Unlike the creator of the show when it comes to his YouTube videos, this isn't clickbait. This will focus on an episode of Fairly Odd Parents that was considered offensive enough to be taken off the air for a while.
The episode is Twistory, and yes, this is another Fairly Odd Parents post, I hate the show but I love it at the same time.
Going into it, I had no idea why it was ignored by the network for so long, and I did see it when it was new. This was well before I was made aware of the ins and outs of censorship and offensive material. Best to give some history behind the episode.
Twistory aired during the second season of Fairly Odd Parents back in 2002. It was paired with Hail to the Chief and after a year or so, airings of this episode became more and more rare. In my head, I assumed this was a themed episode, reserved for airings around President's Day, which is where I recall catching reruns, but overtime, I learned it wasn't the case.
So for those coming in now, this episode must've pulled all the stops right? Move over Ren & Stimpy, back off Rocko's Modern Life, Fairly Odd Parents are about to join your ranks. Or outrank you somehow.
Twistory was taken off the air for a while due to its use of stereotypes, I mean I guess. At large FOP fans don't hate the episode much (because apparently they can't separate reality from fiction hence their obsession with It's a Wishful Life.) What's my stance on stereotypes? I don't react harshly to stuff like that, but I agree it isn't funny. It's been beaten into the ground and it's less offensive and more annoying.
To the existence of this episode, we have to thank Jack Thomas (who to be fair wrote some of my favorite episodes of the show), along with Steve Marmel (who is a few bulbs short of a functional Hollywood vanity mirror) and Butch Hartman, who also directed the episode. If you take offense to this episode and hate Butch Hartman, call this a freebie.
So what's this episode about and what led to the stereotyping? Timmy forgot to do his history report and decides to bring over the signers of the Declaration of Independence to interview them in a talkshow like setting. The stereotypes start coming in at this point. George Washington, a man who's obsessed with cutting wood in a node to the Cherry Tree story. Benjamin Franklin, all about electricity and it's implied that he's the sole force behind its existence; "Akshully, the foundation of electricity can be traced to various people from different periods, Benjamin Franklin wasn't the true creator of electricity he was just one of the bigger figures behind it." Thomas Jefferson, at best, is just awkward.
But it all comes to a head soon enough. Due to the founding fathers being out of their time for so long, and apparently because they couldn't be reached before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, well, it never wound up happening, and because of that Dimmsdale is thrown into the dark ages. And in this, we get the impression that the United Kingdom is as evolved as a third-world country, complete with people with bad teeth, a hollow tax joke and the typical British landmarks. All they needed was something with fish and chips and they would've gone full circle.
They go back to the signing, and gee, I wonder who's gonna be the obligatory villain in this episode? I- Benedict Arnold. I mean, okay, compared to what Butch is comfortable with cramming into this episode, if he had used a stereotypical British king as the villain then this episode would've been far worse in my book. But for what they chose, Benedict Arnold, really? I mean sure I couldn't think of a better villain, but come on? Cartoonish evil? This is Season 0 level bullshit.
So Arnold disguises himself as Washington and tries to get them to sign a document that serves as a white flag. Or as this show likes to call it, the Declaration of Surrenderpendence. I need some air. How does this get resolved? By exploiting a Washington stereotype that may or may not be rooted in fact, and Timmy even gets to sign the Declaration of Independence due to him breaking John Hancock's hand.
Only thing I could mention about this episode at this point is that they put Timmy's face on the dollar, and you know how we have critics who hone in on obvious jokes just for cheap brownie points? Well now it's my turn. What led to this? This extends well beyond basic gratitude, Hancock was the only one who didn't sign and he never appeared on any currency. Worst part is this exists for a retread of an existing joke. At least for that joke about the Cubs in It's a Wishful Life it's meant to poke fun at an extensive losing streak and possibly something from Back to the Future, I don't know.
Basically, this episode isn't as racist as you think it is, but it comes close. It is one of the few episodes where one aspect overpowers the rest of the episode, and if you've seen stereotype humor before this episode does nothing new with it. It's like a Family Guy joke, and then you realize that Butch Harman and Seth McFarlane worked together in the past.
Would this have made my top 3 worst FOP episodes? Well... I probably would've put this and its a-segment on it, since Hail to the Chief felt like a wasted episode. Maybe it was for the best that I hardly saw this episode on TV.
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