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MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
2019-11-23 02:48:57

Just nuke it, I say. She's just a relatively normal 4-year-old.

Orbiting Since: Nov, 2014
2019-11-23 02:59:57

Yeah, that’s definitely misuse and should be cut.

Brainulator9 Since: Aug, 2018
2019-11-23 03:43:56

It's misuse and a clear example of Ron the Death Eater. Kill it until it dies, and then some.

Edited by Brainulator9 Contains 20% less fat than the leading value brand!
Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
2019-11-23 09:11:47

At this point is it worth creating a cleanup for The Sociopath? Or at least add an age limit (unless they show unrealistic maturity/intelligence for their age)?

Edited by Ferot_Dreadnaught
nombretomado (Season 1)
2019-11-23 09:16:06

I'm not sure how widespread the misuse is. Were all these edits made by a single troper?

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
2019-11-23 11:34:18

I recall there's been a user or two, at least, who had a huge hate on for DW. Though I don't remember clearly enough to suggest there might be a connection.

Searching ATT for "Arthur" there's definitely been people with beefs with D.W., though nothing recent.

Edited by sgamer82
Arctimon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
2019-11-23 12:28:17

Serene Specter 13 appears to be the troper who originally added that particular edit to the page, who was edited a lot of the other Arthur character pages before.

I haven't really looked at their edit history for any other edits that may be an overreach.

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
SereneSpecter13 (Troper Knight)
2020-03-06 03:51:15

I know this topic is a year old now, but I'd like to point out that The Hacker and Ledge from Cyberchase are also under The Sociopath, so "It's an eduntainment show" is not a valid reason to say that a character isn't a Sociopath.

Edited by SereneSpecter13 I foolishly got myself bounced by adding bigotry to my troper page, so unless a miracle happens and I get unbounced someday like Ag Prov did way back when, don't expect any contributions from me anytime soon.
homogenized Since: Oct, 2009
2020-03-06 08:16:32

I'd like to point out that "other pages do it" is not a valid reason to say doing it isn't wrong.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
2020-03-06 09:09:39

^^ The question then becomes are those two characters valid entries for The Sociopath. The fact they're listed there doesn't mean anything except they're listed there. Further, the entries being valid for them doesn't equate to being valid for DW.

Also those two characters are listed as outright villains, which makes comparing then to a spoiled kindergartener iffy at best.

Edited by sgamer82
WarJay77 (Troper Knight)
2020-03-06 12:41:48

Yeah, it's not that these tropes can't apply to kids shows- it's that they don't apply to Arthur.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
SereneSpecter13 (Troper Knight)
2020-03-11 13:46:16

But when you think about it, isn't D.W. basically the aardvark equivalent of Tara Webster (see https://goosebumps.fandom.com/wiki/Tara_Webster for info about that character if you aren't familiar with her) from the Goosebumps book "The Cuckoo Clock of Doom"? (Who is a character intentionally designed to be and meant to be seen as a total Sociopath.) Both of them are very similar characters in that they exist to make their older brothers' lives more difficult just for the sake of it and with no empathy for it.

I foolishly got myself bounced by adding bigotry to my troper page, so unless a miracle happens and I get unbounced someday like Ag Prov did way back when, don't expect any contributions from me anytime soon.
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010
2020-03-11 13:46:51

For fuck's sake. No.

Christ.

Have you even heard of children before?

Edited by Larkmarn Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
WarJay77 (Troper Knight)
2020-03-11 13:48:15

Yeah, they're just little kids who do bratty little kids things.

I can't believe we still need to explain this.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
JRads47 Since: Nov, 2014
2020-03-11 15:50:14

Can we please lock this thread?

immichan Since: Jan, 2018
2020-03-11 16:26:22

Children cannot be diagnosed with personality disorders as they're still developing, so I really disagree with applying tropes like The Sociopath to child characters... not that it even applies to this misuse.

WarJay77 (Troper Knight)
2020-03-11 16:31:28

^ I'd say in some cases (The Good Son, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, etc) you can do it, but that's if the narrative makes it very clear this child is evil and not just a brat. But applying real-life labels to someone who is just a dumb kid is stupid for the very reason you cite.

In other words, some works make it clear that the kid is indeed a sociopath (regardless of how possible it is in reality) and that's the only time this sort of example should be acceptable.

Edited by WarJay77 Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
2020-03-11 17:18:56

Yeah, if the story treats D.W. as a sociopath, that would be one thing, but I'm willing to bet that there's no such occurrence within Arthur, or one that's meant to be taken seriously by the audience, and more likely an episode or two that shows D.W. actually does care about those around her, which would automatically disqualify her from The Sociopath if nothing else would.

Otherwise, Spoiled Brat =/= The Sociopath

Edited by sgamer82
potshotbeta (Life not ruined yet)
2020-03-12 12:46:51

I am removing the Ungrateful Bitch entry from DW's character trope list, as well. It's a misuse of the trope, for one thing, and way overblowing incidents that seem pretty normal for a four-year-old.

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