Cartoon characters' political beliefs (Serious thread)

[MonkeyFunk]

Has anyone here ever put any thought into the political parties that cartoon characters vote for? Here are some of my educated guesses:

Bugs Bunny: Democrat
Daffy Duck: Libertarian
Porky Pig: Republican
Mickey Mouse: Republican
Donald Duck: Republican
Goofy: Democrat
Winnie the Pooh: British National Party
Wallace and Gromit: Labour

[Peter Paltridge]

I was thinking the other day, what if cartoons got saved?
They'd start singing praise in a whole new way.

Fred Flintstone would say, "Yabba-dabba-doo-ya!"
Scooby Doo would say, "Scooby-dooby-doo-ya!"
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would say, "Cowa-looya, dude!"
Then there's all those little blue guys who would say "Laaah lah lah lah lah lah laaaah lay loo yaaaaaaah!"

Note: this is a real song, and the man was serious; look it up.

[rattis1]

Optimus Prime: Right-winger, mostly libertarian but with some conservative values. War is the solution! Voted for Reagan and cried at his funeral.

The Smurfs: Communists. Duh...

Inspector Gadget: Conservative. Holds zero sympathy for law breakers.

The entire Scooby gang other than Scrappy: Left-wingers. Velma is a militant feminist and Marxist, Fred and Daphne are actually just yuppies who call themselves "hippies" because they think its trendy, and Shaggy and Scooby are just in it for the weed.

Scrappy Doo: Extremely right-wing, which of course just makes the rest of the gang even more annoyed with him. Is a fan of Nixon and wants to turn Iran into a parking lot.

Every character on South Park: Closet-conservatives. They call themselves libertarians, but in the end, they do want to keep marriage a thing between a man and a woman.

Every character on The Simpsons: Left-leaning liberals; they just dont always realize that they are (except Lisa, of course). But living in a universe where right-wing politics are objectively the source of all evil, they all do have a little lift-winger embeded somewhere in their hearts, however hard he may be to find sometimes.

[DeanBurrito25]

I never thought cartoon characters cared much about politics...

[ABrown]

You know that you're watching the of the lower quality seasons of The Simpsons if Homer is making political implications.

[tb4000]

Scrooge McDuck is kinda iffy....I suspect he'd be a very liberal leaning conservative, just by the mantra he lives by.

[Plague Rat]

Optimus Prime: Right-winger, mostly libertarian but with some conservative values. War is the solution! Voted for Reagan and cried at his funeral.

The Smurfs: Communists. Duh...

Inspector Gadget: Conservative. Holds zero sympathy for law breakers.

The entire Scooby gang other than Scrappy: Left-wingers. Velma is a militant feminist and Marxist, Fred and Daphne are actually just yuppies who call themselves "hippies" because they think its trendy, and Shaggy and Scooby are just in it for the weed.

Scrappy Doo: Extremely right-wing, which of course just makes the rest of the gang even more annoyed with him. Is a fan of Nixon and wants to turn Iran into a parking lot.

Every character on South Park: Closet-conservatives. They call themselves libertarians, but in the end, they do want to keep marriage a thing between a man and a woman.

Every character on The Simpsons: Left-leaning liberals; they just dont always realize that they are (except Lisa, of course). But living in a universe where right-wing politics are objectively the source of all evil, they all do have a little lift-winger embeded somewhere in their hearts, however hard he may be to find sometimes.
^This is the greatest post ever.

I shouldn't have to mention Family Guy, it's pretty obvious that Brian is pretty liberal.

I have a feeling the Powerpuff Girls are conservative though.

[Radical Raven]

I know this is a joke, but this entire thread still diturbs me deeply. I don't even like people giving themselves political lables; and now it's reached my cartoon characters:crying: .

Still, I feel like pointing out that every Peanuts character is a secular humanist. And no, I don't know what it means. Neither did Schultz:p

[Shawn Hopkins]

I know this is a joke, but this entire thread still diturbs me deeply. I don't even like people giving themselves political lables; and now it's reached my cartoon characters:crying: .

Still, I feel like pointing out that every Peanuts character is a secular humanist. And no, I don't know what it means. Neither did Schultz:p

Even if Schulz was later in life, I really doubt Linus is a secular humanist. He has too much faith in the irrational. Besides, that's a religious, not a political label.

[rattis1]

I have a feeling the Powerpuff Girls are conservative though.


Oh yeah, absolutely. Blossom is a staunch republican, Bubbles believes in whatever Blossom tells her to believe, and while Buttercup is kinda drawn towards the the punk subculture and its counter values (although mostly on a very superficial level), in the end she is willing to do whatever uncle Sam needs her to in order to serve her country. She is also a strong supporter of capital punishment.

This is so much fun. How come so few others want to give it a try?

[stephane dumas]

Still, I feel like pointing out that every Peanuts character is a secular humanist. And no, I don't know what it means. Neither did Schultz:p

I wonder if we could class Argentinian comic book character Mafalda and her friends in the same category as the Peanuts characters?

In American Dad, Hayley Smith seems to be a "social liberal"

Rocket Robin Hood is a sort of libertarian in space fighting against tyranny.

Tintin is more difficult to classify, he helped some younger folks like Chang (the Blue Lotus) and Zorrino (Temple of the Sun) but fighted some authoritarian figures like colonel Sponz (the Calculus Affair).

[GWOtaku]

I've heard it said that Batman is a serious right-winger whereas Superman must be a metropolitan lefty. It seems to me, though, that this ignores that Superman was raised on a farm and was brought up by the Kents very well and raised as a "good American" generally. You can look at how he uses his powers and try to claim that he leans left since he stands up for the common man, but you can also say that he leans right since he could make himself a tyrant but respects his fellow man too much to do so. The more I think about it, the more I believe that Superman defies any ideological category. I'll call him a conscientious independent. He has his values and that drives him to use his powers to stand up for anybody and everybody that needs him. He's an ideal hero, and that transcends any mere label.

[HG Revolution]

you can also say that he leans right since he could make himself a tyrant but respects his fellow man too much to do so.

Since when is that necessarily a right-wing value? There have been both right-wing and left-wing tyrants.

I think Batman's political views tend to change depending on whoever is writing him.

From my understanding, SEELE is a communist organization. But then, I doubt I really understand anything about EVA.

[AlgeaX]

Optimus Prime: Right-winger, mostly libertarian but with some conservative values. War is the solution! Voted for Reagan and cried at his funeral.

If we're talking G1 Optimus then the closest earth equivelent to the Autobot system of government would be somekind of hereditary theocracy.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1063/747637749_4bda0d7df1.jpg

I sure don't remember anybody voting for this guy, do you?

[GWOtaku]

Since when is that necessarily a right-wing value? There have been both right-wing and left-wing tyrants.

What I was trying to get at is that by not abusing his power against others, he is respecting the rights and freedoms of individuals. It's an issue that seems to stand out in Superman: Doomsday as well as the whole Justice Lord plot that went on in Justice League.

[Mek]

If we're talking G1 Optimus then the closest earth equivelent to the Autobot system of government would be somekind of hereditary theocracy.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1063/747637749_4bda0d7df1.jpg

I sure don't remember anybody voting for this guy, do you?

Don't blame me, I voted for Ultra Magnus.

[HG Revolution]

What I was trying to get at is that by not abusing his power against others, he is respecting the rights and freedoms of individuals. It's an issue that seems to stand out in Superman: Doomsday as well as the whole Justice Lord plot that went on in Justice League.

It's kind of hard for me to associate right wing with "the rights and freedoms of individuals." Economically? In theory. Socially? That seems like something the left wing is doing a better job at respecting than the right. Libertarians respect both, but seeing as they're more or less anti-government and Superman tends to not be, I doubt he'd fit into that category.

[GWOtaku]

Hmm, how to respond without getting in too deep...well, it is at least a given that most legitimately right-leaning folks dislike the centralization of authority and power in one place--much less one person. Right-wing ideology denounces socialism and outright hates communism. Superman's rejection of absolute rule seems consistent with that sort of sentiment.

Somewhat related to this, they apparently did a what-if comic called Superman: Red Son that explores what might have been if Superman had landed in Soviet Russia instead of the U.S...sounds fascinating.

[HG Revolution]

Hmm, how to respond without getting in too deep...well, it is at least a given that most legitimately right-leaning folks dislike the centralization of authority and power in one place--much less one person. Right-wing ideology denounces socialism and outright hates communism. Superman's rejection of absolute rule seems consistent with that sort of sentiment.

Somewhat related to this, they apparently did a what-if comic called Superman: Red Son that explores what might have been if Superman had landed in Soviet Russia instead of the U.S...sounds fascinating.

Communism is to the left wing as Fascism is to the right wing: both are totalitarian, centralized, and wrong extremes. It's just that Communism centralizes the money as well as the law. I think most legitimately left-leaning folks would agree such extremes are wrong. It's not an issue of political sides: it's just general human sense.

[GWOtaku]

Okay, that's a good point. I'll view Supes as an indy for the other reasons.

[Shawn Hopkins]

I've heard it said that Batman is a serious right-winger whereas Superman must be a metropolitan lefty. It seems to me, though, that this ignores that Superman was raised on a farm and was brought up by the Kents very well and raised as a "good American" generally. You can look at how he uses his powers and try to claim that he leans left since he stands up for the common man, but you can also say that he leans right since he could make himself a tyrant but respects his fellow man too much to do so. The more I think about it, the more I believe that Superman defies any ideological category. I'll call him a conscientious independent. He has his values and that drives him to use his powers to stand up for anybody and everybody that needs him. He's an ideal hero, and that transcends any mere label.

Batman could be seen as less interested in individual liberty than Superman, but not because Superman is some kinda big lefty (anymore, he sure was during his earliest days of taking on corrupt landlords and factory owners), but because in some interpretations Batman is a fascist who believes people need a strong leader to impose their will on them and control them, while Superman feels that that power should be subservient to the democratic will of the people. These viewpoints are most crystallized in Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come (in Kingdom Come Batman has turned Gotham into a robotically controlled police state) but they are there in other comics, too. Depending on the writer, of course.

The problem with applying political views to characters, and I see this often when threads like these pop up, is that people tend to self-identify with a character like, say, Peter Parker or Superman who stands generically for good and justice. And since they want to think that they also stand for good and justice, they'll tend to think that the characters they like share things in common with them including their political views.

The fact that the characters have so many valid interpretations and usually no definite political ideology makes it easy for, say, a conservative to look at Superman's traditional values in one story and call him a conservative or a liberal to look at Superman's belief in human equality and progress and peaceful resolution to conflict whenever possible in another story and call him a liberal.

But none of those things are that necessarily conservative or liberal. Liberals can have traditional values and conservative can believe in human equality and peace. It's just the human desire to think that we are right that causes us to want to identify with positive characters. So, I think you're right. It is better to consider the more iconic characters above politics.

[strawberryjuice]

hahahaha this thread is fun!

due to lack of an idea right now, I'm gonna state the obvious.

Rorschach from WATCHMEN whose obviously extremely right-wing

and bloo from fosters? my guess it between liberal or democrat

[Fone Bone]

Has anyone here ever put any thought into the political parties that cartoon characters vote for? Here are some of my educated guesses:

Bugs Bunny: Democrat
Daffy Duck: Libertarian
Porky Pig: Republican
Mickey Mouse: Republican
Donald Duck: Republican
Goofy: Democrat
Winnie the Pooh: British National Party
Wallace and Gromit: Labour

Your Disney political compass is off. Donald Duck is a liberal if only for the fact that he is used as the counterpoint to Scrooge's more conservative tendencies. This is why their characters work so well together. Only comic stories and cartoon creators who don't know how to write their stories properly are the ones who portray Donald as conservative. Compared to Huey, Dewey and Louie he is a centrist but by most of our definitions today he is relatively liberal.

Mickey isn't exactly a liberal as we today would define it (he has a VERY old-fashioned sense of morality and traditional gender roles) but more of a Roosevelt Democrat. He has strong moral convictions but almost all of them involve helping the "Little Guy" or the less fortunate. It was no coincidence that most of his biggest villains in the Floyd Gottfredson comics were bankers.

Goofy isn't a Democrat OR a Republican. He is completely non-political and does what he believes is right without having the slightest awareness of what his solution's political undertones are.

[Anyone00]

It's kind of hard for me to associate right wing with "the rights and freedoms of individuals." Economically? In theory. Socially? That seems like something the left wing is doing a better job at respecting than the right. Libertarians respect both, but seeing as they're more or less anti-government and Superman tends to not be, I doubt he'd fit into that category.

No there significant differences between the those who are politically socially liberal, socially conservative, and socially libertarian.

Both social liberal and social conservative use governmental power to enforce their views on society. Let's look at the contentious issue of gay marriage:
To most social liberals homosexuals are an inherently separate class of people that must be protected so they see government sanctioned gay marriage as an equal right; not only will they give out same sex marriage wedding licenses, they will also dictate to private business that they have to acknowledged it or face face legal consequence, and make it mandatory for children to attend public schools were part of the education is being indoctrinated with the socially liberal view on the subject with no concern for the wish of the parents.
To most social conservatives homosexuals are part of the same class of people as them just ones that partially define them self by an action that is destructive to them and the society in general so they tend to see gay marriage as an absurdity at best; they use governmental authority to deny a legal recognized same-sex marriage.

To most social libertarian on the other hand their personal views on the subject is irrelevant; to them marriage should not be meddled with by the government one way or any way, it is a purely private matter. They do not want the government to teach children about it one way or any other about it, that's for the people that are raising the child. They do not want government to dictate private hiring practices in any way, that's for the businesses to decide (and for the consumers to decide who they do business with).

[Fone Bone]

No there significant differences between the those who are politically socially liberal, socially conservative, and socially libertarian.

Both social liberal and social conservative use governmental power to enforce their views on society. Let's look at the contentious issue of gay marriage:
To most social liberals homosexuals are an inherently separate class of people that must be protected so they see government sanctioned gay marriage as an equal right; not only will they give out same sex marriage wedding licenses, they will also dictate to private business that they have to acknowledged it or face face legal consequence, and make it mandatory for children to attend public schools were part of the education is being indoctrinated with the socially liberal view on the subject with no concern for the wish of the parents.
To most social conservatives homosexuals are part of the same class of people as them just ones that partially define them self by an action that is destructive to them and the society in general so they tend to see gay marriage as an absurdity at best; they use governmental authority to deny a legal recognized same-sex marriage.

To most social libertarian on the other hand their personal views on the subject is irrelevant; to them marriage should not be meddled with by the government one way or any way, it is a purely private matter. They do not want the government to teach children about it one way or any other about it, that's for the people that are raising the child. They do not want government to dictate private hiring practices in any way, that's for the businesses to decide (and for the consumers to decide who they do business with).This is news to me. I have not met a single liberal or gay person who wants it taught to children that being gay is a good thing. Most gay people I know are MUCH more concerned about their eroding civil rights than any public education on the subject. I frequent political blogs all the time and I haven't seen that issue on the agenda for a single person.

[Mek]

Rorschach from WATCHMEN whose obviously extremely right-wing


For those who don't know, Rorschach is a homage of comics character, The Question, who I believe was created by Steve Ditko... he also had strong objectivist views (both Question and Ditko), which was probably the basis for Rorscachs' beliefs and views.

[ABrown]

If we're talking G1 Optimus then the closest earth equivelent to the Autobot system of government would be somekind of hereditary theocracy.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1063/747637749_4bda0d7df1.jpg

I sure don't remember anybody voting for this guy, do you?

I don't think that Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime was supposed to be the equivalent of a president or something like that. At the end of Transformers:The Movie, he assumed the role of maybe a general. I do agree though that, even though he was the hero of the movie, Ultra Magnes should've resumed leadership at the end of the movie.

[Yash]

Sideshow Bob is a Republican and Joe Quimby is a Democrat.

Or a "spendocrat" as conservative radio talk show host Birch Barlow would have you believe.

[tb4000]

Hank Hill is a staunch conservative, but he'd probably take offense to any constant liberal bashing. If he disagrees with someone, he makes his point and drops it.

[Kryten]

and bloo from fosters? my guess it between liberal or democrat

Didn't you see "Setting a President"? Mr. Herriman is an old-school fiscal Republican, Frankie's obviously a liberal Democrat, and Bloo's clearly an anarchist.

[Plague Rat]

Didn't you see "Setting a President"? Mr. Herriman is an old-school fiscal Republican, Frankie's obviously a liberal Democrat, and Bloo's clearly an anarchist.
lol Bloo and the anarchy symbol are two things I never would have thought working so well together.

[AlgeaX]

I don't think that Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime was supposed to be the equivalent of a president or something like that. At the end of Transformers:The Movie, he assumed the role of maybe a general. I do agree though that, even though he was the hero of the movie, Ultra Magnes should've resumed leadership at the end of the movie.

We've never seen anything in G1 continuity to suggest that the Prime answers to any higher authority them themselves, and apperently they choose their own successors without recourse to anything resembling an electoral process. Prime isn't so much a President as he's Pope, Emperor and War Chief rolled into one.

[stephane dumas]

Hank Hill is a staunch conservative, but he'd probably take offense to any constant liberal bashing. If he disagrees with someone, he makes his point and drops it.

I think Hank is a "Reagan democrat" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_Democrat While Bill and Boomhauer might be more centrist. Dale on the other hand could be classifield in the same category as Larouche.

Now the trouble is characters from time set in the past like Asterix, Lucky Luke, Zorro, the Lone Ranger, Robin Hood might be more harder to guess their political beliefs.

[ABrown]

We've never seen anything in G1 continuity to suggest that the Prime answers to any higher authority them themselves, and apperently they choose their own successors without recourse to anything resembling an electoral process. Prime isn't so much a President as he's Pope, Emperor and War Chief rolled into one.

We've also never seen anything to suggest that the has any authority over any civilians. He was never shown giving orders to people on Cybertron as any type of President, King, Emperor, or anything else.

[strawberryjuice]

Didn't you see "Setting a President"? Mr. Herriman is an old-school fiscal Republican, Frankie's obviously a liberal Democrat, and Bloo's clearly an anarchist.
lol good point. Didn't think about that

[AlgeaX]

We've also never seen anything to suggest that the has any authority over any civilians. He was never shown giving orders to people on Cybertron as any type of President, King, Emperor, or anything else.

He explicty referred to as Leader of the Autobots.

[Radical Raven]

Batman could be seen as less interested in individual liberty than Superman, but not because Superman is some kinda big lefty (anymore, he sure was during his earliest days of taking on corrupt landlords and factory owners), but because in some interpretations Batman is a fascist who believes people need a strong leader to impose their will on them and control them, while Superman feels that that power should be subservient to the democratic will of the people. These viewpoints are most crystallized in Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come (in Kingdom Come Batman has turned Gotham into a robotically controlled police state) but they are there in other comics, too. Depending on the writer, of course.

The problem with applying political views to characters, and I see this often when threads like these pop up, is that people tend to self-identify with a character like, say, Peter Parker or Superman who stands generically for good and justice. And since they want to think that they also stand for good and justice, they'll tend to think that the characters they like share things in common with them including their political views.

The fact that the characters have so many valid interpretations and usually no definite political ideology makes it easy for, say, a conservative to look at Superman's traditional values in one story and call him a conservative or a liberal to look at Superman's belief in human equality and progress and peaceful resolution to conflict whenever possible in another story and call him a liberal.

But none of those things are that necessarily conservative or liberal. Liberals can have traditional values and conservative can believe in human equality and peace. It's just the human desire to think that we are right that causes us to want to identify with positive characters. So, I think you're right. It is better to consider the more iconic characters above politics.

You are certainly right. But I have a sneaking suscpicion that this whole thread is more of a joke than MonkeyFumk's "Serious Discussion" tag implies.