Daria and Politics: Difference between revisions
→Daria's Politics in Canon Sources
Charles RB (talk | contribs) |
Charles RB (talk | contribs) |
||
Line 10:
It is noteworthy that most of those receiving Daria's barbs are not conservatives. Helen and Jake Morgendorffer, Mr. O'Neill, and many others are in fact political liberals whose excesses Daria mocks without end. She has, however, expressed mild respect for the ideals of the 1960s left wing in "That Was Them, This Is Dumb". In "[[Prize Fighters]]", she also expressed contempt for parts of the capitalist system in general and large corporations specifically, saying in an essay they were "fouling the planet and cheating their workers just to keep their stock prices pumped"; she was extremely put out to find the Wizard Foundation thought she was writing a spoof. She also showed distate for Wizard's hiring and promotion policies, which disadvantaged women and minorities. While dating [[Tom Sloane]], she was also repeatedly at odds with the priveleges and assumptions of the upper classes (and would also jump to conclusions based on her ''own'' assumptions about Tom's class).
Daria's stated view on the education system in "[[The Daria Database]]" is: "I love learning. I just wish school weren't always in the way." She constantly focused her ire on the high school system, viewing it as full of stupidity and corruption at the highest level. The US college system was criticised for forcing students to "grovel" for scholarships to pay their way in ("Prize Fighters") and for the upper-class colleges being more focused on family connections than on student merit ("[[Is It College Yet?]]"). Despite these views, she genuinely wanted to get into college and pushed Jane to apply as well. In ''[[Beavis and Butt-head (TV series)|Beavis and Butt-head's]]'' "[[Citizen Butt-head]]", she asked President Clinton if he meant to get all kids a college education or if his promise had "just been jerking us around".
Her specific views on political issues and parties are rarely stated - we don't know what else she thought about Clinton (and she was horrified at the idea of Beavis and Butt-head talking to him). The "World According to Daria" essay "[http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/worldaccording/mssoftie.jhtml Ms Softie]" are a rare exception - she comments on the 2000 presidential election, snarking it as "inaugurating the guy who lost the election"; she thinks a proposed[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisan_Campaign_Reform_Act regulation of campaign financing] will achieve nothing; and she says she'd stay out of politics because she finds party and campaign funding drives distasteful. ("trying to raise millions of dollars from the teeming sea of drooling idiots...")
For all her complaining, however, Daria is also known for doing next to nothing about whatever situations most irritate her. In "[[See Jane Run]]", while being aware of a corrupt grading system and being disparaging of it, she openly admits she hasn't done anything to change the system (for fear of "total teenage exile"). She is confronted with her lack of initiative on multiple fronts in "[[Fizz Ed]]," which finally forces her to take a stand against Ms. Li. The resolution is mixed but still favorable to the school's budget as well as to the students' sanity.
| |||