User blog:Weavillain/Why I Believe Leni SHOULDN'T Have a Mental Disability

This blog is more of a response to Gumball2's blog about his take on Leni and her "stupidity" than some general blog about my thoughts on an aspect of the show, but I still encourage anyone else to jump in and participate.

So, as I said before, this a response to Gumball2's blog and more specifically, his opinion that Leni shouldn't be regarded as stupid. Well, to give my blunt, terse opinion on that notion, I'd have to wholeheartedly disagree with that. Yes, Leni is stupid, and quite frankly, my stance on this has more to do than just my own interpretation of Leni's actions.

Simply put, I think it'd be very tasteless for Leni to be anything other than dumb.

See, I say that Leni simply being stupid, the "dumb blonde", is far more sensitive than her having some disability, illness, deficiency, etc. as the reason behind all of her "dumb moments". Granted, Gumball2 didn't exactly state that he believed that Leni had such a disability in his blog, only that she was "clumsy in execution". I did notice, however, that he said in the comments section of that same blog that he leaned on the idea of Leni being in the autism spectrum. Therefore, if I'm not putting words in your mouth, you believe that the reason for her "clumsiness in execution" boils down to her having some kind of autism, correct?

If so, then I want you and others with the same mindset to consider this; if we were to look at Leni's "dumb moments" through an analytical lens, we should look at the intent behind the execution. There's a long list of instances where Leni has said and done things that most people write off as dumb; they point, laugh, and consider it to be a big joke.

Now, I've inferred that you (Gumball2) dislike this idea of Leni being seen as a joke; you believe that her actions (dumb or otherwise), should be taken more seriously. Well, unfortunately, I'd have to say that while your intentions for Leni are certainly noble, they fly in the face of what I'd consider to be the objective goal of the writers. Moments like Leni running into a wall repeatedly, wearing trash lids on her head, or believing that "50% off" and "half-off" are different concepts, are written off exactly like jokes. For better or for worse, they're the "point-and-laugh" segment of the episodes, the point where comedy and levity are at the forefront ahead of any sort of serious introspection and analysis.

In other words, Leni's "dumb moments" are written as gags that are supposed to be laughed and nothing more. And as I've alluded to before, that's exactly the way that it should be. Leni just being a "dumb blonde", at this point of the show, is honestly the safest, more tasteful route the writers can take her character, and the reason I say this is because what Leni represents in these situations is relatively harmless.

See, I'm willing to bet that no one really takes the "fashion-obsessed blondes are dumb" stereotype seriously, so when it's played straight in a whimsical sense, there's not as much room for offense as say...

...the implication that all of her "dumb moments" are because she has a disability.

Hypothetically speaking, let's say that Leni did have a disability. Now that we know that she does, from a retroactive perspective, all of her "dumb moments" because a little more than insulting. Now, instead of, "Haha, look at the dumb blonde do something dumb!", it's "Haha, look at the autistic girl do something dumb!" or "Haha, look at the Down's syndrome girl do something dumb!" Suddenly, a gag that's supposed to be treated as a simple joke becomes satirical mockery of a disability; something akin to an adult cartoon like South Park.

And really, I find that to be way, way more insulting than Leni simply being dumb for laughs, at least compared to her having a disability that's played for laughs. Now that we're almost two seasons in, it's far too late to imbue this sort of facet to Leni's character. That ship has sailed. She's not like CJ, where we knew that he had a disability from the get-go, and he was tastefully represented in his debut; he wasn't "played for laughs" at all.

I believe that there is more to Leni's air than just air, y'know, but those moments come when it's clear that that's where the episode wants to take us, to a point where we can look on in astonishment as the "dumb one" subverts expectations and proves her mettle. Yes, it's an admirable sight indeed, but one that should be appreciated at the right time and in the right context. Trying to give her character more weight and gravitas with a disability this late in the game would be opening up a huge can of unfortunate implications that are better off remaining closed.

Leni deserves to be respected, yes, but real-life people with disabilities and hindrances deserve it more.