just how many of
these cartoon bad guys had foreign accents. I grew up in an environment were this trope was so
common it was made fun of and parodied. I was just taught by cartoons that most villains had
an accent or where eccentric. But why? Why is this stereotype a thing? Why do we see villains
this way in cartoons? I'm here to tell you why.
   I decided to do my paper on the article "Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?"
It was written on January 4, 2018 by Isabel Fattal. While anybody can read the article, I believe
the intended audience was parents. It is calling to attention how many animated villains and
antagonists in animated media are depicted with accents. Since I am not a parent and am
turning 20 this year, I think I will have an interesting take on this topic. Representation in media
be it animated or live action, is a big topic of discussion right now. Diversity is bigger than it ever
was in animated shows then it was even just a decade ago. Mostly due in part to things like
streaming platforms and young creators, creating much more diverse worlds and characters
than their predecessors. But this isn’t covered in the article.
  The article goes over the bigger examples of what types of accents are used by villains in
animated media over the years. They use Disney villains such as Scar and Jafar as examples of
this use of dialect in media. Mufasa who is considered one of the "good" guys in the story, has
an American accent. While his brother Scar who is portrayed as more sly, cunning, and evil; has
a British accent. The article also goes over how the henchman of these villains tend to have
accents based on countries that are considered having low socioeconomic status. These can be
traced back to cartoons all the way back in the 80's and even farther. And a prevailing idea is
the reason this is a trend is due to American relations with other countries during events like the
Cold War. And how these are carried on by creators who are trying to mimic the shows they
watched as kids. The article concludes by telling parents to watch and help their children grow
with their understanding of media, as to not let these biases continue. Which is smart.
   I agree with this article, and think that it is a great form of rhetorical writing. It uses evidence
and logic to display how this has affected cartoons over the years. However, I believe the article
fails to show the change in attitude that cartoons are taking towards diversity. As most of the
villains discussed are from the mid 80's to late 90's. The most up to date being Dr.
Doofenshmirtz, who if you watched Phineas and Ferb as a kid like I did; know is chaotic neutral
at best. However, the discussion of cartoons from an older generation having these biases is
something I completely agree with. So, I will be focusing on how this article is successful in its
rhetorical analysis of these biases.
 
To start, let's begin with Logos. The article has mountains of evidence for how this is a
common trend in cartoons. From things like Disney movies, cartoons, even from environmental
shows like Captain Planet. All of these examples have the villains speaking in accents. They
bring up the point that these biases are placed during American events going on at the time.
And this is completely true in my book. I mean take a shot every time an 80's cartoon had a
Russian villain, you will pass out. Even movies like Rocky did it. But a more interesting point of
note, is how these biases are carried on. Even when things like the Cold War are over, cartoons
still display villains with Russian accents. Why is this? They argue it's because the creators of
new cartoons try to mimic the success of cartoons they would watch as children. Thus, these
biases are passed on.
  This brings me to our next point, Pathos. As the article has stated, many of these biases are
born out of events unfolding at the time. Propaganda is something that has been around since
America was even founded. Emotions are a strong force of will, and can easily be manipulated.
Since the Cold War was happening, the Russians would probably be portrayed as the "bad"
guys of the story. That's how Americans would view it. And if you let a bias grow or get passed
on, it's going to repeat itself. The cartoons of my time didn't necessarily have a bias towards
anything. By the time I started watching cartoons, these tropes were not only dissected but
made fun of. I watched shows like Avatar, Spongebob, Ben 10, Phineas and Ferb, and Teen
Titans. Most of these cartoons either didn't have an opportunity for accents, or embraced
diversity. But things like 90's Disney films and reruns of older cartoons still put this bias in place.
And bias is something born from feeling and emotion.
  Ethos, is the emotion and feelings of the writer coming out onto the page. The author of the
article is on the side of these biases being in cartoons, obviously. They take the stance of that
these kinds of biases shouldn't be common with newer media, and parents should watch media
with their kids. I think parents should keep in mind what their kids are watching, accent bias or
not. Kids are very impressionable, and are for sure influenced by the cartoons they watch. The
reason everyone my age has the surreal sense of humor we do, is because of things like
Spongebob, Phineas and Ferb, and Chowder were airing when we were kids. The author brings
up how kids will naturally get these biases against accents and ethnicities when there young
because of cartoon villains. They go on to talk about how they conducted and experiment where
they play two clips of characters, one with an American accent and the other with a British
accent. And they asked the kids what roles these characters should play. And for almost all of
them, the kids put the British accent clip in the category of villain.
  Villains and their accents are a product of a time long ago, were relations were tense and
biases were prevalent. These tropes and stereotypes get passed on from creator to creator and
get repeated. But change is starting to happen. Starting small with Doofenshmirtz, to the diverse
casts of The Owl House, Close Enough, Avatar, Castlevania, and many more. Streaming
services have given creators an opportunity to tell their stories and create diverse worlds, to
break free from these stereotypes and to make diversity the norm. But we must acknowledge
the biases that came before. That's why I think this article is important. It's to teach parents that
the things their kids are watching are important and leave an impact. I still remember the
cartoons I watched a decade ago, and your kids most definitely will too. Teach them right and
teach them early.