This is a post for the comedic storytellers on the site. No doubt you all have your favorite stereotypes which you pull out again and again. I love to talk about things like that, and if you're willing I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject. Just to get things started I'll share a few stereotypes of my own.
Here are my favorite Wives from Hell types. I've had absolutely nothing but good experiences with marriage but, let's face it, good experiences don't make for good stories. It's the rotten ones that readers want to hear about. For that you need women like the ones below.
THE WITCH: You'd think evil women would be universally shunned and the trait would die out. Actually, it's just the opposite. Ordinary men are mesmerized by them. We're just putty in their hands. Go figure.
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY: In real life very, very few women are ugly and the ones who are, are still better looking than their husbands. Even so, comedy writing requires ugly women as well as ugly men. It requires women in this category to be either lovably innocent, frustrated nymphomaniacs, or funny schemers who want to make the world pay for the bad treatment they receive.
FAT WOMEN: Comical fat wives can be either sweet or mean, but they should always be seen eating or wishing they were eating. This isn't true in real life, but fiction has its own rules.
THE ARGUMENTATIVE TYPE: There are no doubt legitimate reasons to argue, but this type of wife does it because she likes it. She was the one baby in twenty who came into the world genetically equipped with all the expressions, gestures, and sarcasm needed to put across a first-class rowel, and it's hard not to practice what you're good at. Fictional women like this always marry timid men.
THE CRAZY TYPE: I've never personally met anybody like this, but I know they exist because there's so many books and movies about them. I'm not thinking of people who are seriously disordered, but rather of those women with a heightened need for drama. They obsess over perceived slights by friends and co-workers.
Well, that should do for a start.
BTW: The Basil Wolverton girl was rendered in 3D by Colin Batty.
4 comments:
I'm in complete agreement here. These stereotypes are funny, honest, and realistic. I hate it when people take them out of context and start a controversy. Here's an example. I currently don't live in New Jersey, or at least yet, but I found this hilarious, but certain people were offended by it.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/nj_man_puts_rednecks_hippies_a.html
Mz. Wicked Witch of the East has real staying power - her tag line "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" is one of the best known. Amazing given her 30's origin.
But where's Witchie Poo from HR PuffinStuff? Shouldn't she get billing? Does anyone remember who the heck she is?
Lena the Hyena will always terrify me.
Hey Eddie, the other day I was thinking of this cartoon, and was surprised to see that you storyboarded on it:
http://www.220.ro/desene-animate/2-Stupid-Dogs-Jerk/DAWpA3ahrP/
This episode still makes me laugh, and I can see your drawing style in it. Do you still have the boards for this?
There's also what you might call the Master of Withering Put-Downs. She's a wife who sees her husband almost like a wayward son who will only do what she wants if her every utterance drips with sarcasm and condescension. Examples: Alice Kramden of The Honeymooners, Wilma Flintstone, Sybil Fawlty of Fawlty Towers.
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