In the new Scooby-Doo movie, "Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy," a new type of villain is subliminally brought to light.
These criminals are nothing like Miner Forty-Niner, Apeman, Mr. Leech, or Wax Phantom. I hate to say it, but the bad guys in this movie are... humans.
During the movie, the gang goes out to Transylvania, PA to scope out Velma's inherited castle. While there, every member of the group becomes cursed and loses whatever means the most to them. A skinny frame and good looks is what happens to be Daphne's loss- because, after all, that is obviously the most terrifying thing that could ever happen to a woman.
Daphne, the size 2, beautiful, red head young lady swells up to a size (oh my goodness- get ready for it) 8! Once she sees her reflection in the mirror, she throws a temper tantrum as if something truly urgent has happened. Besides her terrible body image and over reaction, there are a few major issues with this movie.
First off, a size 8 is already a couple sizes less than what the average American woman wears. According to WebMD, the most common female dress size today is a 12-14, and most women weigh between 140-150 pounds. In this scene they depict a size 8 as being morbidly obese, whereas in reality it is fit and healthy-looking. Daphne's reaction to her curse is showing young kids that they should panic if they don't look a particular way. This is a perfect example of how the media contributes to young girls feeling a need to diet at such young ages.
In the midst of Daphne's freakout, Fred explains how he never even noticed a change in her body and that she always looks good to him. While many agreed that this was a sweet thing to say, others took it as an insult, such as Amazon user D. Shepard.
"So the message is: as long as men still like me, I'm okay. Even if I'm neurotically obsessed with conforming to society's standards of beauty, to the point that gaining a few pounds means I think I'm an ugly monster..." Shepard said in this Amazon review of the movie.
Although that in the end of the movie, the loss of Daphne's looks proves to be a superficial thing, Warner Brothers poorly chose the manner of depicting this message.
Tom Burns, writer for the Good Men Project, said, "...they could’ve dealt with the “loss of her looks” in a less offensive way. Why not have her cursed to look like one of the classic Scooby monsters (The Creeper or the Space Kook)? Why not cover her in hair and fangs and turn her into a wolf-girl? Why not give her a third eye, green skin, a tail"
Body image is a touchy topic for women, and Scooby-Doo! Frankenstein reinforced it for all Scooby-Doo watchers. This movie proved that the real bad guys aren't the monsters they're after, but instead, the humans in the show.
Watch the trailer here.
