this comment describes my older brother to a t (in a good way)! he also uses my grandma's laptop to burn cds, we play a lot of soul calibur, older street fighter games, virtua fighter, and the like with my older sister as well whenever we visit him.
@@haterodiadordeplantao.680 I don't even understand why you're upset....nothing they said made it seemed like they're complaining, just a statement lmao, you good?
But anyways, that was definitely a large part as to why I never wanted to wear glasses as a kid lmao, I remember always having that fear since poor sight is a trend in my family.
I always noticed that in a lot of cartoons. If the main character is white they have a nerdy black friend, and on the few occasions the main character was black they also had a nerdy white friend.
Well I don't about Virgil. Even though he was the biggest nerd he was still smart. He was smart enough to get into the Vanmoor institute which was a highly advanced science and technology school that Virgil briefly attended.
@@jankoleon3785yeah, but they difference is that they weren’t using Virgil being a nerd as a way to alienate him or make him relatable by removing American blackness and making weird, but allowed him to just be an authentically normal person who was kind, intelligent, geeky, but also hip. Though being created by Dwayne McDuffie, another black nerd, would be why Virgil was a lot more authentic and well rounded than a lot of the examples presented in this video.
Their dynamic needs to be studied. They were actually closer friends with each other than with Timmy. I think it's cool considering that vastly different lives.
They also were complex because despite Chester being poor, Timmy somehow had a worse life despite growing up in a Middle Class 2000’s family I think that’s because Chester’s dad was actually there for him while Timmy’s parents are constantly gone. AJ is unironically the richest in the friend group-which is an inversion of the steriotype
I think 6teen was one of the few shows to not include this specific stereotype with the character Wyatt. He played guitar, drank coffee and got into philosophical ponderings every once in a while. It was cool to see a character like that because I saw a lot of myself in him. edit: Though I must admit, as a black man with a terrible eyesight and even worse fashion sense who's really into diy electronics, I suppose I see myself in everyone else mentioned here too.
He was definitely the dork of the boys (Jen for the girls) and would be the butt of many jokes. Jude was a relaxed, dumb skater boy, and Jonesy was a cool, egotistical player guy (who later changed by Nikki). Wyatt was the musical nerd, but he was cool when the story focused on his musical talent (not so much on his jealousy which was cringe at times). I think a better example would be Broseph from Stoked, who was a mixture of Wyatt and Jude. He was seen as cool, fun, likable, and enjoyed surfing. He's someone you would hang out with. Johnny... ehh, he was another black character, but it felt like they made Wyatt again, but they took out his hobby which was a vital identity, leaving only Wyatt's responsibility, following orders, the mature one of the group, and how bad the two are with girls. I guess... he's into surfing but it's clear he doesn't have the same passion for it as Broseph (mainly cause S1 just focus on his crush on Emma) Kahuna leans more toward Jude. Johnny leans more toward Wyatt. Broseph is just right in the sweet spot between both of them.
You did a great job breaking down the rise of this character archetype, I love cultural studies like this. It's just as important to have these imperfect depictions of marginalized characters to lay the path toward better and more dynamic ones, as it is to break them down and understand what the issues were so future writers can do better. Def agree with you on the Danny Phantom tokenization stuff - but you know that haha. King Tuck is a mess. Lastly thanks for the mention man. This is more thoughtful, researched and well executed than most of the 'video essays' being put out rn. The editing is super clean and tight. I won't be surprised at all when you blow up. You're one of the best!! Keep it up.
It seems like 90s and early 2000s media found it "safer" to portray Black youth through two dominant archetypes: the "nerdy Black kid" or the "young thug." The nerdy Black kid was essentially the "what we want Black youth to be" archetype, while the young thug was the "what we don't want Black youth to be"-a dichotomy crafted by predominantly white writers. What was missing was a character like Static Shock’s Virgil Hawkins: a well-rounded, strong Black teen who was relatable, heroic, and placed in a realistic middle-class household. Virgil stood out because Static Shock addressed the complexities of being a Black teen without resorting to stereotypes. The show tackled race and identity in a way that shows like Fairly OddParents or even The Proud Family-with its portrayal of the Gross Sisters-did not. In The Proud Family, for instance, the light-skinned family was portrayed as good, while the darker-skinned Gross Sisters were literally called "gross" and framed as antagonists. This dichotomy subtly (and sometimes overtly) reinforced colorism and the idea that "blackness" equates to something negative. As a grown white dude with no skin in the game, I've always felt that many cartoons of that era seemed more focused on shaping Black youth to reject "Black" culture and assimilate into a "model minority" ideal-similar to the stereotypes often pushed onto Asian communities-rather than celebrating the diversity and strength within Black culture itself. What made Static Shock remarkable was its willingness to go deeper. Virgil wasn't sanitized into a one-dimensional archetype to make him palatable to white audiences. He was an "urban youth," a superhero, and a good kid all at once, navigating real-life issues like race and prejudice in an authentic and approachable way for young viewers. One of the most powerful moments was the episode about Richie’s dad being racist. It showed that cartoons could handle these topics honestly while still uplifting a strong Black lead. We didn’t need reductive archetypes that were easy for white audiences to consume. We needed, and still need, more characters like Virgil-archetypes of strong Black youth who inspire growth, pride, and positivity within their communities.
Great video! On a related note, Jaleel White is such a great actor, it's a bit of a shame we didn't get to see him in more stuff... at least the later seasons of Family Matters allowed him to show his range through Steve's various alter-egos.
Being remembered as the archetypal “black nerd” and Sonic the Hedgehog is a strange legacy to leave, and you’re right that it’s not one I think Jaleel would have wanted as a serious actor
That Twitter comment is incorrect . All of those were side characters. While they are good characters I think people looking for representation in cartoons would prefer to see a poc main character in a cartoon.
@@Fr.O.G. Yes, and I love the show very much. I would argue that Numbah 1 is the main character because he is the leader even though the operatives got their own episodes.
That image just freaked me the fuck out - I never even realized that those were these sort of Urkel offshoots until you put them all up next to each other
Great break down. Another example of the "black nerd genius who invents gadgets" is Wade from Kim Possible. I really didn't notice the trend until this video, but its definitely a trope, i just dont know if it's negative, positive, or neutral.
@@icecreamhero2375Ya I mean there's a reason why tropes exist in the first place and imo there's nothing wrong with not reinventing the wheel every single time
@@xavierjuno4572 Yep. I wouldn't call the black tech genius trope a bad thing. People like AJ will be super rich in the future and practically run the world. People like Steve Jobs are loaded.
Jordan was based off a real person and Bernie Mac life and Stevie at least wasn’t weird or just a awful person like a lot of these “clones” mentioned, as a dude who likes sitcoms shoot I think Malcom in the middle did the best with black characters in sitcoms in my opinion they didn’t try to make everyone nerds but they did have some nerdy characters and they didn’t have some racist serotypes for the most part. Francis friends in the army school like Stanley and a lot of the other characters they just acted like normal dudes from what I watch of the show I’m in the second season rn while watching it could of gotten worse tho.
I love deep dives like this. Glad the algorithm brought me to your channel. You've just earned yourself a new subscriber. ;) Something else about Big Brother Chad that I rarely see discussed despite how many retrospectives of the show I've come across is that it's essentially a "90s very special gay episode". It follows the typical beats of a "coming out episode" of that era to a tee: the straight family member/friend in denial/clueless about the gay character's identity, the subsequent refusal to accept the gay character's identity, and the "I've known since I was a kid" speech. There are also lots of little nods to stereotypical queerness sprinkled throughout the episode: Chad's pink shirt, his rainbow bicycle helmet, his mannerisms, and his love of musical show tunes.
You did a great job of highlighting how prevalent this trope was and im sure most of us as black kids never really peeped what that “nerdy” character represented. We rarely got a black character who wasn’t nerdy or overly showcasing some stereotype. And like you pointed out the nerdy character isn’t necessarily bad but I think it’s food for thought of why we couldnt just simply exist in a lot of media back then. Bravo this was amazing 👏🏾
I had a nerdy black friend in elementary school long before I was even familiar with this type of character. I can relate to these characters because of my friend but I don't look at it in a bad way or anything. Impressive deep dive! Well done! Keep up the great work!
I don't think the video suggested they were bad in any way either. That would be a purely modern fallacy. Not every stereotype is bad, and not everything is racist(some people in the comments have the latter mindset and it becomes sadly quite apparent. Thankfully they are rare). The 90s/00s had, hands down, the best cartoons ever. Artists weren't forced to make character follow a "safe and sterile" ideology, writers didn't have to check boxes nearly like they do today(stereotypes always existed long before then, and will always exist in the future. Political agendas also were kept highly subtle back then compared to today).
I think there's a second aspect you're missing in this. It's not just that a lot of these characters were Black nerds, the social awkwardness was autistic coded (which is why Recess's Chad is a stand-out, he's a nerd, but he's not socially awkward). It's a confluence of two stereotypes.
@@ws6778 it's almost as if you say that like television only stereotyped black & brown people or specifically black and brown people...... stereotyping is prevalent to any and every race.
Nerd is autistic coded… 90% of nerds and dorks in the 90s were autistic. They could find refuge in “Nerd” This term “coded” is used. It’s being used wrong. A collection of tropes isn’t a dog whistle to those in the know. Coding rarley happens. You mean headcannon
He was right in his choice of words and it would be headCANON if the word is associated with canonization and not an actual cannon. Ironically though, your opinion is fodder and headcan(n)on sounds goofy either way, no one is saying that bs
You could literally do 1000 of these. Every cartoon trope is based on something. If you really want a trope that goes back almost 100 years, look up Peter Lorre. He was an actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood. But then look up every character inspired by him. There are so many characters that borrowed and were directly inspired by him. There's a compilation of it on youtube. But he's often been the basis for almost every Igor character. Dr Frankenstein's assistant. Pretty much anytime you see an Igor-like character, it's a Peter Lorre impression. And it's cool that Urkel has inspired a trope that will be around for the next 100 years. Just like we've all but forgotten about Peter Lorre, people will eventually forget about Urkel. But he will be remembered for centuries by way of the trope he created. I'm willing to bet that it will be named the Urkel. And the Urkel will be a name that is so closely connected to this trope, but nobody in the future will know it's actual origins. Just like nobody knows nachos were named after a person, and not a food.
It’s crazy how much of an impact Steve Urkel had and the actor that plays him is such a great actor since he was able to communicate Steve’s alter egos too!
This is an incredible man! I had my RUclips on auto play and had no idea I wasn’t listening to a big video essayist. Really looking forward to hearing more!
@@ricodoubleswiththelines5240 That's not true. There are several intelligent black characters. In Night of the Living Dead the black guy was competent and lived the longest.
@@hannahb7038 Its not rare people need to watch more things. While white people tend to get prominent roles more often the black characters side characters usually aren't portrayed as dumb and are often the voice of reason.
@@hannahb7038 It isn't rare. While white people tend to be main characters and people of color tend to be side characters in stuff made in the US. The black side characters often aren't portrayed as dumb. In the shows and movies I've seen they are often the voice of reason. I can name more smart black characters than dumb ones.
This was an incredibly well written analysis of a black archetype. I could listen to this like a podcast, but the video was also well edited so gonna check out more vids!
I thought this trope actually had genuine merit in true life not only from animation… but when I was a kid, I had a best friend who looks exactly like these characters. Short hair, glasses, nerdy, the works. We were able to register how obviously funny it is that it lines up so well with a lot of fiction that we joked about it all the time like: “I’m white and you’re black so it makes it special for the audience!” That’s a Peter Griffen quote, not sure what episode…
Yo, I really like how in your "Good Cop Bad Cop" sequence, you silently crossfaded tangential footage in for historic context. I watch enough video essays that I've started noticing common methods in how people quote/cite stuff, and maybe I've seen that before, but that's the first time I've ever caught it. Even if it was just to avoid copyright strike, well played.
Im a little confused at the idea of sitcoms reinforcing "conservative values". The lessons seemed to be pretty base-level stuff like "don't be a bully" or "stay in school". If anything, sitcoms tended to lean liberal for the time period.
Those are base conservative values. Old school liberals, despite what is taught today, still adhered to many classically conservative values. What set them apart is that they equally accepted many progressive values. Liberals used to be the centrists back then. Back before media and other things shifted the Overton window and the meaning of Liberal changed when people hijacked the label to hide their being Socialist or Communist. This is one of the reasons I hate modern US politics. People have no idea what Conservative or Liberal actually mean anymore. They've lost their meanings and become mere labels. Hopefully this helps that statement make more sense now.
great video! since you mentioned you were not alive during the 80s, i wanted to add a little bit more of what i noticed by virtue of being a bit older than you. specifically the part where you mentioned a push to portray a "unified black experience" in a lot of shows. one specific example that comes to my mind from my own experience watching these shows as a kid is that a lot of cartoons or sitcoms in the 80s into the 90s referenced kwanzaa a lot as this massive central holiday that all black people celebrated. then as the 90s fed into the 00s, they seemed to pull back on mentioning kwanzaa at all. i don't even know if cartoons or sitcoms even reference it anymore. it was a little weird? idk. 😵💫 i could write an entire essay about these types of things i've noticed from the late 80s to the 90s and onward, but i'll just wrap this up and say that i think your video definitely was a very interesting and thoughtful essay and highlighted a very crucial turning point in media while being very cognizant of the time periods at which some of these shows were made. it was very well done and informative! 😊
I have serious problems with family matters, as a black man on the spectrum. Urkel harassing the same girl the entire show, then finding someone who actually likes him and then she just vanishes and he's back harassing that same girl again, to the point he has to build a machine to turn himself into another guy for her? what message is that sending?? i hate that show.
Maybe Urkel was the most famous so far, but the "black smart kid of the group" was already a thing before him. Just think about *Paul,* from *Dinosaucers,* that came out few years before. Or (not a kid, but still "the smart guy of the group") *Walter,* from *the Galaxy Rangers.*
Virgil wasn't portrayed as nerdy for the 90s though. In the 90s being a nerd was derogatory. Virgil and static were cool. They had a personality that the nerdy black character didn't have. He wasn't treated as a "safe black kid" for white kids to consume. Virgil/static was given a voice to speak for himself and his community
My best friend who I’ve known since 6th grade looks like Irwin from Billy and Mandy. Aside from that, Irwin’s dorky charisma makes him my favorite character in the show. My friend embraced it and even has a thanos/irwin shirt 😂
AS being a white kid who wasn't exposed to as many cartoons growing up, I never realized how common this trope was. There are times in this video where it made me realize that "Oh shit that can apply to that character too huh?". I never would of thought about that when I saw Aj in Fairly Odd Parents or even Irwin in Billy and Mandy (where it is definitely more blatant) since I didn't even occur to me that this was a trope. I think the way you looked at this trope with this much complexity (especially with your background) was an interesting perspective which I don't think I would of gotten if I watched any of these shows. BASICALLY, GOOD SHIT! I feel like I learned something about black culture from this video.
I kinda always figured the 'Black nerd' trope was an easy one that would allow for an easy source of jokes and character beats while contradicting the older, racist stereotypes about intelligence and physical prowess. It's a pretty liberal response to the whole thing in order to avoid intersectionality... but, it's not the worse potential direction.
Having grown up in the 90s, it honestly felt like an attempt to counter the ghetto stereotype media had pushed prior (I grew up on reruns of 70s and 80s shows and even Fresh Prince kinda pushed the ghetto stereotype a bit, but at least it usually did so to show it in a negative light.) Man I miss the days of the classical, centrist liberal before our name was stolen from us by others. Heck, I had the biggest crush on Numbah 5 growing up. We truly were colorblind in the 90s/00s... what the hell happened?
First of all, I love that you have Corduroy as your avatar! I remember that book from when I was a kid. Second, your video is very well researched. I remember watching Family Matters with my family, back in the day. It was one of the best shows ever made! They handled difficult topics with such sensitivity and heart. But once they transitioned from a family series about the hardships of life to a sci-fi comedy, I'm starting to think that Urkel should've gotten a spin-off. I don't know any of the cartoons you referenced, since my sister and I weren't kids in the 2000s, so they don't resonate with us. But it seems like many of them just used Urkel as a template, and then just watered it down. Also, I'm White, so I'm not authorized to speak on the Black experience. Thanks for the video.
I still remember having my mind blown when Urkel grows up into a good looking man and they wrote an episode around it where he transforms himself into suave Urkle. Family Matter was a huge part of TGIF.
Yes most black nerds after ‘Urkel’ are pretty much based on him look and personality wise in cartoons and shows. The little boy on the show ‘In The House’ ‘Austin’ was clearly based on Urkel. ‘Jordan’ on ‘The Bernie Mac Show’ was based on Urkel. But the thing people don’t know is ‘Urkel’ was not really the first official black nerd. That would have to go to a character named ‘Rudey Butler’ played by actor Larry O. Williams Jr. on the Jimmie Walker late 80s show Bustin Loose’. The ‘Rudey’ character wore probably the nerdiest glasses known to man and had ‘Jerry Lewis like’ penchant for slapstick comedy. Mainly bumping into things and falling that Jaleel would later develop in playing ‘Urkel’!
Vallery on Josie and the Pussycats was the one black character and she was the smartest character in the show. She set up the traps and she was good with machines. That show is from the 70's.
Great video. First of yours ive seen. Very well edited. Also i didnt realize how pervasive the urkel stereotype is. Like if they dont have suspenders or glasses i dont see it lol.
Fantastic video! I wonder which category of nerd would Carlton from The Fresh Prince would land on. Because besides being quite smart, he was athletic, a great dancer and singer and because less socially awkward as the show went on
Bro thank you so much for making this!!! As someone who was a Black boy with glass in the early 2000’s, I loved Billy and Mandy, But I always HATED Erwin with a passion. I ddnt get why the one kid who looked like me had to be nerdy, cowardly, dumb, always getting beat up, and saying “Yo” all the time. The writing for him seemed almost racist at times with the stereotypes they would put on him and his family. Honestly out of all the Urkel clones, he was the worst.
Irwin always bothered me as a kid, and I never could pin down why exactly until I got older and saw the clips with him..Like I think he's funny now cause I'm like how tf did the writers get away with writing him like this lmao 😭- but yeahhh. At least Grim evens it out a bit.
Irwin was supposed to be the main character of the Billy and Mandy spin off, Underfist. But Cartoon Network canceled it because they wanted to do Live Action shit. Its a shame. Despite Irwin being a loser, he was slowly becoming one of the most basass characters of the show. Literally Half Mummy, Half Vampire Superhero? Would have been awesome.
I feel like AJ while inspired by Urkle is different enough that he's his own character he's more of a smart ass know it all than a geeky weirdo like Cookie from Ned's Declassified or Irwin from Billy and Mandy. That's just me tho Edit: oh ok you kinda say that at the end so Its not just me, even the "I'm gonna stare at her until she feels awkward enough to talk to me", while definitely not good, sounds like Butch Hartman fairly odd parents dialogue, like "in respecting your privacy by knocking but asserting my authority as a parent by coming in anyway!" When the dad busts into Timmy's room that episode, I could see any of those three saying something like that. Tucker on the other hand...
Hive five member See-More from Teen Titans is my fav black nerdy character. Always found him the most unique out of the bunch. Don't know if I should count Frylock since he is just a box of fries. lol
This was an awesome video. And I'm curious how much of this is mostly "That worked, let's keep doing it" or just how they grew up so that must be how characters are. You bring up the cartoons created in Nick but they are definitely influenced by characters or shows they watche din the 90s. Much like how recently, almost so many black characters in media suddenly has the Killmonger hair when it used to be very unique to the character, this including Tekken. Suddenly it's the one hair style because it was so cool then. Thank you for making this! It definitely made me think of the black nerd character was in so much media and I never realized it, and it totally makes sense for usually the black nerd character is made as it is white people writing the show, so it made it WAY more easier to write for them if they were relatable to themselves.
The Black boy genius cartoon nerd trope predates Urkel. There’s Gene from “The New Archies”, IQ-1 from “Bionic Six”, Woody Daniels from the “Mr. T” cartoon, Doc from “Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers” in the ‘80s
I have two things on this. One, the majority of MCs in animated shows now are black, brown, and asian, and indigenous. Nick: - Monster High G3(Afro-latina) - Transformers Earthspark(Black) - FOP: A New Wish(Black) Disney: - Moon Girl(Black) - Primos(Chicano) - Hailey's On It(Polynesian) Warner: - Craig of The Creek(Black) - Invincible Fight Girl(Black) - Jessica's Little Big World(Black) - Iyanu(Black/West African) Netflix: - Jentry Chau(East Asian) - Wake Up, Carlo(Brazilian) Everyone in that tweet was a side character. Frankly, I want more of this. Even the modern white characters feel more cultured(Hilda and Kid Cosmic from Netflix and Big Nate from Nick). Two, I feel like the black nerd totally has a place in black culture. Fairly Odd Parents and Monster High literally has them as their main characters and I love the kinds of stories they get in to.
I really liked how Recess did Chad even as a kid he was cool to me. Plus the show even went through a non violent way to make things go your way with the threat of bad grades! I never knew the impact Urkel had on Black characters in animation but this was a treat! Keep up the solid work A+/100!
Biggest thing I got from this is that writing something or someone you are unfamiliar with the experience of can be hard, especially when trying to appeal to as big an audience as possible.
This video made me realize that a lot of black representations in media I grew up with seem to depict black people from either the East Coast or Chicago if they're not immigrants. Do we not live anywhere else? I've never lived in Chi, the DMV, or NY. My only representation is the L.A. Riots and every hood movie.
Asian American cartoon characters are characterized by archetypes too. It's not just black people who are characterized by cliches and archetypes. For example, every Japanese girl in a cartoon is depicited as being upbeat, ditzy, obsessed with "Kawaii" things, cutesy, having colored hair, and being the best friend of the main character. I think there's two reasons for this. One is the popularity of The BabySitters Club and the character Claudia Kishi. Claudia was one of the few recurring Japanese characters in American media at the time, and was widely praised for that. However, her characterization of "ditzy upbeat girl who is the best friend of the main character" stuck with most depicitons of Japanese girls in American media, mostly cartoons. The other reason for this trope is the rise of anime and otaku culture in the USA in the late 90s and early 2000s, which led to Japanese girls in cartoons always loving "Kawaii" things as well as the Colored hair trope. Pretty much every Japanese girl in a cartoon follows these tropes, even nowadays. Stacy Haruno from Phineas and Ferb, Kuki Sanban from Codename KND, Peni Parker from The Spider Verse films, Bridgette Hashima from Close Enough, Lee Lee from Dexters Labratory. Similarly, Indian guys in cartoons were also archetyped in cartoons as the nerdy comic relief with a funny accent. I think one of the reasons this became popular was because of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in the the Simpsons, who at the time, was one of the few South Asian characters to have a prominent role in a TV show, leading to TV shows modeling Indian characters after Apu. The other reason why Indians are characterized as being nerds in Cartoons was due to the rise of Indian Americans in high level jobs during the 80s and 90s, leading to Indians in cartoons being characterized by the "Model minority" myth. Even modern Indian characters like Connie Maheswaran from Steven Universe, still fall into some of the tropes of these characters, such as being a nerd. Thankfully, this is starting to change in the modern animation industry, with more cultural awareness and diverse backgrounds in the industry becoming more common. There's starting to become more accurate Asian characters in Cartoons nowadays, sometimes even as the leading role. Anne Boonchuy from Amphibia, Kipo Oak from Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Diane Nguyen from Bojack Horseman, Willow Park from the Owl House, Eileen from Craig of the Creek. Asian representation in American Cartoons has gotten a lot better in recent years, especially with Asian characters written by actual Asian people who even incorporate some of their background into the characters. Sure, most of the representation is still pretty flawed, but it's a lot better than it was 20 to 30 years ago.
Oh yeah asian particularly japanese people easily had it the worst in the 90s and SPECIALLY the 90s, it was always anime (with the added layer of it's weird and it sucks, american cartoon better) the thing you said and the blandest nothing character possible. i will add that latin america as a whole also had horrible representation like, imagine your whole continent being reduced to just mexico and sometimes brazil
The "model minority" archetype has always been a dominant narrative in media, especially in children's cartoons, which were largely written from a white-centric perspective. Media, especially for kids, isn't just entertainment-it's a tool used to shape behaviors and social norms. For Asian characters (encompassing the entirety of Asia, from Japan to India), the goal often seemed to be reinforcing the idea that they needed to fit into the "model minority" mold to be acceptable in white-dominated spaces. This is why we constantly saw characters like Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb. He wasn’t allowed to just be a "normal" kid. Instead, he was portrayed as the perfect student, subservient, and helpful-exactly how white writers thought minorities "should" behave. It was never about showing diversity in its full spectrum but about creating a sanitized, overly compliant version of Asian youth for white audiences. Meanwhile, white kids in media were always allowed to just be "normal." They could be flawed, quirky, rebellious, or even downright mediocre, and their stories were still seen as relatable and valid. Asian kids, on the other hand, were confined to archetypes that reinforced their "usefulness" or their "otherness," whether as the cutesy kawaii girl, the nerdy genius, or the quiet overachiever. This pattern wasn’t just about representation-it was about social conditioning. By pushing these "socially acceptable" roles, media subtly reinforced the idea that the only way for Asian kids to fit into society was by adhering to the standards set by white-dominated structures. It’s insidious and deeply reflective of how media has historically been used to enforce conformity among minority groups.
@@shiiikaaariiiIt's funny you mention Baljeet from P & F considering that out of everyone in their friends circle, Baljeet is probably the most flawed of them all: - He's socially awkward and has trouble talking to girls - He's insecure about not seizing the day - He's worried because his brain hasn't developed that much during the summer - He's indecisive when forced to make a choice - He's nervous about going on stage and only does it when he realizes that "Grades" didn't matter
@@shiiikaaariii first off almost everyone in Phineas and Ferb aren’t normal characters phineas is very smart just as smart as baljeet and doesn’t act like a normal person and phineas is seen as your dude who always helps, just like the og commenter said if anything baljeet has more flaws than someone like a phineas. he has trouble talking to girls. he constantly worried about grades, he socially awkward etc, if anything baljeet seems more normal than your phineas or ferbs which phineas rarely gets mad about anything at all and only got mad at his sister one time, and is super smart if anything just as smart as baljeet if anything a little more smarter same with phineas. Shoot the only normal person who acts normal is Candace
@@wompwompcryabttit I'd say yes and no to that. Max can be a bit socially awkward at times, and invisible for the most part, but I don't think he's anywhere near as clumsy or stalker-esque like Urkel or Irwin
I’ve always wondered if the nerdy black archetype was a result of people clocking undiagnosed neurodivergence long before any psychiatrist could. That was my experience growing up, at least. Perhaps part of the writer intent back then was defanging the image of violent black men, but seemingly unintentionally, they created these socially awkward savants most people couldn’t empathize with without great effort. I could certainly relate to that. Considering the regurgitative nature of TV, there’s no doubt black neurodivergent people existed for a long time, but no one identified them for myriad reasons, just called them weird.
This was a really interesting video! You were randomly recommended to me by the youtube algorithm and ill definitely check out more of your stuff. This particular video is especially interesting to me because im just your generic white dude. I loved all of these shows growing up and i never even thought about the subject matter in this video because the racial stereotypes that influneced them I was just oblivious to as a kid. I just enjoyed these characters and the shows they were in. Its fascinating seeing the influences laid out in such a way behind them.
this video is informative adding perspective i never noticed before as a kid things really just get rinsed and repeated reminds me of this guy in tik tok that has a series about how everything is racist not only that but the soundtrack in the back has me hooked my goodness 1 noid tyler the creator 2. Brian mcknight hold me 3.janet jackson got til its gone 4.raphael saadiq & q tip get involved 5. use your heart swv
Growing up black with glasses I definitely saw representation of black characters in cartoons like AJ from the fairly odd parents or cookie from Ned's declassified but for black cartoon characters with glasses to also be the "nerds" used to make me feel like I can relate to them but at the same time I'm not a "nerd" or techy and I've also found myself being drawn to characters like lil d from class of 3000 or Gerald from Hey Arnold. I've always wondered why can't the black character with glasses be "cool" as well in cartoons and as a RUclips animator I want to be new representation of black characters with glasses to show viewers and especially black ppl with glasses that you're cool too and you don't have to feel like you're a "nerd". Great Vid btw
I also tended to see A.J. as a smartalec who (possibly) Chose to be friends with Timmy and Chester and not exactly because they were pushed together due to their extreme 'otherness' like the two of them.
"black nerds in 90s cartoon"
Urkel: Did I do that??
😡
URKEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!!
No 90s-00s black nerd archetype ever felt sincere because none of them were playing Sonic and Megaman and watching Dragonball Z.
Is this a reference to how Sonic was voiced by Steve Urkel?
@@louisjefferies2733 No, just things almost universally loved by nerdy black dudes around the turn of the century
The great racial uniters.
Damn… I felt that…
this comment describes my older brother to a t (in a good way)! he also uses my grandma's laptop to burn cds, we play a lot of soul calibur, older street fighter games, virtua fighter, and the like with my older sister as well whenever we visit him.
If you were a black, male with glasses growing up then you've definitely been called "Urkel" at some point during your childhood
cry about it
@@haterodiadordeplantao.680 I don't even understand why you're upset....nothing they said made it seemed like they're complaining, just a statement lmao, you good?
But anyways, that was definitely a large part as to why I never wanted to wear glasses as a kid lmao, I remember always having that fear since poor sight is a trend in my family.
@lifeisadrag7705 People just be looking for reasons to say "cry about it"
@@haterodiadordeplantao.680 9 out of 11 people who say cry about it will, in fact, be the ones crying the most about it.
Wait cause I used to point out how there was always a “black boy tech wiz” in early 2000s shows but I never connected that to Urkel
Bruh same here, when i saw that thumbnail i was like LMAOO thiss what i been saying since forever!
Always thought it was a way to include a black character without associating him with bad stereotypes
I always noticed that in a lot of cartoons. If the main character is white they have a nerdy black friend, and on the few occasions the main character was black they also had a nerdy white friend.
I'm from Mexico, never saw Family Matters but I knew all those characters could be traced back to Urkel lol
Shoutout to Virgil Hawkins and Filmore being some of the only early 2000s black cartoon characters who escape that troupe
Well I don't about Virgil. Even though he was the biggest nerd he was still smart. He was smart enough to get into the Vanmoor institute which was a highly advanced science and technology school that Virgil briefly attended.
@jankoleon3785 Virgil Hawkins aka Static from DC comes off authentic, not a manufactured stereotype, just a typical black kid
Virgil was the smart one. He was smarter than Richie before Richie's powers manifested. @@jacobsunday6561
@@jankoleon3785yeah, but they difference is that they weren’t using Virgil being a nerd as a way to alienate him or make him relatable by removing American blackness and making weird, but allowed him to just be an authentically normal person who was kind, intelligent, geeky, but also hip.
Though being created by Dwayne McDuffie, another black nerd, would be why Virgil was a lot more authentic and well rounded than a lot of the examples presented in this video.
And also the shows' main protagonist!
AJ and Chester were really good characters, its a shame that they got relegated to irrelevance after the good seasons ended...
Their dynamic needs to be studied. They were actually closer friends with each other than with Timmy. I think it's cool considering that vastly different lives.
They also were complex because despite Chester being poor, Timmy somehow had a worse life despite growing up in a Middle Class 2000’s family
I think that’s because Chester’s dad was actually there for him while Timmy’s parents are constantly gone. AJ is unironically the richest in the friend group-which is an inversion of the steriotype
You know it!
@@shewolfcub3 I disagree Season 7 is one of the best season and it came after Poof was born.
i mean they weren't the only ones who got that treatment, even Timmy got pushed to the side as the show spiraled out of control.
I think 6teen was one of the few shows to not include this specific stereotype with the character Wyatt. He played guitar, drank coffee and got into philosophical ponderings every once in a while. It was cool to see a character like that because I saw a lot of myself in him.
edit: Though I must admit, as a black man with a terrible eyesight and even worse fashion sense who's really into diy electronics, I suppose I see myself in everyone else mentioned here too.
Also total drama with DJ
He was definitely the dork of the boys (Jen for the girls) and would be the butt of many jokes. Jude was a relaxed, dumb skater boy, and Jonesy was a cool, egotistical player guy (who later changed by Nikki). Wyatt was the musical nerd, but he was cool when the story focused on his musical talent (not so much on his jealousy which was cringe at times).
I think a better example would be Broseph from Stoked, who was a mixture of Wyatt and Jude. He was seen as cool, fun, likable, and enjoyed surfing. He's someone you would hang out with.
Johnny... ehh, he was another black character, but it felt like they made Wyatt again, but they took out his hobby which was a vital identity, leaving only Wyatt's responsibility, following orders, the mature one of the group, and how bad the two are with girls. I guess... he's into surfing but it's clear he doesn't have the same passion for it as Broseph (mainly cause S1 just focus on his crush on Emma)
Kahuna leans more toward Jude.
Johnny leans more toward Wyatt.
Broseph is just right in the sweet spot between both of them.
You did a great job breaking down the rise of this character archetype, I love cultural studies like this. It's just as important to have these imperfect depictions of marginalized characters to lay the path toward better and more dynamic ones, as it is to break them down and understand what the issues were so future writers can do better. Def agree with you on the Danny Phantom tokenization stuff - but you know that haha. King Tuck is a mess. Lastly thanks for the mention man. This is more thoughtful, researched and well executed than most of the 'video essays' being put out rn. The editing is super clean and tight. I won't be surprised at all when you blow up. You're one of the best!! Keep it up.
🥹🥹
It seems like 90s and early 2000s media found it "safer" to portray Black youth through two dominant archetypes: the "nerdy Black kid" or the "young thug." The nerdy Black kid was essentially the "what we want Black youth to be" archetype, while the young thug was the "what we don't want Black youth to be"-a dichotomy crafted by predominantly white writers. What was missing was a character like Static Shock’s Virgil Hawkins: a well-rounded, strong Black teen who was relatable, heroic, and placed in a realistic middle-class household.
Virgil stood out because Static Shock addressed the complexities of being a Black teen without resorting to stereotypes. The show tackled race and identity in a way that shows like Fairly OddParents or even The Proud Family-with its portrayal of the Gross Sisters-did not. In The Proud Family, for instance, the light-skinned family was portrayed as good, while the darker-skinned Gross Sisters were literally called "gross" and framed as antagonists. This dichotomy subtly (and sometimes overtly) reinforced colorism and the idea that "blackness" equates to something negative.
As a grown white dude with no skin in the game, I've always felt that many cartoons of that era seemed more focused on shaping Black youth to reject "Black" culture and assimilate into a "model minority" ideal-similar to the stereotypes often pushed onto Asian communities-rather than celebrating the diversity and strength within Black culture itself.
What made Static Shock remarkable was its willingness to go deeper. Virgil wasn't sanitized into a one-dimensional archetype to make him palatable to white audiences. He was an "urban youth," a superhero, and a good kid all at once, navigating real-life issues like race and prejudice in an authentic and approachable way for young viewers. One of the most powerful moments was the episode about Richie’s dad being racist. It showed that cartoons could handle these topics honestly while still uplifting a strong Black lead.
We didn’t need reductive archetypes that were easy for white audiences to consume. We needed, and still need, more characters like Virgil-archetypes of strong Black youth who inspire growth, pride, and positivity within their communities.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
You forgot Teen Titans did the same with Cyborg. Not as much but it did. One of the best episodes of television history, Troq.
A lot, if not the majority, of those writers weren't White.
You call something a dichotomy then immediately introduce a third example?
One of those reasons why I loved Static Shock so much growing up.
Great video!
On a related note, Jaleel White is such a great actor, it's a bit of a shame we didn't get to see him in more stuff... at least the later seasons of Family Matters allowed him to show his range through Steve's various alter-egos.
Being remembered as the archetypal “black nerd” and Sonic the Hedgehog is a strange legacy to leave, and you’re right that it’s not one I think Jaleel would have wanted as a serious actor
That Twitter comment is incorrect . All of those were side characters. While they are good characters I think people looking for representation in cartoons would prefer to see a poc main character in a cartoon.
I mean, Numbuh 5 is technically part of the main team. However, that is true to most of the characters listed
Numbuh 5 was a side-character? Did you watch the show?
@@Fr.O.G. Yes, and I love the show very much. I would argue that Numbah 1 is the main character because he is the leader even though the operatives got their own episodes.
@@Fr.O.G. that guy defended Scientology don't listen to his yapping.
then make one
That image just freaked me the fuck out - I never even realized that those were these sort of Urkel offshoots until you put them all up next to each other
Great break down. Another example of the "black nerd genius who invents gadgets" is Wade from Kim Possible. I really didn't notice the trend until this video, but its definitely a trope, i just dont know if it's negative, positive, or neutral.
I think it's neutral. There are no new tropes under the sun.
@@icecreamhero2375Ya I mean there's a reason why tropes exist in the first place and imo there's nothing wrong with not reinventing the wheel every single time
@@xavierjuno4572 Yep. I wouldn't call the black tech genius trope a bad thing. People like AJ will be super rich in the future and practically run the world. People like Steve Jobs are loaded.
@@icecreamhero2375I mean heck we even saw AJ as very successful in the FOP: A New Wish
@@xavierjuno4572 Hazel is a kind of nerd but not AJ levels of nerdy.
Steve Urkle had heart, pulled baddies, and had that shit on 24/7. I'm not Steve Urkle, I can only wish to be as cool.
It’s honestly insane because I live in Florida and the AP African American history studies class was recently disbanded while I was still in the class
What?!
@@bluebaron6858 yeah so the governor basically said the class is stupid and shouldn’t exist and eventually poof gone
i came across this video in my recommendations, and i have to say you did a very great analysis/breakdown of the blerd archetype!
Might be the single highest quality video I have ever seen below 1k views. Hoping ya blow up mate.
I always appreciated that episode of Recess and I appreciate it more now! It seems like a direct response to the Urkel genre of character.
Stevie from Malcolm in the Middle and Jordan from Bernie Mac
Yeah
Jordan was based off a real person and Bernie Mac life and Stevie at least wasn’t weird or just a awful person like a lot of these “clones” mentioned, as a dude who likes sitcoms shoot I think Malcom in the middle did the best with black characters in sitcoms in my opinion they didn’t try to make everyone nerds but they did have some nerdy characters and they didn’t have some racist serotypes for the most part. Francis friends in the army school like Stanley and a lot of the other characters they just acted like normal dudes from what I watch of the show I’m in the second season rn while watching it could of gotten worse tho.
Junior from My Wife and Kids too
the Urkel Singularity Point is the best thing i've learned today
I love deep dives like this. Glad the algorithm brought me to your channel. You've just earned yourself a new subscriber. ;)
Something else about Big Brother Chad that I rarely see discussed despite how many retrospectives of the show I've come across is that it's essentially a "90s very special gay episode". It follows the typical beats of a "coming out episode" of that era to a tee: the straight family member/friend in denial/clueless about the gay character's identity, the subsequent refusal to accept the gay character's identity, and the "I've known since I was a kid" speech. There are also lots of little nods to stereotypical queerness sprinkled throughout the episode: Chad's pink shirt, his rainbow bicycle helmet, his mannerisms, and his love of musical show tunes.
You did a great job of highlighting how prevalent this trope was and im sure most of us as black kids never really peeped what that “nerdy” character represented. We rarely got a black character who wasn’t nerdy or overly showcasing some stereotype. And like you pointed out the nerdy character isn’t necessarily bad but I think it’s food for thought of why we couldnt just simply exist in a lot of media back then. Bravo this was amazing 👏🏾
I had a nerdy black friend in elementary school long before I was even familiar with this type of character. I can relate to these characters because of my friend but I don't look at it in a bad way or anything. Impressive deep dive! Well done! Keep up the great work!
I don't think the video suggested they were bad in any way either. That would be a purely modern fallacy.
Not every stereotype is bad, and not everything is racist(some people in the comments have the latter mindset and it becomes sadly quite apparent. Thankfully they are rare).
The 90s/00s had, hands down, the best cartoons ever. Artists weren't forced to make character follow a "safe and sterile" ideology, writers didn't have to check boxes nearly like they do today(stereotypes always existed long before then, and will always exist in the future. Political agendas also were kept highly subtle back then compared to today).
I think there's a second aspect you're missing in this. It's not just that a lot of these characters were Black nerds, the social awkwardness was autistic coded (which is why Recess's Chad is a stand-out, he's a nerd, but he's not socially awkward). It's a confluence of two stereotypes.
I think the point is that television either stereotyped black and brown people as ghetto or stereotyped them as nerds against that first stereotype.
@@ws6778 it's almost as if you say that like television only stereotyped black & brown people or specifically black and brown people...... stereotyping is prevalent to any and every race.
Nerd is autistic coded…
90% of nerds and dorks in the 90s were autistic. They could find refuge in “Nerd”
This term “coded” is used. It’s being used wrong. A collection of tropes isn’t a dog whistle to those in the know. Coding rarley happens. You mean headcannon
@@partysugar519...
He was right in his choice of words and it would be headCANON if the word is associated with canonization and not an actual cannon. Ironically though, your opinion is fodder and headcan(n)on sounds goofy either way, no one is saying that bs
You could literally do 1000 of these. Every cartoon trope is based on something. If you really want a trope that goes back almost 100 years, look up Peter Lorre. He was an actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood. But then look up every character inspired by him. There are so many characters that borrowed and were directly inspired by him. There's a compilation of it on youtube. But he's often been the basis for almost every Igor character. Dr Frankenstein's assistant. Pretty much anytime you see an Igor-like character, it's a Peter Lorre impression.
And it's cool that Urkel has inspired a trope that will be around for the next 100 years. Just like we've all but forgotten about Peter Lorre, people will eventually forget about Urkel. But he will be remembered for centuries by way of the trope he created. I'm willing to bet that it will be named the Urkel. And the Urkel will be a name that is so closely connected to this trope, but nobody in the future will know it's actual origins. Just like nobody knows nachos were named after a person, and not a food.
Have you seen Slappy Lazlo from SpongeBob? He's pretty much directly based on Peter Lorre.
@@TuesdaysArt hundreds.
It’s crazy how much of an impact Steve Urkel had and the actor that plays him is such a great actor since he was able to communicate Steve’s alter egos too!
Cords you continue to one up each video after the other. I’ve really enjoyed your 2024. But I gotta say this one has got me really inspired. Bravo
Oooh dang RUclips algorithm finally fed me right today! Subscribed in a heartbeat
“Did I do that “
- Urkel
This is an incredible man! I had my RUclips on auto play and had no idea I wasn’t listening to a big video essayist. Really looking forward to hearing more!
Fantastic video, I’m subscribing now.
Saying “Family Matters” was almost 40 years ago made me pass out
😂😢
Funny about this subject this is the one stereotypical arc that I love rarely as black people we even get to be the intelligent character
@@ricodoubleswiththelines5240 That's not true. There are several intelligent black characters. In Night of the Living Dead the black guy was competent and lived the longest.
@icecreamhero2375 They said it's rare, which it is. Listing one character doesn't make it common - it's not.
@@hannahb7038 Its not rare people need to watch more things. While white people tend to get prominent roles more often the black characters side characters usually aren't portrayed as dumb and are often the voice of reason.
@@hannahb7038 It isn't rare. While white people tend to be main characters and people of color tend to be side characters in stuff made in the US. The black side characters often aren't portrayed as dumb. In the shows and movies I've seen they are often the voice of reason. I can name more smart black characters than dumb ones.
@@icecreamhero2375go ahead then name some
This was an incredibly well written analysis of a black archetype. I could listen to this like a podcast, but the video was also well edited so gonna check out more vids!
I thought this trope actually had genuine merit in true life not only from animation… but when I was a kid, I had a best friend who looks exactly like these characters. Short hair, glasses, nerdy, the works.
We were able to register how obviously funny it is that it lines up so well with a lot of fiction that we joked about it all the time like: “I’m white and you’re black so it makes it special for the audience!”
That’s a Peter Griffen quote, not sure what episode…
No way there was an urkel ripple effect?!?!
Yo, I really like how in your "Good Cop Bad Cop" sequence, you silently crossfaded tangential footage in for historic context. I watch enough video essays that I've started noticing common methods in how people quote/cite stuff, and maybe I've seen that before, but that's the first time I've ever caught it. Even if it was just to avoid copyright strike, well played.
Im a little confused at the idea of sitcoms reinforcing "conservative values". The lessons seemed to be pretty base-level stuff like "don't be a bully" or "stay in school". If anything, sitcoms tended to lean liberal for the time period.
Bullies are cool and school is lame
@matthewtartt9422 no
Yeah, I think younger people don't realize that liberalism has morphed into something completely different over the decades.
@@spadinnerxylaphone2622imagine defending schools
Those are base conservative values. Old school liberals, despite what is taught today, still adhered to many classically conservative values. What set them apart is that they equally accepted many progressive values.
Liberals used to be the centrists back then. Back before media and other things shifted the Overton window and the meaning of Liberal changed when people hijacked the label to hide their being Socialist or Communist.
This is one of the reasons I hate modern US politics. People have no idea what Conservative or Liberal actually mean anymore. They've lost their meanings and become mere labels.
Hopefully this helps that statement make more sense now.
I just can't hate Tucker. He's hilarious 😂😂😂
You saying “syndication is a form a redlining” makes me wanna go back for my masters
That one stuck with me too. Multiple essays can be made from that statement alone.
great video! since you mentioned you were not alive during the 80s, i wanted to add a little bit more of what i noticed by virtue of being a bit older than you. specifically the part where you mentioned a push to portray a "unified black experience" in a lot of shows. one specific example that comes to my mind from my own experience watching these shows as a kid is that a lot of cartoons or sitcoms in the 80s into the 90s referenced kwanzaa a lot as this massive central holiday that all black people celebrated. then as the 90s fed into the 00s, they seemed to pull back on mentioning kwanzaa at all. i don't even know if cartoons or sitcoms even reference it anymore. it was a little weird? idk. 😵💫
i could write an entire essay about these types of things i've noticed from the late 80s to the 90s and onward, but i'll just wrap this up and say that i think your video definitely was a very interesting and thoughtful essay and highlighted a very crucial turning point in media while being very cognizant of the time periods at which some of these shows were made. it was very well done and informative! 😊
while Valerie’s characterization in DP still isn’t perfect, i think her representation was a far better example than what Tucker’s ended up being.
Man that acronym is unfortunate in hindsight.
@ yikes, you got me there.
I have serious problems with family matters, as a black man on the spectrum.
Urkel harassing the same girl the entire show, then finding someone who actually likes him and then she just vanishes and he's back harassing that same girl again, to the point he has to build a machine to turn himself into another guy for her?
what message is that sending??
i hate that show.
I hated that too, how tf did that make sense? And or make me want to root for them?
never watched it since I can't stand sitcoms but yikes that sounds strange to do.
The women actor that like urkel died though I don't remember when she died.
You missed a lot of context of the show
Fun fact: Tucker is voiced by Ricky D'Shon Collins. So in other news, Vince did become a geek like his brother, Chad.
Remy, of big city greens, is basically if you made Bronny James into Erwin from B&M…
Maybe Urkel was the most famous so far, but the "black smart kid of the group" was already a thing before him.
Just think about *Paul,* from *Dinosaucers,* that came out few years before.
Or (not a kid, but still "the smart guy of the group") *Walter,* from *the Galaxy Rangers.*
what a connective thread narrative with an original and engaging thesis! good job
An example of a good nerdy black character is static shock.
virgil hawkins
Virgil wasn't portrayed as nerdy for the 90s though. In the 90s being a nerd was derogatory. Virgil and static were cool. They had a personality that the nerdy black character didn't have. He wasn't treated as a "safe black kid" for white kids to consume. Virgil/static was given a voice to speak for himself and his community
Miles Morales
My best friend who I’ve known since 6th grade looks like Irwin from Billy and Mandy. Aside from that, Irwin’s dorky charisma makes him my favorite character in the show. My friend embraced it and even has a thanos/irwin shirt 😂
AS being a white kid who wasn't exposed to as many cartoons growing up, I never realized how common this trope was. There are times in this video where it made me realize that "Oh shit that can apply to that character too huh?". I never would of thought about that when I saw Aj in Fairly Odd Parents or even Irwin in Billy and Mandy (where it is definitely more blatant) since I didn't even occur to me that this was a trope. I think the way you looked at this trope with this much complexity (especially with your background) was an interesting perspective which I don't think I would of gotten if I watched any of these shows.
BASICALLY, GOOD SHIT! I feel like I learned something about black culture from this video.
Looking for comments mentioning Cameron from Total Drama. The comments have disappointed me. He is the literal embodiment of that trope.
Honorable Mention: Chester from Minutemen
Sleeper pick!
This is a great video. And it highlights a good point about how a lot of cartoons in the early 2000’s basically portrayed cartoon black face
I thought Urkal bot only appeared in an issue of Archie Sonic
No Filmore? He was basically Urkel and Stefan put together.
I kinda always figured the 'Black nerd' trope was an easy one that would allow for an easy source of jokes and character beats while contradicting the older, racist stereotypes about intelligence and physical prowess. It's a pretty liberal response to the whole thing in order to avoid intersectionality... but, it's not the worse potential direction.
Having grown up in the 90s, it honestly felt like an attempt to counter the ghetto stereotype media had pushed prior (I grew up on reruns of 70s and 80s shows and even Fresh Prince kinda pushed the ghetto stereotype a bit, but at least it usually did so to show it in a negative light.)
Man I miss the days of the classical, centrist liberal before our name was stolen from us by others. Heck, I had the biggest crush on Numbah 5 growing up. We truly were colorblind in the 90s/00s... what the hell happened?
First of all, I love that you have Corduroy as your avatar! I remember that book from when I was a kid. Second, your video is very well researched. I remember watching Family Matters with my family, back in the day. It was one of the best shows ever made! They handled difficult topics with such sensitivity and heart. But once they transitioned from a family series about the hardships of life to a sci-fi comedy, I'm starting to think that Urkel should've gotten a spin-off.
I don't know any of the cartoons you referenced, since my sister and I weren't kids in the 2000s, so they don't resonate with us. But it seems like many of them just used Urkel as a template, and then just watered it down. Also, I'm White, so I'm not authorized to speak on the Black experience. Thanks for the video.
I still remember having my mind blown when Urkel grows up into a good looking man and they wrote an episode around it where he transforms himself into suave Urkle. Family Matter was a huge part of TGIF.
Yes most black nerds after ‘Urkel’ are pretty much based on him look and personality wise in cartoons and shows. The little boy on the show ‘In The House’ ‘Austin’ was clearly based on Urkel. ‘Jordan’ on ‘The Bernie Mac Show’ was based on Urkel. But the thing people don’t know is ‘Urkel’ was not really the first official black nerd. That would have to go to a character named ‘Rudey Butler’ played by actor Larry O. Williams Jr. on the Jimmie Walker late 80s show Bustin Loose’. The ‘Rudey’ character wore probably the nerdiest glasses known to man and had ‘Jerry Lewis like’ penchant for slapstick comedy. Mainly bumping into things and falling that Jaleel would later develop in playing ‘Urkel’!
Vallery on Josie and the Pussycats was the one black character and she was the smartest character in the show. She set up the traps and she was good with machines. That show is from the 70's.
Great video. First of yours ive seen. Very well edited. Also i didnt realize how pervasive the urkel stereotype is. Like if they dont have suspenders or glasses i dont see it lol.
Fantastic video! I wonder which category of nerd would Carlton from The Fresh Prince would land on. Because besides being quite smart, he was athletic, a great dancer and singer and because less socially awkward as the show went on
Lore of The Urkel Effect momentum 100
Bro thank you so much for making this!!!
As someone who was a Black boy with glass in the early 2000’s, I loved Billy and Mandy, But I always HATED Erwin with a passion. I ddnt get why the one kid who looked like me had to be nerdy, cowardly, dumb, always getting beat up, and saying “Yo” all the time. The writing for him seemed almost racist at times with the stereotypes they would put on him and his family. Honestly out of all the Urkel clones, he was the worst.
Some of these writers need to be seriously questioned for the images they put out on screen
He was a big simp too
Irwin always bothered me as a kid, and I never could pin down why exactly until I got older and saw the clips with him..Like I think he's funny now cause I'm like how tf did the writers get away with writing him like this lmao 😭- but yeahhh. At least Grim evens it out a bit.
Irwin was supposed to be the main character of the Billy and Mandy spin off, Underfist. But Cartoon Network canceled it because they wanted to do Live Action shit.
Its a shame. Despite Irwin being a loser, he was slowly becoming one of the most basass characters of the show. Literally Half Mummy, Half Vampire Superhero? Would have been awesome.
peak music taste, i was jamming to the background music 90% of the time
I feel like AJ while inspired by Urkle is different enough that he's his own character he's more of a smart ass know it all than a geeky weirdo like Cookie from Ned's Declassified or Irwin from Billy and Mandy.
That's just me tho
Edit: oh ok you kinda say that at the end so Its not just me, even the "I'm gonna stare at her until she feels awkward enough to talk to me", while definitely not good, sounds like Butch Hartman fairly odd parents dialogue, like "in respecting your privacy by knocking but asserting my authority as a parent by coming in anyway!" When the dad busts into Timmy's room that episode, I could see any of those three saying something like that.
Tucker on the other hand...
Hive five member See-More from Teen Titans is my fav black nerdy character. Always found him the most unique out of the bunch. Don't know if I should count Frylock since he is just a box of fries. lol
This was an awesome video. And I'm curious how much of this is mostly "That worked, let's keep doing it" or just how they grew up so that must be how characters are. You bring up the cartoons created in Nick but they are definitely influenced by characters or shows they watche din the 90s. Much like how recently, almost so many black characters in media suddenly has the Killmonger hair when it used to be very unique to the character, this including Tekken. Suddenly it's the one hair style because it was so cool then.
Thank you for making this! It definitely made me think of the black nerd character was in so much media and I never realized it, and it totally makes sense for usually the black nerd character is made as it is white people writing the show, so it made it WAY more easier to write for them if they were relatable to themselves.
wow this great video essay about The Urkel effect. this video need have a half million views in a year.
The Black boy genius cartoon nerd trope predates Urkel. There’s Gene from “The New Archies”, IQ-1 from “Bionic Six”, Woody Daniels from the “Mr. T” cartoon, Doc from “Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers” in the ‘80s
Don't forget Brain from Arthur.
Wow. Never realized how many nerdy black fictional characters there were until I saw this.
I have two things on this. One, the majority of MCs in animated shows now are black, brown, and asian, and indigenous.
Nick:
- Monster High G3(Afro-latina)
- Transformers Earthspark(Black)
- FOP: A New Wish(Black)
Disney:
- Moon Girl(Black)
- Primos(Chicano)
- Hailey's On It(Polynesian)
Warner:
- Craig of The Creek(Black)
- Invincible Fight Girl(Black)
- Jessica's Little Big World(Black)
- Iyanu(Black/West African)
Netflix:
- Jentry Chau(East Asian)
- Wake Up, Carlo(Brazilian)
Everyone in that tweet was a side character. Frankly, I want more of this. Even the modern white characters feel more cultured(Hilda and Kid Cosmic from Netflix and Big Nate from Nick). Two, I feel like the black nerd totally has a place in black culture. Fairly Odd Parents and Monster High literally has them as their main characters and I love the kinds of stories they get in to.
“I’m gonna stare at her until she has no choice but to talk to me”✨💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀✨
I really liked how Recess did Chad even as a kid he was cool to me. Plus the show even went through a non violent way to make things go your way with the threat of bad grades! I never knew the impact Urkel had on Black characters in animation but this was a treat! Keep up the solid work A+/100!
New Cords while I cook?! (Also NOID supremacy!)
😏😏
y'all noticed how Nick acknowledged our ancestry to Egyptian pharaohs
Not to sound ignorant but it is a part of Africa 🤷♀️
Don't forget the little boy from In the House, literally an Urkel clone
“Syndication as a form of redlining” would be a video Id watch
Slight misconception: Harriet always had a form of income, especially since she was an elevator operator (it was the 80's) in Perfect Strangers.
Biggest thing I got from this is that writing something or someone you are unfamiliar with the experience of can be hard, especially when trying to appeal to as big an audience as possible.
3:27 this SNL skit is so iconic lmao
I can see how Irwin drew inspiration from Urkel but he never does anything remotely "boy genius".
"Shhh.....not while I'm pouring" 😂😂😂
Awesome video. Straight to the Exemplary Videos Playlist.
This video made me realize that a lot of black representations in media I grew up with seem to depict black people from either the East Coast or Chicago if they're not immigrants.
Do we not live anywhere else? I've never lived in Chi, the DMV, or NY.
My only representation is the L.A. Riots and every hood movie.
And Fresh Prince, of course. The town is in the title
Fresh Prince was amazing. Watched it every morning before school in the early 00s.
To be fair, most of these sitcoms were set in Chicago or New York
A fascinating video to watch as someone who was universally called Urkel by my peers from Grade school to high school.
Very good, informative, quality content definitely deserve more subs💯
Really enjoyed the video!!
Asian American cartoon characters are characterized by archetypes too. It's not just black people who are characterized by cliches and archetypes.
For example, every Japanese girl in a cartoon is depicited as being upbeat, ditzy, obsessed with "Kawaii" things, cutesy, having colored hair, and being the best friend of the main character. I think there's two reasons for this. One is the popularity of The BabySitters Club and the character Claudia Kishi. Claudia was one of the few recurring Japanese characters in American media at the time, and was widely praised for that. However, her characterization of "ditzy upbeat girl who is the best friend of the main character" stuck with most depicitons of Japanese girls in American media, mostly cartoons. The other reason for this trope is the rise of anime and otaku culture in the USA in the late 90s and early 2000s, which led to Japanese girls in cartoons always loving "Kawaii" things as well as the Colored hair trope. Pretty much every Japanese girl in a cartoon follows these tropes, even nowadays. Stacy Haruno from Phineas and Ferb, Kuki Sanban from Codename KND, Peni Parker from The Spider Verse films, Bridgette Hashima from Close Enough, Lee Lee from Dexters Labratory.
Similarly, Indian guys in cartoons were also archetyped in cartoons as the nerdy comic relief with a funny accent. I think one of the reasons this became popular was because of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in the the Simpsons, who at the time, was one of the few South Asian characters to have a prominent role in a TV show, leading to TV shows modeling Indian characters after Apu. The other reason why Indians are characterized as being nerds in Cartoons was due to the rise of Indian Americans in high level jobs during the 80s and 90s, leading to Indians in cartoons being characterized by the "Model minority" myth. Even modern Indian characters like Connie Maheswaran from Steven Universe, still fall into some of the tropes of these characters, such as being a nerd.
Thankfully, this is starting to change in the modern animation industry, with more cultural awareness and diverse backgrounds in the industry becoming more common. There's starting to become more accurate Asian characters in Cartoons nowadays, sometimes even as the leading role. Anne Boonchuy from Amphibia, Kipo Oak from Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Diane Nguyen from Bojack Horseman, Willow Park from the Owl House, Eileen from Craig of the Creek. Asian representation in American Cartoons has gotten a lot better in recent years, especially with Asian characters written by actual Asian people who even incorporate some of their background into the characters. Sure, most of the representation is still pretty flawed, but it's a lot better than it was 20 to 30 years ago.
Oh yeah asian particularly japanese people easily had it the worst in the 90s and SPECIALLY the 90s, it was always anime (with the added layer of it's weird and it sucks, american cartoon better) the thing you said and the blandest nothing character possible.
i will add that latin america as a whole also had horrible representation like, imagine your whole continent being reduced to just mexico and sometimes brazil
Funny that you mention that… It’s What’s inside, features only cliche characters… It happens to have a 2-hair color, up beat, super chill Asian girl.
The "model minority" archetype has always been a dominant narrative in media, especially in children's cartoons, which were largely written from a white-centric perspective. Media, especially for kids, isn't just entertainment-it's a tool used to shape behaviors and social norms. For Asian characters (encompassing the entirety of Asia, from Japan to India), the goal often seemed to be reinforcing the idea that they needed to fit into the "model minority" mold to be acceptable in white-dominated spaces.
This is why we constantly saw characters like Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb. He wasn’t allowed to just be a "normal" kid. Instead, he was portrayed as the perfect student, subservient, and helpful-exactly how white writers thought minorities "should" behave. It was never about showing diversity in its full spectrum but about creating a sanitized, overly compliant version of Asian youth for white audiences.
Meanwhile, white kids in media were always allowed to just be "normal." They could be flawed, quirky, rebellious, or even downright mediocre, and their stories were still seen as relatable and valid. Asian kids, on the other hand, were confined to archetypes that reinforced their "usefulness" or their "otherness," whether as the cutesy kawaii girl, the nerdy genius, or the quiet overachiever.
This pattern wasn’t just about representation-it was about social conditioning. By pushing these "socially acceptable" roles, media subtly reinforced the idea that the only way for Asian kids to fit into society was by adhering to the standards set by white-dominated structures. It’s insidious and deeply reflective of how media has historically been used to enforce conformity among minority groups.
@@shiiikaaariiiIt's funny you mention Baljeet from P & F considering that out of everyone in their friends circle, Baljeet is probably the most flawed of them all:
- He's socially awkward and has trouble talking to girls
- He's insecure about not seizing the day
- He's worried because his brain hasn't developed that much during the summer
- He's indecisive when forced to make a choice
- He's nervous about going on stage and only does it when he realizes that "Grades" didn't matter
@@shiiikaaariii first off almost everyone in Phineas and Ferb aren’t normal characters phineas is very smart just as smart as baljeet and doesn’t act like a normal person and phineas is seen as your dude who always helps,
just like the og commenter said if anything baljeet has more flaws than someone like a phineas.
he has trouble talking to girls.
he constantly worried about grades, he socially awkward etc, if anything baljeet seems more normal than your phineas or ferbs which phineas rarely gets mad about anything at all and only got mad at his sister one time, and is super smart if anything just as smart as baljeet if anything a little more smarter same with phineas.
Shoot the only normal person who acts normal is Candace
Wheres the one black nerd from miraculous ladybug lmfaoo
Oh Nino? He's alright ig?
@ nah the other one with the glasses😭 I forgot his name lol
@@wompwompcryabttitYou mean Max?
@ YES! The horse miraculous guy 😭😭 he’s the embodiment of the Urkel effect 😂
@@wompwompcryabttit I'd say yes and no to that. Max can be a bit socially awkward at times, and invisible for the most part, but I don't think he's anywhere near as clumsy or stalker-esque like Urkel or Irwin
It doesn't matter what color your skin is, when you're a cop, your race is cop.
I’ve always wondered if the nerdy black archetype was a result of people clocking undiagnosed neurodivergence long before any psychiatrist could. That was my experience growing up, at least. Perhaps part of the writer intent back then was defanging the image of violent black men, but seemingly unintentionally, they created these socially awkward savants most people couldn’t empathize with without great effort. I could certainly relate to that. Considering the regurgitative nature of TV, there’s no doubt black neurodivergent people existed for a long time, but no one identified them for myriad reasons, just called them weird.
This was a really interesting video! You were randomly recommended to me by the youtube algorithm and ill definitely check out more of your stuff.
This particular video is especially interesting to me because im just your generic white dude. I loved all of these shows growing up and i never even thought about the subject matter in this video because the racial stereotypes that influneced them I was just oblivious to as a kid. I just enjoyed these characters and the shows they were in. Its fascinating seeing the influences laid out in such a way behind them.
this video is informative adding perspective i never noticed before as a kid things really just get rinsed and repeated reminds me of this guy in tik tok that has a series about how everything is racist not only that but the soundtrack in the back has me hooked my goodness
1 noid tyler the creator
2. Brian mcknight hold me
3.janet jackson got til its gone
4.raphael saadiq & q tip get involved
5. use your heart swv
Growing up black with glasses I definitely saw representation of black characters in cartoons like AJ from the fairly odd parents or cookie from Ned's declassified but for black cartoon characters with glasses to also be the "nerds" used to make me feel like I can relate to them but at the same time I'm not a "nerd" or techy and I've also found myself being drawn to characters like lil d from class of 3000 or Gerald from Hey Arnold. I've always wondered why can't the black character with glasses be "cool" as well in cartoons and as a RUclips animator I want to be new representation of black characters with glasses to show viewers and especially black ppl with glasses that you're cool too and you don't have to feel like you're a "nerd". Great Vid btw
2:56 - I can’t wait for that day. I’ll definitely be tuning in. ☺️
Bro is cooking so hard 🔥 subbed!
I also tended to see A.J. as a smartalec who (possibly) Chose to be friends with Timmy and Chester and not exactly because they were pushed together due to their extreme 'otherness' like the two of them.
Urkel was great in the Saints Row remake
favorite black cartoon character is gerald johansson
Nice work. This is a great video!