Like many Millennials, I grew up watching Dexter’s Laboratory in the 90’s. The show has continued to receive praise from the under-35 crowd along the likes of Bill Nye the Science Guy. Sharpen your pitchforks as I attack the elephant in the room; Dexter’s Laboratory caused enduring harm to the scientific community.
Dexter is not the greatest scientific communicator of all time. In fact; far from it, actually. In the act of acquiring all of his scientific know-how, he clearly missed the lesson of not using a $200 word when a $0.50 word would work. Dexter has a habit of using scientific jargon even when he’s speaking to a non-scientist (read: almost everyone).
It’s one thing to be a poor communicator about your scientific endeavors in a vacuum. However, it’s another thing entirely when that’s stacked with a sheer disdain for everyone else. The so-called boy genius walks around with an air of arrogance, as if being scientifically-literate grants one special privileges (hint: it doesn’t). This isn’t just a cartoon archetype either; hang around STEM long enough and you’ll meet plenty of folks with this attitude.
To make matters even worse, Dexter’s sense of entitlement needs to be absolutely fucking checked. A common joke of the late 2000’s (as myself and my fellow Millennials had entered adulthood) was How did Dexter’s parent’s not notice the electric bills? Despite being financially dependent on the Bank of Mom and Dad, the pint-sized physicist shows open contempt for his parents during most of the series.
Dexter’s entitlement is shown in another episode in which there was a mix-up of summer camps. Rather than getting sent to Space Camp as he originally intended, he instead gets sent to camp in the Amish Country instead. Dexter winds up looking down on the experience for much of his time there. How dare non-scientific people breathe the same air as him!
There was even one episode in which Dexter’s sister DeeDee won a significant sum of money. Rather than ask for a loan (or better yet, make a venture capital pitch), Dexter instead decides to just steal from his sister. “But Dan” one scumbag might protest “He was staring down the barrel of the government seizing his lab!” I don’t care what the excuse is; the fact is that Dexter felt entitled(see, there’s that word again!) to DeeDee’s money.
This was hardly the first time that Dexter is shown to have an antagonistic relationship with DeeDee. Dexter’s catchphrase is to shout DeeDee, get out of my laboratory! Many times, DeeDee was simply just curious about the happenings of the laboratory or how the equipment works (she is known for asking Oooh, what does this button do?). A non-asshole would’ve calmly explained what he was working on, how the equipment worked, and why it was all relevant. Naturally, he does absolutely none of this and just barks at her to leave. In no small way, Dexter has created a culture of exclusion around science. This show could not (and debatably, should not) be re-made today.
But one of the worst parts about Dexter is his motivation. Time and time again, he is shown not to be motivated by boundless curiosity or a hunger for truth, but by an egotistical need to prove he’s the smartest. This is most prominently shown in his interactions with his chief rival, Mandark. Dexter’s interest in publishing peer-reviewed studies falls off a cliff when Mandark proves his competence. Instead, his focus shifted entirely towards one-upping his lanky competitor. Feeling insecure, are we?
It wouldn’t be so bad if Dexter’s influence had been contained, though this isn’t the case. Despite the cushion of time, The Big Bang Theory had replicated many of these same behaviors displayed by the misguided ginger. The CBS hit-piece has cemented the public’s perception of how scientists perceive themselves; it’s as if Dexter grew up and became Sheldon’s roommate.
Because I love radicalization so much, allow me to tear a page out of the Red Canary playbook. By glorifying the exclusionary and condescending culture regarding his scientific exploits, Dexter goaded the opposition into attacking. Think about it; Dexter’s abhorrent behavior has certainly given ammo to the blue-haired feminist LGBTQIA+KJBDSJHBDFVS;LKLVFJN mafia to demonize the scientific community.
And now, I’ll leave you with the wisdom of the great Vin Diesel…
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