Comments on: “I’m cute, not smart”, an explanation [Intent versus Message, Part 2]

By: David

David — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:08:11 +0000

Although this is only reiterating what other people have said, you did ask for everyone who responded to the first part to also participate here. I’m agreeing with most of the people above; I get the in-joke, but I wouldn’t wear the shirt, because I wouldn’t expect anyone else to get it without direct explanation.

By: Roy

Roy — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:05:06 +0000

The context of the story makes the shirt clearer for me, and it makes me wonder about the rest of the store- I haven’t looked yet (but I will in a moment), but perhaps the rest of the shirts they have for sale would make it clearer that the shirt was supposed to be ironic? Still, as a stand-alone, I’m still not sure it works for me, because that’s a lot of backstory to have to know and understand before the shirt makes sense.

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 04:39:37 +0000

Has your impression changed at all? How much of the designer’s intent came across to you?
My impression has changed minimally. I get the in-joke, and in that context the shirt makes sense. However, I agree with Katealaurel (#7) that there is not a clear indicator of the ironic intent in the message. If I went to a con or a game meet where I were meeting a number of new faces, I would not wear this shirt because people who don’t already know me would need more time/interaction to take me seriously.

I think the intent would be clearer if there were some explicit indicator of competency or irony: for example, a stat panel with player ranking, intelligence/wisdom stats, character reputation, or number of enemy kills. Or character class: warrior. Or even mention Call of Cthulhu (maybe a “Got Cthulhu?” to get around potential unlicensed usage/endorsement issues); that right there practically screams “warning: in joke!”

By: Jade Reporting » July 21

Jade Reporting » July 21 — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:46:46 +0000

[...] “I’m cute, not smart,” first impressions “I’m cute, not smart”, an explanation [...]

By: BetaCandy

BetaCandy — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 21:05:00 +0000

The backstory makes it clear, but I was just bewildered by it before that. I thought maybe it was being ironic, but as a woman who grew up with ads made belittled women’s brainpower without irony, I wasn’t sure.

By: Cash

Cash — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:27:29 +0000

I agree with above commenters who basically say that there needs to be more of a direct link between the text and image for it to make sense. We need to know that this girl is really smart in order to “get it” the way the artist intended, otherwise it seems like this is a “Whoopsy!” moment from an idiot trying to endear herself after making a mistake (killing her party).

After reading the artist’s description, I get the concept more, but the message I’m taking away isn’t at all what she intended. My sister is extremely fond of reminding me of my (high) ACT (standardized test for us goofy southerners) score, but she only does it when I’ve done something monumentally stupid. If I were to put “I got a __ on my ACT” on a t-shirt, it would just seem like extremely obnoxious bragging because it’s completely lost all context - no one reading the shirt knows it’s funny because I act like such a moron half the time. However, the message can be clarified - if I stick on an illustration of someone who’s doing something extremely dumb (posing for a photo with a jar of honey and a snarling bear, for a completely random example), then the joke becomes obvious. But the illustration on this shirt has done the opposite - there’s nothing to suggest the girl is actually smart, and in fact it can very easily be read as implying that she is so stupid she accidentally wiped her whole party. I don’t see it as remotely empowering that she may have some physical prowess. In other contexts, a stupid but ass-kicking girl can be fine (especially if she’s balanced out by more clever female characters), but as a shirt for a gaming site it’s not exactly a positive image and plays more like a stereotype.

I also think the joke is lost without the context of what type of game she’s in, since I also presumed it was an MMORPG type setting where killing your party is not only a bad thing, but typically the sign of a n00b.

By: LC

LC — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:13:43 +0000

With the backstory, I think it’s funny. But without context, it’s impossible to tell that the phrase is used ironically after making a mistake. I thought maybe if there were some indication that the girl had unwittingly slaughtered her whole party–but it would still bother me without some reassurance that the girl isn’t actually intended to be an embodiment of the cute-not-smart stereotype. Perhaps if the girl were not actually so cute it would be easier to view the label as laughing with her rather than at her. If she were either beautiful but not in a way typically described as “cute,” or if she were not actually very pretty at all, the “cute but stupid” label would be ironic on both points rather than just one. Her indisputable cuteness lends credibility to the other half of the statement, so without evidence to the contrary I was inclined to take the assertion of her not-smart-ness at face value. So if the design is on a shirt, the lack of context will make a big difference.

By: 01d55

01d55 — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:20:09 +0000

Irony is the key missing factor: Without prior explanation, this shirt doesn’t read as ironic. In order to convey irony, a visual signifier of indisputable intelligence is necessary.

By: Jo

Jo — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:45:03 +0000

I had the feeling it was something you just had to have the full context to understand. The impressions I got were contradictory, and the in-joke explains it.

Yeah. The text works for the in-joke, but doesn’t translate well to print.

By: Katealaurel

Katealaurel — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:00:31 +0000

I think the problem getting in the way of the translation from intent to message is that there’s no real clue to the viewer that the slogan is meant ironically. While the story is a great anecdote that provides a relatively feminist message, there aren’t any hints to that in the design itself, without the background story. It’s unfortunate, because the story is a great one for advertising a gaming community– it says, “Hey, look! We have smart gamers of both genders with a sense of humor and a willingness to roleplay our characters well!”– but it doesn’t come through at all clearly. Perhaps the design could be clarified somehow– then it would serve its intended purpose much more effectively.