To go with the Star Wars theme of the OP, Luke Skywalker. What a whiny little bitch.
[QUOTE=DigitalC]
Hmmm… Raymond?
[/QUOTE]
I don’t know anybody who even likes Raymond, let alone loves him.
[QUOTE=flodnak]
It isn’t as strong as “hate”, but my feelings toward the Mickey Mouse character have certainly reached “annoyed indifference”. Disney Rules seem to say the Mouse isn’t allowed to have any character flaws, and nothing bad can ever happen to him that isn’t immediately put right.
[/QUOTE]
Clearly you’ve never seen the cartoons where Mickey tried to commit suicide , then? 
Yes, I’m serious. But that was a long time ago. He’s been through counseling since then. He no longer suffers from (as Lileks put it) “doubleplus unmousethink.”
I’ve never liked Mickey, either. But then, I don’t much care for any of the Disney characters, except for Chip from Chip ‘n’ Dale.
[QUOTE=Sampiro]
Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show…<snip>…you just somehow know he’d probably run on a Family Values/Save Our Kids From Evolution, Homosexuals, and Modernization platform.
[/quote]
FWIW, Andy Griffifth has been in TV ads endorsing Democratic political candidates in North Carolina. So somehow I don’t think his character would go for that sort of thing.
The Andy Griffifth Show is actually one of my favorite sitcoms - and I’m 25 years old. You can criticize it for having broad-stroke and moronic characters, but that’s true of pretty much every sitcom ever put on the air. What makes the difference for me is that the humor in TAGS in general isn’t malicious or the characters negative; this is why I don’t really like shows like Seinfeld and Friends, where it seems as if every character is a moron in some way AND mean and shallow at the same time. Sitcoms today base so much of their humor on insults and misfortune that it becomes (for me, at least) tiresome after a while. And while, yes, a great deal of the situations in Mayberry involve rather simplistic and silly situations, this was just how sitcoms were back in the black & white era - I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners weren’t any different in this respect.
[QUOTE=Otto]
Does hating entire genres of entertainment including all related characters count? Because I can’t stand Japanese animation (and have really loathed it ever since fans tried to upscale it by changing the name from “Japanimation” to “anime”) and by extension I loathe all of the various characters from it. The only one that doesn’t make me retch is Badtz Maru.
[/quote]
As someone mentioned above, “anime” is not a genre. Animation has a vastly different role in Japan than it does in the U.S., in that ANY story is fare game for being animated, and will still be considered a legitimate work. While Japan has turned out a large amount of crappy animation, some of it is truly wonderful. Studio Ghibli, in particular, is one outfit that is typically very careful not to produce anything cheaply or shoddily done - while individual opinion varies on each of their films, they are very highly regarded among both animation and general film fans. Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies, a WWII drama, is every bit as moving as the highly-acclaimed Letters from Iwo Jima - the only difference is the medium. Many of Hayao Miyazaki’s works are lauded for both artistic design AND storytelling; the main things that people tend to hate about anime - seizure-inducing cheap quick cut animation, slutty airheaded females, one-note spiky haired heroes - are not to be found in his films. Spirited Away winning the 2003 Best Animated Feature Oscar was not a fluke - it’s a highly nuanced, beautiful film.
While I’m not a snob about Japanese animation (I will acknowledge that some of it is quite bad and/or exploitative), I do think it’s a bit unfair to criticize ALL of it, since, apart from the medium, the individual works are quite different in terms of subject matter, audience, and purpose. It’s akin to saying something such as, “I hate all British film”, or, “I hate everything from Universal”. Aside from the animation aspect, there’s seldom much other grounds for generalization.
[QUOTE=Sampiro]
I would say Scarlett. She’s a self-consumed bitch- hard working and pragmatic, I’ll give her that, but a terrible and unconcerned mother to her children. She takes her first husband from the girl who really does love him, won’t let him consummate the marriage for several nights, and then generally doesn’t give a damn when he dies and is furious that he left her pregnant. She steals her second husband from the sister who actually loves him (even if it is for a good reason) and then totally underappreciates and emasculates him, thinks her child with him is ugly and doesn’t understand his appreciation of the little girl, and ultimately gets him killed by doing something that was foolhardy and stupidly dangerous. Rhett gives her every excuse in the world to love him: he got her off the hook when her parents called her home, he risked his own life to save her’s and those of Melanie, the children, and Prissy, he adored her for years, gave her tons of money since he knew that at least she cared about that, tried to get her to be a mother to their child since for the first time she didn’t have to worry about money or survival, and she repays it by pining away for a married wuss.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks. You saved me the trouble of typing all that myself. I remember telling someone once: “You think Scarlett was a bitch in the movie? You just ought to read the book!”
[QUOTE=kellner]
I agree and I wondered whether that’s intentional. I think you can read it as evidence of an unreliable narrator. To the 10-year-old Harry, Hagrid was his first contact to the magic world and the greatest guy ever. As Harry grows up, he (and with him the narrator) realizes that Hagrid may be a nice guy but unfortunately he is an idiot. Although there are of course other more objective reasons I think it’s also no coincidence that Hermione is described as more and more attractive and feminine when Harry’s hormones kick in. In short I think all characterizations are as flawed as Harry’s understanding at that point. In the most recent books Hagrid’s portrayal is quite negative and I got the impression that the “friendship” is in part continued out of politeness.
[/QUOTE]
Pretty decent explanation, actually. I’ll buy it.
[QUOTE=OpalCat]
Is Reagan beloved? I mean he was during his presidency, but I thought that pretty quickly afterward people realized what a piece of shit he was as a president.
[/QUOTE]
You could not be more misinformed/ignorant/deluded, dear, unless you are, in fact, Jimmy Carter. Put away your little politics stick before you poke yourself in the eye. 
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies, a WWII drama, is every bit as moving as the highly-acclaimed Letters from Iwo Jima - the only difference is the medium.
[/QUOTE]
I defy anyone to watch Grave of the Fireflies without shedding a tear. It can’t be done.
Otto, let me ask you, what anime titles have you actually seen?
[QUOTE=Operation Ripper]
You could not be more misinformed/ignorant/deluded, dear, unless you are, in fact, Jimmy Carter. Put away your little politics stick before you poke yourself in the eye.
[/QUOTE]
Don’t call me “dear”, it’s condescending. I didn’t insult you, so please don’t insult me.
I’m sure that not all anime falls into these generalizations, but a lot of it does and I find it distracting and annoying… things like huge mouths with no lips, gigantic eyes, tiny noses, etc. Just stylistically I find it ugly and hard to watch.
There are plenty of members who are fans of anime. I don’t consider myself one of them, but I have watched, and enjoyed, a couple epidoes of Dragonball Z.
It’s great for their action sequences.
I can’t stand Goku.
ETA: I simulposted w. Opal… and PS, I think :rolleyes: was just laying on the sarcasm thick
Princess Buttercup. Okay, it’s a bit harsh to say that I can’t stand her, but… egads, grow a spine, woman!
Jeeves. He’s an evil mastermind, manipulating everyone around him for the benefit of his own ego, and his interpretation of social imperatives. And, for that matter, his actions have the effect of keeping Bertie in a perpetual state of arrested development, because he keeps shielding Bertie from the consequences of his own poor decisions, and foisting other choices upon Bertie, using what is effectively a Magician’s Choice, that always, always, always degrade Bertie’s reputation with the world at large.
Otto, I use the word anime instead of Japanimation because there are a great number of Japanese Americans who find the word Jap offensive and racist - not in any kind of effort to ‘gentrify’ the art form. Like any other art form, I will grant, right off the top, that 90% of it is shit. But I like it for the willingness to use animation to tell stories that, until the advent of CGI, couldn’t be told any other way. If you were to tell me what sorts of fiction (preferably movies) you like, I suspect I could give you at least one anime title that you would like.
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
The Roadrunner was pretty obnoxious. I always wanted to see the coyote finally snare his ass and slow roast him on a spit.
[/QUOTE]
I kinda wanted to see a bloated, ennui-ridden coyote who discovers the perfect method of killing roadrunners and finds himself gorged yet unsatisfied with the loss of his life’s purpose. Rather like Oscar Wilde’s comment on tragedy.
And I call it Japanimation and always will, and it stylistically sucks.
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki]
Otto, I use the word anime instead of Japanimation because there are a great number of Japanese Americans who find the word Jap offensive and racist - not in any kind of effort to ‘gentrify’ the art form. Like any other art form, I will grant, right off the top, that 90% of it is shit. But I like it for the willingness to use animation to tell stories that, until the advent of CGI, couldn’t be told any other way. If you were to tell me what sorts of fiction (preferably movies) you like, I suspect I could give you at least one anime title that you would like.
[/QUOTE]
Heh, that seems a little extreme. It’s not Jap Animation it’s Japan-imation. Sure calling them Japanese is insulting as they are Nipponese, but other than that I wouldn’t worry too much about it. 
Anime is most interesting to me to look into the psyche of a culture indelibly scarred by Atomics, who have wholly embraced technology in a way no other culture has.
[QUOTE=mswas]
Heh, that seems a little extreme. It’s not Jap Animation it’s Japan-imation. Sure calling them Japanese is insulting as they are Nipponese, but other than that I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Anime is most interesting to me to look into the psyche of a culture indelibly scarred by Atomics, who have wholly embraced technology in a way no other culture has.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure where the words officially merge - I’ve seen it Japan-imation, Jap-animation, and Japanimation in print, interchagebly. I have no doubt that most people using the term mean it only as a descriptor, not any kind of racial slur. But, I feel the same way about the word “gyp.” I find it seems more in line with the image I’d prefer to present of myself to avoid the use of the word, just as I avoid using the word “gyp.” If I can be certain that it’s going to bother people just by hearing it, and I have another perfectly good, and inoffensive, word available, I’ll change my usage, instead.
[QUOTE=OpalCat]
My son was watching one of the Star Wars movies and I was reminded yet again how freakin’ irritating Yoda is. I totally can’t stand him. If I was watching the movie, I’d either fast forward or mute any scene he was in.
What characters do you hate that seem to be popular with other people?
[/QUOTE]
I just wanted to mention that your OP made me laugh; whenever I talk to someone about Final Fantasy VII, the confusing plot is often a subject. To make my point of how important the “hidden scenes” are to a good understanding of the story (and thus why I don’t understand that they are hidden scenes in the first place) I often invoke the original Star Wars trilogy sans Yoda scenes to portray how essential they are.
Just thought that was kind of funny. Sorry I don’t really have much to add to the OP, but I guess I could add an additional voice to Wolverine, and back the reason that it’s because he’s so over-hyped despite being consistenly under-used or mischaracterized.
[QUOTE=pinkfreud]
This is a heretical statement on this board, but I think I might have enjoyed Firefly/Serenity quite a bit if I hadn’t disliked Mal so much. I’m not certain whether it was the way the character was written, or whether my antipathy is mainly toward Nathan Fillion, but Mal ruined the show for me.
[/QUOTE]
Heresy…blasphemy…it’s a fine line.
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki]
Princess Buttercup. Okay, it’s a bit harsh to say that I can’t stand her, but… egads, grow a spine, woman!
[/quote]
I actually thought she had some pretty great moments, such as daring to defy the Dread Pirate Roberts, a notorious murderer, and calling out Prince Humperdinck for the spineless coward that he was in one of the best speeches of the movie. She could have come up with a better way to resolve her problems than suicide, though, but that whole bit seemed like a minor spoof on the Romeo and Juliet “my love is dead, I cannot go on” cliche.
The princesses I wish would grow vertebrae mostly come from the pre-Beauty and the Beast Disney films. Talk about spineless. Cinderella should have said, “screw you bitches, I’m outta here” no more than two minutes into the movie.
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
<snip>
The princesses I wish would grow vertebrae mostly come from the pre-Beauty and the Beast Disney films. Talk about spineless. Cinderella should have said, “screw you bitches, I’m outta here” no more than two minutes into the movie.
[/QUOTE]
Erm… please tell me you know those stories weren’t made by Disney. You do realize they’re adaptations of historic folk tales, right?
Hey, Opal…you didn’t hear about the first Repub debate at the Ronald Reagan Monument? This Onion piece is only a slight exaggeration.