This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Looney Toons: Removed the following example because I can't see how it makes her a ditz:
- Eight Simple Rules had Bridget Hennesey have her young swimming class join her in telling a guy off for hitting on her yet in other episodes she is depicted as very much the bimbo slut who has had sex with numerous people.
Semiapies: Should there be a trope for the subversion of The Ditz where the normally idiotic person reveals s/he's not THAT stupid (or is even eloquent or learned in some area) to the surprise of onlookers or the audience?
The Editor: In pretty much every episode of 8SR Bridget is extremely ditzy and is also made out to be a slut - Kerry: "The One? You've never had a "One" - last summer you were down to three!"
so the abrupt moral stand (in the episde YMCA) did raise more than a few eyebrows.
Looney Toons: That's just a characterization inconsistency. I still don't see how it makes for a ditz.
What i was trying to say is - if she is normally a ditz in most episodes the learned moral stance in the YMCA episode is a subversion like Bull being informed in certain areas (to the surprise of both the cast and the audience) in Night Court.
Ununnilium: Eh, I gotta agree with Looney Toons - it doesn't sound like they were trying to create extra layers to her character as much as force a square peg into a round hole.
Rosybloom— I think we should add something about how The Ditz gets stupider as the show goes on, or how sometimes characters that weren't originally Ditzes turn into them.
Troy: Over the six years "The Simpsons" has been on the air, we've received dozens of letters from fans wanting to know more about the show. Tonight, we'll answer some of your questions. Professor Lawrence Pierce of the University of Chicago writes, "I think Homer gets stupider every year." That's not a question, Professor.
Dark Sasami: That'd be Flanderization.
Kendra Kirai: Milfy's item in a caption just wasn't working, so I moved it to the examples...I preferred it at the top, right beside the picture, but... The caption just doesn't work well when the image is so narrow.
Ununnilium: I agree. It looks better without it, anyway.
Silent Hunter: I can't remember her name, but there's a character in Brothers & Sisters who appears for a few episodes to be the living version of the Valley Girl stereotype, until its revealed she's quite intelligent actually. When this is observed, she asks if her peroxide blonde hair makes people think she's a Ditz. This the place to put it?
Hokuto: While Misa and Matsuda are both not nearly as smart as say, L or Light, I don't see how either of them are The Ditz. The two of them are surrounded by pure geniuses- next to those people they're not nearly as smart, but as characters of their own, they don't belong here.
