I was looking over a couple of tropes under the "Ambiguously _____" listings, and I'm a bit confused as to what actually applies.
For example, looking under Ambiguously Jewish, I see that Boon from Animal House is cited. But other than his physical appearance (which isn't something an actor can really help), the only "citation" for him being Jewish is being a wisecracker, hardly an exclusively Jewish trait. Moreover, Boon is heavily based on Dan Aykroyd, who isn't at all Jewish. It really seems like the support for calling Boon Ambiguously Jewish is that he was portrayed by a Jewish actor. Imagine if, say, Richard Pryor played the role instead. Would Boon have been Ambiguously Brown instead?
My question is, just how much subtext or the like needs to be in there for one of these tropes to come into play? Merely being played by a performer of the appropriate ethnicity? Or does there have to be some sidelong hints about it (discussions of bar mitzvahs or the like)?
I was looking over a couple of tropes under the "Ambiguously _____" listings, and I'm a bit confused as to what actually applies.
For example, looking under Ambiguously Jewish, I see that Boon from Animal House is cited. But other than his physical appearance (which isn't something an actor can really help), the only "citation" for him being Jewish is being a wisecracker, hardly an exclusively Jewish trait. Moreover, Boon is heavily based on Dan Aykroyd, who isn't at all Jewish. It really seems like the support for calling Boon Ambiguously Jewish is that he was portrayed by a Jewish actor. Imagine if, say, Richard Pryor played the role instead. Would Boon have been Ambiguously Brown instead?
My question is, just how much subtext or the like needs to be in there for one of these tropes to come into play? Merely being played by a performer of the appropriate ethnicity? Or does there have to be some sidelong hints about it (discussions of bar mitzvahs or the like)?
Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.