Why Eugene is a Stereotype and Why That's Okay
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:44 pm
Some people and tigers like to think Eugene isn't a stereotype. He's grown too far beyond that. He's Christian, he's less snobby, he's married, he's a college professor. But here's the thing.
What makes Eugene a stereotype is, naturally, that he has stereotypical qualities. He's extremely crazy about science and technology and has all the expected characteristics and interests that go with that. Huge glasses, a skinny profile, a big vocabulary, even an interest in chess. And his humor tends to spring from those stereotypical qualities: thinking he's smarter than everyone else, he tries to outdo Bernard at window washing after a few minutes on the job and argues with Connie. Fond of technology, he repeatedly butts heads with Bernard and Tom. Having a rather oversize, nerdy hairdo, he's... attacked by doves.
And that's okay, because what makes a good show is using the comfortingly familiar in new ways. Whit is a cliche really. An old, wise inventor. It's no secret in the writing world that making fresh stories is really using the old in new ways. A romance, however different, is still going to have people who are unsure what they think of each other, who then fall in love and then have a falling out. There's a formula for all stories and to some degree all characters. It's just that sometimes, writers may bring in a character who's especially formulaic for the sheer fun that can result, and we've seen that fun for 25 years.
Now, again, some people don't think Eugene even qualifies as a stereotype because of how much hes' grown. But how does that make sense? Do the stereotypical qualities somehow go away? Does being a stereotype automatically mean you can't have any characteristics beyond your stereotypical ones? No, it just means you are indeed a stereotype, not that you're not anything else!
Conclusion: Eugene is a stereotype, and stereotypes rock.
Now, if you like, talk it up to borrow the colloquialism.
What makes Eugene a stereotype is, naturally, that he has stereotypical qualities. He's extremely crazy about science and technology and has all the expected characteristics and interests that go with that. Huge glasses, a skinny profile, a big vocabulary, even an interest in chess. And his humor tends to spring from those stereotypical qualities: thinking he's smarter than everyone else, he tries to outdo Bernard at window washing after a few minutes on the job and argues with Connie. Fond of technology, he repeatedly butts heads with Bernard and Tom. Having a rather oversize, nerdy hairdo, he's... attacked by doves.
And that's okay, because what makes a good show is using the comfortingly familiar in new ways. Whit is a cliche really. An old, wise inventor. It's no secret in the writing world that making fresh stories is really using the old in new ways. A romance, however different, is still going to have people who are unsure what they think of each other, who then fall in love and then have a falling out. There's a formula for all stories and to some degree all characters. It's just that sometimes, writers may bring in a character who's especially formulaic for the sheer fun that can result, and we've seen that fun for 25 years.
Now, again, some people don't think Eugene even qualifies as a stereotype because of how much hes' grown. But how does that make sense? Do the stereotypical qualities somehow go away? Does being a stereotype automatically mean you can't have any characteristics beyond your stereotypical ones? No, it just means you are indeed a stereotype, not that you're not anything else!
Conclusion: Eugene is a stereotype, and stereotypes rock.
Now, if you like, talk it up to borrow the colloquialism.