Disaster ‘Velma’ Is So Bad It's Spawned Psyop Conspiracy Theories

‘Velma’ Is So Bad It's Spawned Psyop Conspiracy Theories

archived 14 Jan 2023 17:10:03 UTC

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‘Velma’ Is So Bad It's Spawned Psyop Conspiracy Theories

People are certainly talking about Velma, that much is true. Just…not very positively. Velma currently has the lowest audience score I’ve seen for an HBO or HBO Max production, a 7%. To get that low requires not just “review bombing” but your show also likely has to be…genuinely bad.

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‘Velma’ Is So Bad It's Spawned Psyop Conspiracy Theories​

Paul Tassi
Senior Contributor
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Jan 14, 2023, 10:20am EST
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Velma
HBO MAX
Yesterday, HBO Max bragged that Velma, the new adult-rated Scooby Doo cartoon, was its most-viewed animated premiere ever. I’m not sure precisely what that says, given that the only other Max original animated series I can even think of is Harley Quinn, plus a bunch of other older series that WB Discovery recently murdered.


But people are certainly talking about Velma, that much is true. Just…not very positively. Velma currently has the lowest audience score I’ve seen for an HBO or HBO Max production, a 7%. To get that low requires not just “review bombing” but your show also likely has to be…genuinely bad.

And it is. Velma is very, very bad.

Velma is so bad in fact, that it’s spawning conspiracy theories that creator Mindy Kaling made what is essentially a parody of what the right wing thinks left wing comedy is like. As in, a show that not just recast most roles with new races, but also features loads and loads of “white guys, amiright?” jokes. The idea is that Kaling is a secretly conservative force in media trying to make the left look bad by making a cringey adult cartoon full of “this rich white guy has a small dong” jokes that the right can point at as everything wrong with race-recasted, social justice-influenced media.


I do not want to go down a big rabbit hole about Mindy Kaling’s personal beliefs and influences here. And yet if that wasn’t the intent of the show, it sure feels like it in practice. On one side, it absolutely is working to spark mockery from the right, exactly as you might imagine it would. But on the other, it’s just not defensible at all by those who would normally welcome a progressive series.


Take She-Hulk for example. That was a hugely controversial show where it was very explicit about roasting misogynistic comic fans, perhaps often lacking in subtlety. But I would still very much defend that show, as I think its humor and fourth-wall breaking works, and most of the people who were upset about it are the very people that it’s overtly making fun of…for being upset about it.

Velma is not that. Velma is not defensible by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just bad. Making progressive jokes is fine so long as the jokes are good. They are not good. I heard the show described somewhere as a series written by TV writers who only ever talk to other TV writers. That’s a pretty good summary. And the idea here is that it’s so, so bad at landing its jabs at right wingers that it almost feels like self-sabotage.

There is a world in which this concept might have worked. I can see an “adult” Scooby Doo series where you have an overlooked Velma attempting to claw back credit from a privileged Fred, the “leader” of the gang. And yet here it’s not just jabbing at Fred for being an overconfident white dude, it’s literally “he’s such a whiny white man baby that his mommy cuts his steak and he hasn’t finished puberty so he has a small penis.” Like just…no remote hint of subtlety or nuance or anything that could make the progressive humor work.
An easy counter-example to turn to is the R-rated Harley Quinn series, also on HBO Max, which still feels true to the characters it focuses on, is full of left-leaning messaging on misogyny an LGBTQ issues, but importantly…is funny and compelling. I mean, this show recently did a full bit about the Joker running for mayor as a progressive socialist and it worked.
Velma? I don’t know what Velma is doing. I’m not sure I subscribe to this “Mindy Kaling made a dogwhistle series for right wing trolls” theory, as the Occam’s Razor explanation is that the show is just…bad. The jokes are…bad. That’s really it.
I may continue watching out of morbid fascination, but man, this is truly one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen.

 

[Jason Wynn]

@Starved Artist

Lot of words just to say you have shit taste in entertainment. Probably enjoyed Rings of Power as well, right? Who cares if the show is good! Who cares about good writing or god forbid, being entertaining? Just insert some token black transbian autist, make all white people dumb as hell, evil incarnate (usually both) tack on a preachy soapbox diatribe and we’ve got a show!

Mmmmmm that’s good goyslop!

 

[Starved Artist]

@Starved Artist

Lot of words just to say you have shit taste in entertainment. Probably enjoyed Rings of Power as well, right? Who cares if the show is good! Who cares about good writing or god forbid, being entertaining? Just insert some token black transbian autist, make all white people dumb as hell, evil incarnate (usually both) tack on a preachy soapbox diatribe and we’ve got a show!

Mmmmmm that’s good goyslop!

First and foremost .
>Giving Amazon even more money.
Lmao. If a streaming service isn't packaged in with my internet/phone bill, I don't have it. If I was interested in watching it, I'd give a look, judge the actors, judge the content, judge the writing. I do the same autistic ritual for every modern show that I watch. If the writing is good, I'd say it is good, if the story is good but the actors are shit? I'd say that as well.

Second.
I gave Velma a fair shake. Can you explain in your own words, citing a specific episode, what was so wrong with the show? After watching the recent scooby movies, and shows with my kids, it's clearly not the worst thing they've done with Scooby Doo by country mile; That glamerous title belongs to the WWE Scooby Movies, Be Cool Scooby Doo ( If you think how Freddy was portrayed in Velma! was bad, Be Cool Scooby doo is worse) and the Velma Origins movie.
I mean, you did watch it before you judged it right? You seem content with riding the bandwagon, could you give me your own personal insight on why the show was bad beyond the cut and paste drivel that's everywhere.

 

[Tony Vivaldi]

Well WB is know for producing high quality popular shows right?

oh wait...

Well....UPN had a go at it. Who could forget this little gem?

UPN = Under Paid Niggas
UPN = Unflattering Portrayal of Negroes

 

[Post Reply]

I gave Velma a fair shake. Can you explain in your own words, citing a specific episode, what was so wrong with the show?

I would ask you the inverse of this question, but you already answered it when you popped into this thread and gushed about the teenage lesbian romance in Velma. That (and the fact that you've apparently watched every piece of Scooby Doo media ever aired) gives off strong Gooney Bearded Manbaby vibes.

 

[Next Task]

Cuties is an Islamic movie about watching your children and keeping them off the fucking internet so they don't mimic whores, written by an islamic woman who was influened by whore shit when she was a child.

You're right that most people who complained about Cuties never watched it. I only watched the full dance sequence myself, and think the poster did 99% of the work in the outrage stakes.

So I get what the writer/director was going for. I get that the behaviour isn't being celebrated, that it's not intended to be pedo bait. But I would say from the dance sequence alone, the director showed her lack of experience, because the way she shot it felt exploitative and unnecessary for the effect she was going for.

She didn't have the talent to not fall into the 'war film' trap. Some director once said no war film can be truly accurate because by putting it on film it inherently looks cooler. In this case, while trying to show the dancing to condemn it, she also glorified it with her use of close-ups and the like. I know what she was trying to say, she just said it poorly.

As for Velma, no one has claimed it's the worst Scooby Doo product ever, just that it was bad on its own. No Scooby, an unlikeable protagonist, shitting all over Fred and going on about him having a small dick and being pretty blatant that it was because he was the straight white guy. It was woke, it was by Mindy Kaling who has never written something I've liked, and it was Current Year adaptations personified. Good for you if you liked it - someone had to for it to get a second season - but it wasn't watchable for the vast majority of people, who like some form of Scooby Doo without having watched and catalogued every version of the show since its inception.

 

[Lone Star]

no one has claimed it's the worst Scooby Doo product ever

Speak for yourself. I saw a ton of people claiming that. I certainly can't think of anything Scooby-related that's worse.

 

[Moths]

After watching the recent scooby movies, and shows with my kids, it's clearly not the worst thing they've done with Scooby Doo by country mile

Then why does a news article exist saying its abysmally bad

 

[Otoya Yamaguchi]

First and foremost .
>Giving Amazon even more money.
Lmao. If a streaming service isn't packaged in with my internet/phone bill, I don't have it. If I was interested in watching it, I'd give a look, judge the actors, judge the content, judge the writing. I do the same autistic ritual for every modern show that I watch. If the writing is good, I'd say it is good, if the story is good but the actors are shit? I'd say that as well.

Second.
I gave Velma a fair shake. Can you explain in your own words, citing a specific episode, what was so wrong with the show? After watching the recent scooby movies, and shows with my kids, it's clearly not the worst thing they've done with Scooby Doo by country mile; That glamerous title belongs to the WWE Scooby Movies, Be Cool Scooby Doo ( If you think how Freddy was portrayed in Velma! was bad, Be Cool Scooby doo is worse) and the Velma Origins movie.
I mean, you did watch it before you judged it right? You seem content with riding the bandwagon, could you give me your own personal insight on why the show was bad beyond the cut and paste drivel that's everywhere.

They replaced a white redhead with a neuro. This is nazism, paid for by nazis

 

[Starved Artist]

Then why does a news article exist saying its abysmally bad

There's articles for everything. I could give an entire rant about confirmation bias and all that other fun stuff, but I'll keep it short so I can get back to watching more abysmal 2023 cartoons with my kids.

Telling people what they want to hear is the fastest way to get click traffic. Nobody wants to hear good things about a changes made to a classic. You already hate change so who is going to question the narrative that it's bad?
They expect people to sit down and take their word for it. I don't take anyone's word for anything until I watch it myself. Far too many faggots with agendas trying to sell me on their shit media while decrying other media as terrible.

Anyway, back to the scooby shit while it's still on my mind.

Mystery inc, Be Cool Scooby Doo and Velma! have two things in common.

They're all severe deconstructions of Scooby Doo and they're both geared towards a mature audience. Except Be Cool is an adult show pretending to be a kids show, whereas Velma! embraces being an adult show. Mystery Inc tries to be mature but then goes full grim and dark while desperately remaining PG.
It's an experiement to see how much they can change while still keeping the forumla and one of the changes they've been working on for the last 20 years is either , Velma breaking up with Shaggy OR making Velma a lesbian. Between Coco, Daphne and Marcie, the only success they had was with Daphne in Velma.

Edit: fuck it my images didn't attach properly.

A love triangle between Scooby, Velma and Shaggy. Velma is an implied lesbian with Marcie /Hotdog Water. High point of the show, the lovecraftican prophecy of the mystery solving teenagers and Scooby, speaking clearly, swearing to kill that fucking bird. Really fucking dark, really fucking grim, actual deaths and the nature of destiny , prophecy or choice. Actual children wouldn't give a fuck about this. It's that Gravity Falls shit where they dress up a clearly adult show as a kids show but then break the bank marketing it as a kids show. I fucking hate this trend because now I have to binge watch my kids shows before they watch them to make sure there isn't any hidden faggotry in it. Star Vs Evil turning into Game of Thrones for kids was pretty amusing though.

Velma'!s low point plays off of the low points explored in other scooby animations and Mystery Inc; She's an insufferable bossy cunt. It's like they took everything you hated about Velma in Mysteries Inc and mixed it with Velma Origins. The intention was there. What if Daphne was a real cynical girl boss and was allowed to express it?

Be Cool Scooby Doo, goes in the opposite direction of velma and focuses on the exaggereated features of the characters.
Velma is still an inssuferable cunt for some reason. Daphne is a "powerful girlboss", but she's fucking nuts. They made her into an eccentric nut, like that new Lola Bunney ( seriously why is it when people can't write a female character, they default to writing a fucking loon? People keep saying these shows are proggressive and woke, but with writing like this? They clearly didn't watch them. )

What I hate the most about recent scooby doo is the treatment of Freddy. Velma! was the only recent scooby doo that showed freddy ready to beat some fucking ass. Trap didn't work? Rolled up his sleeves and ready to fight. when the fight didn't work? Freddy got a fucking gun. Not since the live action scooby doo and zombie island were we treated to a Super Serious Fred that didn't come off as autstic. Yes. Velma's Fred started as a manchild, but he matured out of it . It's a shame that he had to be introduced in Velma!. I think the world is ready for a Fred that's ready to put teeth to the curb.

 

[NyQuilninja]

You're right that most people who complained about Cuties never watched it. I only watched the full dance sequence myself, and think the poster did 99% of the work in the outrage stakes.

So I get what the writer/director was going for. I get that the behaviour isn't being celebrated, that it's not intended to be pedo bait. But I would say from the dance sequence alone, the director showed her lack of experience, because the way she shot it felt exploitative and unnecessary for the effect she was going for.

She didn't have the talent to not fall into the 'war film' trap. Some director once said no war film can be truly accurate because by putting it on film it inherently looks cooler. In this case, while trying to show the dancing to condemn it, she also glorified it with her use of close-ups and the like. I know what she was trying to say, she just said it poorly.

As for Velma, no one has claimed it's the worst Scooby Doo product ever, just that it was bad on its own. No Scooby, an unlikeable protagonist, shitting all over Fred and going on about him having a small dick and being pretty blatant that it was because he was the straight white guy. It was woke, it was by Mindy Kaling who has never written something I've liked, and it was Current Year adaptations personified. Good for you if you liked it - someone had to for it to get a second season - but it wasn't watchable for the vast majority of people, who like some form of Scooby Doo without having watched and catalogued every version of the show since its inception.

I did actually watch it cuties that is and Velma. Cuties was Islamic content through and throughout. As for the child porn accusations
The following statement I thoroughly agree with concerning cuties

Lina Nealon, director of corporate and strategic initiatives for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said about Cuties: “The audience does not need to see the very long scenes with close-up shots of the girls’ bodies; this does nothing to educate the audience on the harms of sexualization. And to showcase sexual exploitation of children in a film while saying that this is a ‘powerful story,’ as Netflix has said, is nothing short of corporate malfeasance

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/statement-indictment-for-netflixs-cuties-has-merit/

As for Velma it was soulless mean spirited misandrist and racist just joyless garbage

 

[SBG]

Shouldn't be that hard to get what annoys people about Velma, it's mean spirited towards characters people have liked for years. In other Scooby Doo shows they may have suggested the characters may be a jerk at times, but they didn't make them outright assholes because people don't like that (fucks with people's nostalgic love of the show).

People want to keep their children's show feeling wholesome and friendly.

 

[Socrates]

like an entire essay or whatever about the shitty Velma TV show

Bro. I appreciate that you're tryna stick up for artistic expression here and all that jazz, I really do. But at a certain point you went off the deep end here. Casual forum for right wing reactionary content. Keep it short form duder.

 

[Average Thulean Man]

Necroing a thread after 8 months to go "Velma wasn't actually that bad and also Cuties isn't that bad because it upholds islamic values and softcore CP has proliferated our society anyway" isn't the cool guy move you think it is.

 

[My cravat doesn't flutter]

Shouldn't be that hard to get what annoys people about Velma, it's mean spirited towards characters people have liked for years. In other Scooby Doo shows they may have suggested the characters may be a jerk at times, but they didn't make them outright assholes because people don't like that (fucks with people's nostalgic love of the show).

People want to keep their children's show feeling wholesome and friendly.

It's not even a Scooby-Doo show. Not at heart, at least. Big studios are scared to invest in new IPs, so they paint over everything with existing IPs. Part of it has to do with budgets, for films especially, getting ridiculously high. That's how you get Disney cranking out remake after remake after remake rather than making anything new. The execs are just too dense to understand that higher cost =/= better product. They'd do better to throw $50m at several different projects and have one or two of them do really well than to throw $300m at one project that may or may not succeed.

 

[Tony Vivaldi]

Speak for yourself. I saw a ton of people claiming that. I certainly can't think of anything Scooby-related that's worse.

Scrappy-Doo is the Antichrist. Probably not worse but definitely up there.