Flanderization
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌflændəɹəˈzeɪʃn̩/
ipa: /-ˌɹaɪ-/
ipa: /ˌflændɚɹəˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/
ipa: /-ˌɹaɪ-/
rhymes: -eɪʃən
Forms: form: Flanderizations
form: Flanderisation
form: flanderization
Etymology: From Flanders + -ization (suffix forming nouns denoting the act, process, or result of doing or making something), from the American animated television series The Simpsons (first broadcast in 1989) where the character Ned Flanders underwent a progressive shift from a good-natured Christian to a religious fundamentalist. The character did however eventually return to his initial form. The word was coined on the popular culture wiki TV Tropes around 2006.
Senses: examples: text: Many fans say that season 5 was the beginning of its downfall as Flanderization occurred. JD went from being a little emotionally needy to a whiny man-child and Elliot became every negative stereotype about women instead of her usual neurotic but lovable self.
ref: 2009 June 7, tmc1982 [username], “Seasonal Rot – Television Tropes & Idioms”, in rec.arts.tv (Usenet):
text: Irene's whole gimmick is that she's the one woman in the world who can outwit Holmes. Although in the actual story, her victory is extremely limited, flanderization takes hold in adaptations.
ref: 2012 December 21, David Johnson, “Re: Elementary – Episode 8 – The Long Fuse”, in rec.arts.tv (Usenet):
text: Prime realises Swoop must be under some sort of external control as he's at heart a loyal Autobot (over the years Flanderisation will make the Dinobots more and more maverick) and does the one thing that he knows will so enrage his mind controlled colleague that Swoop will fight off the influence. He gives him a direct order.
ref: 2015, Stuart Webb, “The Icarus Theory”, in Transformation: A Personal Journey through the British Transformers Comic, volumes 1 (1984–1987), [S.l.]: Solar Pool, →ISBN, page 129, column 1:
text: A sympathetic wrestling savant, Eugene became, through a process of rapid Flanderisation (the process in fiction of a character being consumed by their identifiable trait, named after The Simpsons’ Ned Flanders), in Cornette’s words, “a fucking retard”.
ref: 2017, Michael Sidgwick, “A Box of Fluffy Ducks”, in Development Hell: The NXT Story, U.K.: WhatCulture.com, →ISBN, page 101:
text: A common form of this ["character derailment"] is flanderization, in which a character's very singular, minor, yet notable attributes exaggerate as a serial continues. […] I would attribute flanderization to Rick and/or Jerry, if anyone of the main cast.
ref: 2020, Edward K. Eckhart-Zinn, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Rick and Morty”, in The Sequel Superior, Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books, →ISBN, page 233:
topics: lifestyle
hypernyms: caricaturisation
glosses: The progressive exaggeration of a single trait or set of traits of a fictional character until it overtakes all other characterization
examples: text: Part of the decrease was a "Flanderization" of the Rat […] his characteristics became exaggerated to the point that he seemed to me to be approaching self-caricature […] and Harrison's writing quirks began to dominate the story, rather than merely accent it.
ref: 2014 September 9, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor), “On My Shelves: The Stainless Steel Rat”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):
text: '[Crayon] Shin-chan' can often get very repetitive with its humor, absurdity and the flanderizations of the main character; but then what more can you expect from a comedy anime that has been here since the past three decades?
ref: 2019 September 20, Dhruv Sharma, “Crayon Shin-chan: Review, Premiere Date, Recap, English Dub”, in TheCinemaholic, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2020:
topics: lifestyle
hypernyms: caricaturisation
caricature
glosses: An instance of this process or its result.
Derived terms: flanderize
flanderise