While I like a lot of things about Valerie's character growth and arc, there was one recurring pattern that always bothered me , regarding the girls of Danny Phantom.
Lemme just put it this way
Sam- rich but hates it and hides if from people, hates most traditionally feminine things and prefers spooky dark gothic things. Treated as awesome and cool and smart and the ideal girl character
Valerie- starts out rich and thus snobby before an event that causes her to lose all her money and become poor. Only after she has gone through losing all her stuff ,moving to a shabby apartment , and being dumped by her friends and treated as embarrassing for being poor is she allowed to be sympathetic. Only when she becomes the huntress is she shown as even remotely cool.
Paulina-rich and girly. And she mostly only ever shown as being either mean, stupid or the winning combination of mean and stupid. Oh and shallow. we cannot forget that she is shallow and not as complex as Sam and thus is unsympathetic.
Yeaaah. If you're rich, girly and well a girl, you better hate it or you are unsympathetic. Even the school bully was shown to be deeper and more complex than Paulina during the show. Note to dudes- this is not girl power!! this isn't empowering to everyone who isn't the type that is lifted up on a pedestal.
Like I actually like the concept of Sam and I like her as a character when she was written right. But what annoys me is the writers propping her up as an example of the right kind of girl to be. That and the demonization of 'girly girls'bugs me.
Also , and this may be unpopular but I do kinda hate how if a girl from a wealthy background in this show doesn't hate everything about being poor and think its the worst thing ever, she has to be brought down and made humble through her whole family losing her wealth before she can be likable or even considered as a romantic rival. I mean Dash (the aforementioned bully) never has to lose his family's money to be shown as anything other than an idiot or an asshole. So this standard is seemingly only applied to girls and Vlad -but Vlad's case is more complex and different. And he's the major antagonist and villain figure.
Yet another reason why I like Danny Phantom for its good points but my opinion of Hartman's writing is well.. low.
Re: Filming/character portrayals that are uncomfortable or offensive
Lemme just put it this way
Sam- rich but hates it and hides if from people, hates most traditionally feminine things and prefers spooky dark gothic things. Treated as awesome and cool and smart and the ideal girl character
Valerie- starts out rich and thus snobby before an event that causes her to lose all her money and become poor. Only after she has gone through losing all her stuff ,moving to a shabby apartment , and being dumped by her friends and treated as embarrassing for being poor is she allowed to be sympathetic. Only when she becomes the huntress is she shown as even remotely cool.
Paulina-rich and girly. And she mostly only ever shown as being either mean, stupid or the winning combination of mean and stupid. Oh and shallow. we cannot forget that she is shallow and not as complex as Sam and thus is unsympathetic.
Yeaaah. If you're rich, girly and well a girl, you better hate it or you are unsympathetic. Even the school bully was shown to be deeper and more complex than Paulina during the show. Note to dudes- this is not girl power!! this isn't empowering to everyone who isn't the type that is lifted up on a pedestal.
Like I actually like the concept of Sam and I like her as a character when she was written right. But what annoys me is the writers propping her up as an example of the right kind of girl to be. That and the demonization of 'girly girls'bugs me.
Also , and this may be unpopular but I do kinda hate how if a girl from a wealthy background in this show doesn't hate everything about being poor and think its the worst thing ever, she has to be brought down and made humble through her whole family losing her wealth before she can be likable or even considered as a romantic rival. I mean Dash (the aforementioned bully) never has to lose his family's money to be shown as anything other than an idiot or an asshole. So this standard is seemingly only applied to girls and Vlad -but Vlad's case is more complex and different. And he's the major antagonist and villain figure.
Yet another reason why I like Danny Phantom for its good points but my opinion of Hartman's writing is well.. low.