View Single Post
Old 12-17-2008, 10:07 AM   #178
jekylljuice
Executive Weasel Ball
 
jekylljuice's Avatar
jekylljuice was here.  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: the 44th floor (not counting the mezzanine)
Posts: 1,568
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Marshmallow View Post
When we watch cartoons as we get older we tend to look at things with a better understanding, start picking up on things that were hinted at or we missed or possibly implied. Though in Fosters case I don't think there is really anything to Mr. Herriman's disorder theory. One could just as equally theorize that Wilt has OCD (obsessive compulsion disorder) with the "I'm sorry" stuff.
Exactly. Some of Wilt's behaviours (in particular, the excessive apologising) certainly ring a lot truer with my own experiences with OCD than any of Mr. H's, and it is admittedly one of the reasons why Wilt appeals to me as a character, but at the same time I do not believe that he is actually intended to be any kind of portrayal of an OCD-sufferer. These are simply character traits which have been given particular prominence in defining and developing his personality, and utilised for the sake of both comedy and pathos. The same goes for all of the characters' personality flaws.

One of the key problems with taking the exaggerated personality traits of a cartoon character and casually alligning them with a real-life disorder is that there's a strong possibility that you'll wind up offending someone who actually does have that disorder. That's what I've been trying to get at here.
__________________



That's it,
The End,
But you'll get over it,
My Friend.

Last edited by jekylljuice; 12-17-2008 at 10:26 AM.
jekylljuice is offline   Reply With Quote