Okay, I hope this doesn't offend anyone - I've never watched the Anna Nicole Smith show in my life but, reading the comments, it seems to be based on her reality show - but here's a clip I found a few weeks back on youtube...

It's called 'Slutty Smurfette'.

Anna Nicole or not it totally cracks me up!!

You have to log in to watch it but I hope you enjoy it...

http://www.youtube.com/wa...1KfDFfckc4

onenitealone said:

I watched the show AND got it when it came out on DVD...if you're really interested in watching train wrecks (no disrespect to the dead intended), then this is the gift that keeps on giving.....

hey you

Natisseisntcheckingherownemailproperlyedit
[Edited 3/5/07 8:09am]

Bloody Org glitch...


Thanks for your response, reneGade20.

I didn't really notice what programme this was taken from (and I can't check youtube in work). Are the other skits just as good as this? If so, I have to get it - it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, it cracks me up every time.

Anyway, thanks again and stay safe.

Natisse said:

Hey you.. replied about 15 minutes ago.

onenitealone said:

Don't you hate that "dime store ORG server".....dropped me out so bad one time last night that when it came up the only stat I had showing was my handle....

(note to mods....didn't really mean that whole dime store thing.....really..

ANYWAY....the ANS show was more a reality show....just her day to day life....and occasisionally, much like the smurfette thing, Anna, Howard Stern, her personal assistant and whoever else was in the house would do something weird just to break the monotony I guess....I remember one episode where Howard pretty much put together "The Bachelor" for her, to find her a date.....

like I said, pure train wreck.... then again, Flavor of Love makes her show look normal.....

Smurfy Sexism: Drawn with a Biased Hand
By Mariruth Graham

Cartoons are the highlight of every child's day. I remember waking up every Saturday morning overcome with dread, wondering if my dad had a hangover, yet joyous nonetheless knowing that all day I would be watching my favorite television programs. Shows like Jem, My Little Pony, The Monchichis, and my all time very most favorite-- The Smurfs, could brighten any kid's day. Now that I am more educated and less naive, I look back on that one show and am appalled to find latent sexist messages. The Smurfs have only one female character, Smurfette, which creates a subtle problematic. Smurfette's stereotypical "female" physical characteristics, personal attributes, and anonymous role in the Smurf community and Smurf Realpolitik promote inaccurate stereotypes of females.

Smurfette's physical appearance marks her as a charicature of a hoochie-momma, and this promotes sexism through the insulting image of women she perpetuates. From the moment you see Smurfette's delicate physical features, her blond flowing hair, those shapely legs, and always in that tight white dress and "fuck-me" heels, you immediately expect her to be one hell of a classy, feminine broad, in all her actions and speech. Studies show that children are easily fooled by such feminine stereotypes, "North American children report that viewing gender biased materials leads to gender biased attitudes." (Davidson, Yasuna & Tower, 1979, Pingree, 1978.) This study supports the notion that children are impressionable and can mimic the attributes of television characters, often to the point where it becomes quite annoying. In the cartoon The Smurfs, Smurfette always wears her hair down and when danger strikes she is forced to run in high heels-- is this fair? The creators of Smurfette confine her in tight, revealing clothes. The message this conveys is certainly not a positive one for children.


Smurfette's personality traits, such as her tendency to worry or be silent, create a subtle, yet forceful, sexist subtext as well. Whenever Smurfette speaks she begins every sentence with the signal exclamatory clause, "Oh!" For example, she says to Papa Smurf, "Oh! I don't know how you could sleep all right! I've been worried all night!", in reference to the younger Smurfs' "special" night spent alone outside. Because the writers burden Smurfette alone to endure the entire community's feelings of anxiety and concern for children's safety, they make a pathetic spectacle of their own biases towards all women. Whether the scene entails the Smurfs running from Gargamel (their antagonist, and one heck of a nice guy,) or reflecting on the day's activities in Smurf Village, the writers consistently position Smurfette next to or near Papa Smurf within the mise-en-scene. In one show she stands silently adjacent to Papa Smurf, facing the other Smurfs, while he praises their group work ethic. Visually, because Smurfette does not stand together with her proletarian Smurf comrades, spectators could be lead to assume that she actually does not fit into the group's dynamics. When female children are forced to watch hour upon hour of Smurfette's daily routine they subliminally accept her actions as right, and tend to mimic her perverted characterization of the feminine at the least appropriate times. However, when male children observe Smurfette's actions they usually assume her behavior is typical, and expect other females to act and respond in a similar fashion.


Smurfette does not have a specific job title attached to her name, and as such other Smurfs must view her as insignificant. She does not have a trade, or the ability to contribute any useful product to the Smurf community. Because Smurf Village bears a suspicious resemblance to a communist society, having a vocation probably secures one's position of power and authority within the Smurf commune. Characters such as Handy Smurf (the architect,) and Jokey Smurf (the group's comic relief,) all have very definite responsibilities to their Smurf comrades, and appear certain in their knowledge that they have their place in society. Not giving Smurfette a job or title sends the message that women should agree to perform any assignment, chore, task, or perverted sex act that men can dream up. Whether the task be to help save a fellow Smurf from Gargamel, or to take care of the adolescent Smurfs, Smurfette must rise to any and all occasions. Her unemployment directly correlates with her insignificance to the community. Young male fans of The Smurfs may begin to view all females as subordinate, and they may even try not to embody any feminine qualities for fear of being as insignificant as Smurfette. One study on children's television shows in Japan it suggests that children learn, "being feminine is not rewarding in that it is consistently related to a loss of social power" (Rolandelli.) If another Smurf embodies a typically female characteristic such as obsessive concern for their appearance, as Vanity Smurf does, or an interest in the arts, as Painter Smurf does, the writers always give them effeminate characteristics as well. Vanity Smurf speaks with a lisp and wears a flower behind his ear and his job seems vague which makes him insignificant as well.


If that annoying The Smurfs theme song permanently remains in the heads of children young and old, what other dangerous influences from the show will too? In order for women to be fairly portrayed in cartoons at this point in time a feminist hand is clearly needed. Nicole Hollander, the author of a comic strip called Sylvia, has created a strong female character we can all truly respect. Sylvia is smart enough to concentrate on her friendships rather than relationships with men, finds no interest in politics or sports, but readers of the strip know her as a strong-willed individual with her own views about life. Smurfette wears a dress every day, actually the same dress every day, making it difficult to take her seriously if we judge by appearance, or personal hygiene alone. Sylvia's humble and simple appearance, and her sharp, witty comments probably help people see her as a serious person and not just some broad. Because cartoons never get old or stop being syndicated, future writers should be more conscientious about what they write and how they draw a certain character because its' actions and words could have a harmful effect on many people in future generations.


Works Cited
Davidson E.S., Yasuna A., & Tower. "The Effects of Television Cartoons on Sex-Role Stereotyping in Young Girls," Child Development, 1979, p. 597-600.
Pingree S. "The Effects of Nonsexist Television Commercials and Perception of Reality on Children's Attitudes About Women," Psychology of Women Quarterly, 1978, p. 262-277.
Rondelli "Gender Role Portrayal Analysis of Children's Television Programming in Japan," Human Relations, December 1991, p. 1273-99.

novabrkr said:

While I'm not one to discount the profound effects of image stereotyping, I believe that this is a dangerous oversimplification of a real issue. It also serves to undermine the possibility that there are parents in the world, along with some pretty intelligent kids, who understand that animated characters, while entertaining, do not reflect reality or human beings in truth. If that were the case, I, being of Hispanic and Arabic heritage, would either emulate Speedy/Slowpoke Rodriguez or would be a marauding Arabic invader of the Arabian Nights tales. I was able to figure out that cartoons weren't real, that life couldn't be summed up neatly in 30 minute segments....that Scooby Doo wasn't REALLY a talking dog, nor could his friends really communicate with him.

As to the example citing cartoons in Japan reducing the roles of women to insignificance, shouldn't the focus of ending that stereotype be on Japanese historical culture, which dictates that the role of women is to be subservient to men, and not on cartoons? This is a major fallacy in most attempts to address negative stereotypes; instead of going to the root cause of the image, we tend to go for the results of them (take the constant attacks on misogynistic rap lyrics and sexist TV shows, etc.).

Just my

I don't think the writer was being totally serious. It's from a "smurf conspiracy" -webpage.

novabrkr said:

That should be submitted to The Daily Onion then.....that's a good one!!!

" Smurf Village bears a suspicious resemblance to a communist society"...



Americans.

I just love that bit.

Thanks for your comments, guys - very much appreciated! Apologies, I've been off the Org the last day or so.

Actually, I know these things can be dissected to death sometimes but I do get what the writer is saying. I've noticed this supposed 'subservience' of Smurfette previously - she is the one always tottering around in high heels, looking pretty. But, like renegade says, hopefully most people have the nous not to read into it too much or form their own opinions.

Cheers guys.