There are many TV shows, movies, pictures, etc. in American culture that stereotypes Buddhist practitioners. They are generally perceived as very tranquil and carefree individuals.
The first stereotype that I thought of was one from a TV show I remember watching when I was in elementary school. Hopefully it’s a show most of you guys remember, Rocko’s Modern Life. The clip I have chosen is the episode “Wimp on the Barbie”. It is about how the main character, Rocko, had been bullied when he was in elementary school by his classmate named Dingo. Dingo then tormented him all throughout school all the way until he moved from Australia to the United States. Rocko receives a phone call from his mother telling him that Dingo is coming to visit him. Still being terrified of him, Rocko begins to prepare himself for his arrival by gaining the courage to finally stand up to him by having his two friends teach him to fight. Around 9 and a half minutes into the clip Dingo makes his first appearance as he is now. He shows up a completely changed person and is there to seek Rocko’s forgiveness and to earn his eternal friendship. He is there to seek his forgiveness so he can “become one with the unicorn.” He then asks Rocko to punch him in the face in order for them to be even for all the pain he has caused him over the years. Rocko finally gets to punch him and Dingo was given what he came there for.
The stereotype that I think is being portrayed here can be seen as positive and negative because the sole purpose of this character is for entertainment. It is depicting Buddhist practitioners as very calm. Although Dingo is concerned with the past he is more concerned with what is going on right now. In Brad Warner’s Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate he discusses that Buddhists are only concerned with the present. He states the following on page 54, “…the only real time as far as Buddhism is concerned is right now. Right now there is no old age or death because old age and death are descriptions of things as they are no when we compare things to how they used to be.”
