Introduction
Bullying has been a part of television and films since they were both created. It has been seen in all types of films and programmes, whether they be comedies, drama, war or horror, the list goes on. While there are characters who have been famous bullies in TV and films, there have been others who have been known targets of bullying and it is this post where 80smetalman and Cherie White will highlight some of the most notable ones.
Meg Griffin- Family Guy
Ever since I have been watching this funny animated series, I have developed a deep sympathy towards Meg. She is the unattractive teenager in the Griffin family. Because of this, she gets picked on by her family, especially her father and peers at school. While some of the crap she goes through, is meant to be funny, I can’t help feeling sorry for her. Even in the episode where she finally stands up and calls out her family’s mistreatment of her, she finds herself having to recount and accept that her purpose is to be a lightning rod for the rest of the family’s problems. Sorry, she should never have to accept that! Then there’s the crap she gets off of the ‘popular kids’ in school. She is often humiliated with no support from anyone, including teachers. Hell, if there was a petition in school to get any of my children to kill themselves, I would be in contact with a lawyer straight away.
Butters- South Park
Butters is a different type of target in South Park. His friends, who are the four main characters, only keep him around if they need something. The worst of these is Eric Cartman who constantly threatens to withdrawl his friendship if Butters doesn’t do what he wants. What’s just as bad is that the other three main characters know this is going on and do nothing to stop it. In fact, they sometimes use the same threat of friendship withdrawl to get Butters to do their bidding. In one episode, Butters gets hit in the eye with a throwing star and the boys, afraid they will get into serious trouble, get Butters not to seek medical attention. Butters’ parents aren’t much better and ground him for the slightest perceived infraction, even if their son is innocent.
Milhouse- The Simpsons
Milhouse is the stereotypical nerdy kid in The Simpsons and is main charcter Bart’s best friend. While both boys get bullied by the likes of notorious school Bully, Nelson, Milhouse seems to get it worse. He is in love with Bart’s sister, Lisa, who doesn’t feel the same way. Some will say that he is one of life’s losers and maybe so, but that’s no reason to bully anybody .
Charlie Brown- Peanuts
Charile Brown is one who can’t seem to do anything right or get a break. In his own words, he can’t fly a kite and he loses every baseball game. He is often getting called a ‘blockhead’ by Lucy who further bullies him by getting him to attempt to kick a football only to pull it away at the last minute causing Charlie to fall on his butt. In a Family Guy crossover, while I don’t condone adults assaulting children in any way, I kind of feel glad when on an episode, Peter Griffin comes in and kicks Lucy after she does the football trick on Charlie Brown.
Danny Larusso- The Karate Kid
The movie which launched three sequels, a couple of remakes and a TV series, all started as a result of bullying. When Danny moves to a new town across the country with his mother, he becomes the subject of bullying. Now, some might say that he brought it on himself when he tried to impress a girl by standing up to her ex-boyfriend. Okay, Danny got his butt kicked in that scene but the bullying continued after that. It was made worse by a karate instructor who encouraged this bullying. If it hadn’t been for, Mr. Miyagi, who I think is the greatest mentor in film or television, teaching Danny karate, that bullying would have gone on a hell of a lot longer.
Steve Smith- American Dad
Steve is another stereotypical TV nerd who attracts bullying, even from his own father who thinks the only way to toughen his son up is to be his bully. Even though Steve and his friends who are also targets manage to keep a positive outlook, the fact that they are subjected to any bullying is reprehensible.
Conclusion:
Some of you are saying, “It’s only TV and movies, so what’s the big fuss?” Let me educate on that. A major reason bullying exists is that many people seem to get a kick out of watching another person get bullied. Even more so if they don’t like the target themselves. Bullying might be fun entertainment for you but I can assure you that it’s no fun for the target. Being a realist, I know we can’t make script writers change overnight. However, we can possibly encourage them to go another way. One way it to introduce characters who actually stand up for the target or an existing character stepping forward. Now, I know that this won’t eradicate bullying but it can show people that bullying is not entertaining.
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Peaceful Rampage 
Wow! Michael! I have watched all of these shows, and like you, I felt sorry for the bullied characters. There were times I wanted them to have a break, and, as I recall, Charlie Brown did get somewhat of a break from Lucy after having been in the hospital on one Peanuts show. However, although she intended to let him kick the ball this time, he ended up accidentally kicking her hand instead of the football. Ouch! I felt bad for him yet again.
I never saw that episode, is there a link?