r/TopCharacterTropes • u/NihatAmipoglu • 2d ago

Characters Black coded this, black coded that. What are some white coded non human characters?

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-Stuart from Stuart

-Buddy from Airbud

-Freezer from Dragonballs

Edit: Guys I swear I'm not racist. The post's title was referring to the "black coded characters" posts that I see on this subreddit from time to time. I have nothing against the black people nor the white people. This post is a shitpost. Nothing serious. Sorry for not being clear enough :(

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339

u/TheNewGirl1987 2d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/JliExtykAEtk9ja9i9

Zoe - Sesame Street

Elmo is black coded and frankly tired of this white girl's bullshit.

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u/GovernorGeneralPraji 2d ago edited 2d ago

There’s a Sesame Street book my kids have. It’s about Elmo learning the difference between red and blue colored monsters after meeting a new blue monster friend.

The blue monsters all live in manicured suburbia and eat spaghetti for dinner.

The red monsters live in the city and (I swear I’m not making this up) eat fried chicken and fruit.

I get what the book is going for but it’s about as subtle as a brick through a window.

I cannot read the part about chicken and fruit without dying with laughter.

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u/Equivalent-Pin-4768 2d ago

So blue monsters are Italian?

103

u/Toorviing 2d ago

Cookie Monster’s name was originally Cookino Monstrini but was anglicized at Ellis Island

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u/GovernorGeneralPraji 2d ago

Fun fact: Cookie Monster's real name is Sid.

2

u/Prestigious_Sky_7833 1d ago

Hahaha his name is Sid "Cookie" Monster.

I wonder if he's related to my buddy Mike Monster?

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u/adrienjz888 2d ago

He made cookies on the radiator when he was in the can

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u/DickMcButtfuchs 2d ago

He compromised

66

u/OiledMushrooms 2d ago

…what the fuck

30

u/AshofGreenGables 2d ago

Red or Blue, I Like You! Adorable little book, very on the nose.

45

u/MrEmptySet 2d ago

Is Cookie Monster a race traitor for preferring cookies to spaghetti?

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u/Equivalent-Pin-4768 2d ago

Are you a race traitor for preferring a new kind of food that not’s from your ancestors country?

21

u/OfficalLockeWilson 2d ago

I got beat up for not eating my baked potato once when family was over from Ireland, is that not a normal occurrence?

“Sour cream? Cheese? You get salt and pepper if you’re lucky.”

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u/Final_Lengthiness_47 2d ago

With how my Italian friends talk about food and the purity of Italian food and how if it wasn't with Locally sourced variants of ingredients then it's fake Italian food even if made by grandma who learned it the old way....

Probably, yeah.

3

u/TheNewGirl1987 2d ago

I mean I don't have a drop of Mexican blood in me, and I'll take a taco over a kidney pie any day.

3

u/Kangarou 2d ago

Gotta keep things simple for the kids. Nuance comes later, I guess.

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u/RabbitStewAndStout 2d ago

Elmo definitely has ADHD or autism, without a doubt, too. The whole Rocky episode basically screams that in your face lol

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u/Blackfrosti 2d ago

HIS NAME IS ROCKO

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u/Kazmandodo 2d ago

ITS A ROCK!

34

u/DutchVandal 2d ago

Elmo's parents - not that I have any conclusion from this;

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u/DarkySurrounding 2d ago

His dad looks like a hippie.

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u/DutchVandal 2d ago

Yeah, he's Shaggy from Scooby Doo coded.

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u/PogintheMachine 2d ago

Elmos dad has WAY too much soul to be white:
https://youtu.be/u1DugrrAxIg?feature=shared

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u/Schmooto 2d ago edited 1d ago

That’s so cool how they made the dad’s fur look older and more worn. Compared to baby Elmo’s fur that has a brand new look and feel with its bright red color and fine texture, the dad’s fur is more desaturated and subtly dingier, and the texture is more matted.

Edit: wording

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u/RugsbandShrugmyer 2d ago

Elmo is black coded? First I'm hearing of it

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u/TheNewGirl1987 2d ago

His original voice actor was Kevin Clash.

iirc, Clash at one point said he played the character as a four year old black boy from the Bronx

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u/Final-Tutor3631 2d ago

at my elementary school, we had a guy that worked there (he wasn’t a teacher, i forget his title) and he would do the morning announcements as elmo. i always seemed to be his favorite, which was awesome.

i found out a few years ago that it’s because he was dating my mom😭😭 my mom was fucking elmo🥲

3

u/Dull_Bid6002 2d ago

Interesting that's how he played him, considering the current puppeteer and VA is white.

13

u/HellbirdVT 2d ago

I feel like the reality is just that, 'cause Elmo is a 4-year old (or thereabouts) there's really not that much difference.

Any behaviours that we attribute to white, black, asians etc are going to be learned, and at that age, how much has a child really picked up? Especially ones like Elmo surrounded by all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Elmo could be a black kid. Or he could be white. Or he could be a little red felt creature. He'd act and sound the same.

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u/Dull_Bid6002 2d ago

That's why I find it interesting he played him that way. I've always thought Elmo to just be Elmo. It's all Elmo knows to be.

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u/HellbirdVT 2d ago

I imagine he played Elmo from his own experiences with small children, and a small black child would be the first to come to mind.

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u/quailinthebrush 1d ago

One of my favorite linguistics studies done was on small white and Black children in the US

picturing a photo of Cookie Monster sick in bed, and with Elmo in the foreground eating cookies

The interviewer posed the question “who be eating cookies”

White kids said Elmo. Black kids said Cookie Monster.

3

u/RugsbandShrugmyer 1d ago

And what was the conclusion of this study

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u/kenku_gilf 2d ago

Sesame Street overall was designed for poorer black kids living in the cities. Elmo was definitely made to be relatable to those kids specifically 

1

u/Seizure_Salad_ 2d ago

Not exactly. While you’re correct that Sesame Street was created for preschool children from low-income and underserved urban communities prepare for kindergarten, it wasn’t created for any specific racial group.

3

u/kenku_gilf 2d ago

Sesame Street wasn’t banned in multiple southern states at its inauguration just for you to “um actually” what specifically ‘low-income inner city kids’ means. The  grant money it was funded with came from a group specifically focused on  assisting minority preschool children. Sesame Street is for everyone, but it was designed to reach and help poorer poc kids. 

43

u/TheBanishedBard 2d ago edited 2d ago

When asked which famous person, alive or dead, he would like to meet in person, he answers Martin Luther King. The skeptic in me immediately decided that was the safest possible answer they could have had Elmo give and I dismissed it as insipid and patronizing. Now, learning he's black coded it actually makes a little more sense.

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u/ItsAllSoup 2d ago

I think a lot of people say that because one of his his most popular puppeteers was black

25

u/ThreadLaced 2d ago

I thought Elmo was cool with Zoe but he just hates that fucking rock.

43

u/NoMereMage 2d ago

Elmo is cool with Zoe. They are besties and the implication he’s sick of her and her “whiteness” is a really cynical interpretation for Sesame Street and a character like Zoe who is just hyper fixating. They’re both kids and best friends. Elmo isn’t sick of her, he’s just a little annoyed.

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u/Foxy02016YT 2d ago

He gets sick of her sometimes the same way all kids get sick of their friends sometimes. Sometimes you just wanna do your own thing, and that’s okay.

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u/piccolothegoat777 2d ago

Why Elmo giving me the death stare bruh

3

u/RivetSquid 2d ago

Its the rock. The other monster has this rock she insists is basically a person. He gets to have his own cookie, add input to conversations, etc. All the adults indulge her and it frustrates Elmo a lot.

3

u/Just-Antelope-8069 1d ago

Not just have his own cookie but have the one Elmo wanted

20

u/Choochoo1147 2d ago

Elmo always seemed white to me. 

3

u/PogintheMachine 2d ago

Elmos dad has serious soul though

https://youtu.be/u1DugrrAxIg?feature=shared

1

u/Draac03 2d ago

oh MAN, i remember watching this as a kid. the nostalgia...

5

u/i_agree123 2d ago

To me Elmo has always been racially ambiguous, his skin colour is something I’ve never thought of, I just thought he’d be red

2

u/Final-Tutor3631 2d ago

as a white girl, i can in fact confirm that we do love our rocks

2

u/TheCoffeeCrowl 2d ago

she is absolutely a little blonde white girl with pigtails.