The OAO RAW Thread for March 20, 2006

[Art Sandusky 0]

Mama Benjamin is told "okay, go out there and do this stuff." Austin was told "go out there and do your thing." A character scripted to be a one-trick stereotype and one that isn't are very different.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

What exactly does all of that matter? The Stone Cold character is just about the most stereotypical character in wrestling history. The entire problem here is that Mama Benjamin is a stereotype, right?

 

Or are you saying that a stereotypical character is fine as long as it draws money?

It matters because Steve Austin was Stone Cold Steve Austin. He might have turned the volume up a little, but he really was the character he portrayed on television. He wasn't some actor dressed up and being something he wasn't. The problem with the Mama Benjamin character isn't that she's a stereotype, it's that she's a stereotype for no reason. Why should she be a stererotype? Why not have her be something like Shelton's real mother? Why not have her be a strong willed black woman who wants the best for her son? Why does she have to be some stupid outdated stereotype of what the writers think is funny?

 

A stereotypical character done just because the writers think it'll be cute is stupid.

[tekcop 0]

A funny story on Raw. They did the Maria kiss cam during a commercial break and cut to a couple, and right in front of them a guy put up a sign saying , "Cena? I want my money back." That was the last time they tried something like that.

 

Credit: Dave Meltzer

 

They actually show this on Unlimited on the website. It's the last kiss.

This was actually pretty funny live. This, the Trish/Mickie segment, and the entrances of Kane, Show, and HHH were the only things about RAW I enjoyed.

 

Also, my comment during the triple threat: "You ever just watch a wrestling match and want it to end?" That's what I thought about it live.

[Downhome 0]

I think that's a very cheap out to say that you can't hold anything against the Stone Cold character because of that reason, but if you want, I'll give it to you.

 

What about Finlay? How about Sgt. Slaughter? How about the entire F.B.I.?

 

How about Eddie Guerrero?

 

Brother Love?

 

Kaientai?

 

Ric Flair made an entire career by portraying a stereotype of the rich snobby guy.

 

Hillbilly Jim?

 

All Owen Hart was when he first got really famous was a stereotype of the jealous brother.

 

Sheik & Volkoff?

 

Brooklyn Brawler?

 

If your point is that stereotypical wrestlers are fine as long as they are "good", that's fine. But if your point is that they shouldn't have stereotypical wrestlers period, then that's just fucking stupid. Just about any given wrestler is a stereotype of some sort. That's just the way the characters come to be, and there isn't anything wrong with that at all.

 

They just wanted to go the comedic route with Mama Benjamin, and so what? I don't give a shit if she's a stereotype or not, her being "strong willed" wouldn't have changed the fact that the character shouldn't have been created in the first place, and it would have been just as stupid.

 

Like I said before - out of everything there is to complain about when it comes to WWE, Mama Benjamin should be down at the bottom of the list. There's a hell of a lot worse things wrong with the company than the fact that one of their characters, who isn't even on TV right now, is a "stereotypical southern black woman".

 

I still say that Austin is the biggest stereotype of them all, regardless of how much he is actually like the character on TV.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

My point is that if someone really is the character they portray, albeit with the volume up, then I wouldn’t have much of a problem with because that is who they really are. My problem is having a stereotypical character just because it’s a stereotype and because the people writing this want to amuse themselves.

[Downhome 0]

I just think your problem is that it's a shitty character, regardless of if it's a stereotype or not, and I agree with that.

 

Why the hell bring his "mama" on TV in the first place? It's just pointless, and I don't really want to see it no matter how the character is presented.

 

I just wanted to point out how not all stereotypical characters are bad, it's retarded to try to get that PC with wrestling, or anything else really. As long as it's done in a solid entertaining way, there isn't anything wrong with it. Mama Benjamin does not meet those requirements for the most part in my eyes?

 

Did you guys hate Slick? As far as I remember, most people loved that character, and he was a stereotype and a half.

[jester 0]

My point is that if someone really is the character they portray, albeit with the volume up, then I wouldn’t have much of a problem with because that is who they really are. My problem is having a stereotypical character just because it’s a stereotype and because the people writing this want to amuse themselves.

 

I think they can go too far with the "just play yourself, only exagerrated" thing though.

 

For a time Undertaker was playing the "angry veteran who takes offense at newer guys doing anything." The last thing the WWE should be doing is encouraging that sort of thing.

 

Or how about HHH's "guy who has married into the family using his influence for personal gain at the cost of everyone else"?

[Guest Dam(o)nYankees]

And about the "what would wrestling do without stereotypes" question, what do other forms of entertainment that don't languish 50 years behind the rest of society do?

Am I the only one that watches primetime TV here? This is the second person that's implied that other forms of entertainment today don't use stereotypes. Watch Will and Grace. Watch reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. Watch anything on UPN. Or perhaps you agree that all these shows are fifty years behind society. What exactly is "society" now?

[Black Lushus 0]

I don't think they're arguing that it's not happening, they're saying it's stupid in any form, wrestling, sitcom, whatever.

[Guest Dam(o)nYankees]

I don't think they're arguing that it's not happening, they're saying it's stupid in any form, wrestling, sitcom, whatever.

They're arguing that other forms of entertainment that "don't languish 50 years behind society" don't do this. What forms of entertainment? Add on to what I said earlier almost any time a European, Latin American or Asian makes a spot on a show.

[Downhome 0]

I don't think they're arguing that it's not happening, they're saying it's stupid in any form, wrestling, sitcom, whatever.

 

Having shitty characters that are poorly written is stupid in any form. Just simply having stereotypical characters period is not, itself, stupid. Just go down through all forms of entertainment, past and present like I said before, and you'll see that if morons were actually PC enough to not have any characters like that, then we would have missed out on a hell of a lot of pretty entertaining shit.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

"DESTROY HIM!" - Mama Benjamin. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.

 

She's annoying and does not compare to Trish Stratus: 50 year old Black Woman.

[jester 0]

Having shitty characters that are poorly written is stupid in any form. Just simply having stereotypical characters period is not, itself, stupid. Just go down through all forms of entertainment, past and present like I said before, and you'll see that if morons were actually PC enough to not have any characters like that, then we would have missed out on a hell of a lot of pretty entertaining shit.

 

I'd go further than that: sometimes it's ESSENTIAL to have stereotypical characters, particular for humour and satire.

 

I think the problem here is that WWE can't create anything beyond stereotypical characters. They don't give them any kind of depth, and it sounds like they don't allow the wrestlers portraying them to do it either. If they're going to create a new character who is gay, for example, every person on this board already knows exactly what that character will be like.

 

And in the case of Mama, we also look at the source here. Who is more qualified to write witty satire about stereotypical black women: Dave Chapelle, or the pudgy white lower-middle age crew that's doing the writing for WWE?

[Guest Dam(o)nYankees]

Having shitty characters that are poorly written is stupid in any form. Just simply having stereotypical characters period is not, itself, stupid. Just go down through all forms of entertainment, past and present like I said before, and you'll see that if morons were actually PC enough to not have any characters like that, then we would have missed out on a hell of a lot of pretty entertaining shit.

 

And in the case of Mama, we also look at the source here. Who is more qualified to write witty satire about stereotypical black women: Dave Chapelle, or the pudgy white lower-middle age crew that's doing the writing for WWE?

Apparently Thea basically looks at the script, gets the idea and mostly adlibs. Alvarez said that after the "Get your monkey ass..." line that cracked up Shelton