Rename due to misuse: The Bumblebee

So we have this trope called "The Bumblebee". It means "a character designed to appeal to kids", and is named in reference to the Transformers character. On its own, it's not bad - yes, it's a character name, but it's not one likely to be shared with a similarly-named character, and as the trope page shows the various incarnations of Bumblebee do demonstrate different forms this character could take.

The problem is that too many people think of it as some kind of Five-Man Band archetype when it's nothing of the sort. (Maybe they're being misled by the "The [X]" title format.) As I understand it, it's about a character being designed for a target audience, not what role they take in a show's ensemble. I've been fighting to keep it off the Power Rangers pages and it's become a pet peeve of mine to see somebody try to shoehorn it into the Five-Man Band descriptions.

Fixed tag.

The Bumblebee was conceived of in the wake of trying to clean-up and clarify The Chick. The basic conclusion came that if The Chick is absent from the Five-Man Band (especially if there aren't any Token Girls) they will often be replaced with another character type. The Bumblebee isn't necessarily a substitution for The Chick but is a seperate but common addition to the core team, like Team Mom or Sixth Ranger. Most examples I've seen are accurate to what the character trope is about regardless of the "replace The Chick in the band" usage.

So misuse, no. Rename The Bumblebee because of Character Named Trope (or people linking the name to the character type), maybe, but not due to misuse. The Bumblebee has 461 wicks and brought in 690 people in the last month, which isn't huge but certainly healthy.

edited 1st Feb '12 1:20:47 AM by KJMackley

But since it is a character-named trope, can we at least evaluate example / Trope Namer confusion?

Not being very familiar with Transformers myself, I would never be able to surmise any details about Bumblebee's purpose or character function based on simply seeing his name.

Unfortunately, Bumblebee seems just as, if not more known for being the guy that talks using radio clips from the Michael Bay films than being this trope. So, I guess rename isn't too bad of an idea.

Actually, no. Inbound count starts from January of 2011. So it's 690 people in the last year. Well, last 13 months.

edited 1st Feb '12 3:32:31 PM by ThatHuman

Well, if it was intended to be about a role in the team dynamic, then it needs to explain that better. It always reads to me like it's more about the characters' relationship to the audience (targeting its younger members and being something of their Audience Surrogate). It doesn't help that a "Type 4 Bumblebee" is defined as The Smart Guy and a later section says that the Bumblebee could be The Heart, implying that the latter are team roles where Bumblebee isn't.

And since it looks like the trope might get renamed anyway due to being a character name, I'll start by pointing out it already has "Kid Appeal Character" as a redirect.

edited 1st Feb '12 4:44:46 PM by DragonRanger

How about swapping with the redirect?

Support rename to "Kid Appeal Character". There's about a million things "The Bumblebee" could mean, and what it actually is here does not reflect the name at all.

Of course, using bees to appeal to kids dates back further than transformers. Doctors would put brightly colored bugs on the syringes they stuck kids with...the bastards.

wtf really? Of all things, they thought BEES would appeal to kids?

What if we changed the name to Token Loli?

Oh wait, character designed to appeal to kids. Never mind.

edited 16th Feb '12 12:08:19 AM by abk0100

If it makes you feel better, doctors usually use butterflies nowadays but the concept is the same. Notice the bright yellow?◊

Bump.

I was surprised to learn this trope is not in fact about bees. So yeah...

Should we start up a single prop crowner to rename?

Incidentally, I'm in favor of rename despite my avatar.

EDIT: Created a single prop crowner. Would a mod please hook it? I would've made an alt titles crowner, but this thread's probably not going to pick up many more posts.

edited 8th Mar '12 9:11:16 PM by Autumncomet

Crowner Hooked.

Bumping.

Now that I think about it, isn't being a trope named after a work an instant-rename (after deciding on the proper name) or is that just a very well-enforced guideline?

I think it's named after a character, not a work, which is evidence pro-rename but not an instant-rename criteria.

Yeah, a Character Named Trope. I tried to block those movies from my memory.

Should we tweak the definition a bit, regardless of rename (although it looks like it'll be renamed, the crowner should run for much longer)? At the very least make it clear The Bumblebee is not a member of a Five-Man Band.

I'm not clear enough on what the trope is supposed to be to tell whether the description is working. Making it clearer would be nice.

From what I can see, The Bumblebee (or Kid-Appeal Character, the redirect) is a (usually younger) character added to the core group in order to appeal to younger audiences. The Bumblebee looks up to his/her teammates, is usually cute and popular (or, conversely, The Scrappy), and often the team's moral center. Unlike Tagalong Kid, The Bumblebee is a full team member but likely to be weaker than the rest of the team.

Laconic says "A character whose existence relies on appealing to children." Which is true but not exactly the heart of the trope as I see it.

So the current description has the necessary bits, but scattered all over the place. It mostly lists characteristics The Bumblebee can have, but does not necessarily have to.

Calling crowner in favour of rename.

The redirect Kid-Appeal Character is just fine. I'd like something wittier, but clear and concise are good enough.

Does anyone have any thoughts on my interpretation of The Bumblebee (post above shima's)?

Maybe Kid Appeal Team Mate or something, to emphasize the difference from Tagalong Kid?

That could work.