How “Infinity Train” breaks the stereotype of the typical nerdy girl

Time and time again in media, intelligent kids and teenagers have been portrayed as uncool shut-ins with little to no friends and unsupportive families. They usually tend to be regularly bullied, and considered unattractive and annoying by their peers. However, things have slowly begun changing in the world of media when it comes to their portrayal of intelligent adolescent characters. One good example is the character Tulip from the new Cartoon Network show, “Infinity Train.” “Infinity Train” breaks the mold and shows that nerdy girls don’t have to be ashamed of their intelligence or interests.

As shown in the first episode, “The Grid Car,” Tulip has a very good friend called Mikayla. Right off the bat this goes against the common stereotype that nerdy teenagers have little to no friends. The first scene shows the two walking home from school together, and just through their brief interaction the audience can see that Mikayla and Tulip have had a good and long running friendship. They clearly know a lot about each other, like when Mikayla pokes fun at Tulip’s habit of eating raw onions, and how she knows that Tulip’s parents are divorced. Mikayla is upset that Tulip is leaving for coding camp, and she says she’s gonna die of boredom, but she still shows that she’s glad Tulip will have fun there. Mikayla tells her to text her at camp as Tulip leaves, and she wishes her luck. Mikayla is never shown to be mean-spirited towards Tulip with her teasing, which is a change of pace to other TV shows that often show nerdy characters who get bullied by their friends. “Infinity Train” shows that intelligent people are entirely capable of having good friends.

Another stereotype that “Infinity Train” breaks is that nerdy people have family and friends who don’t support their interests. Tulip’s parents are very proud of her interest in game design, and they seem to be very encouraging of her passions. They even promise to take her to a game design camp in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which is several miles away from where she lives. Even after her dad messes up the date and can no longer take her to game design camp because of a work trip, and her mom can’t take her because she has a twelve hour work shift that day, they immediately let Tulip know what’s going on and are extremely sorry about the mix up. Going back to Mikayla, we see how supportive she is about her friend’s passions. She says, “I thought your game was cool, and you know how I feel about video games,” to which Tulip responds, “You hate them,” and Mikayla affirms, “I hate them!” Even when Tulip is on the infinity train she meets the little dual-personality robot One-One, whose positive half shows to be excited about Tulip’s logical approach to everything that is going on. This is a great change to see in a TV show, as more often than not nerdy characters have parents or friends who are opposed to their interests and see them more as a useless burden than a wonderful hobby or passion.

Lastly, Tulip’s intelligence actually becomes very useful and necessary to being on the train. Infinity Train as a series has a lot of mysteries going on, such as the reason behind the ever-changing glowing number inscribed into Tulip’s hand, and who several characters are and how their roles tie into the series. If Tulip wasn’t a smart person and she got stuck on the train, there’s no doubt that she would have a lot more struggles in figuring out the mysteries of the train. Her intelligence is also beneficial to the other characters on the train, such as One-One. She helps them open a door that they considered impossible to open, and she says that she will help them find their mother, after they asked Tulip, “Are you my mom?” One-One appreciates Tulip’s intelligence and logic, and they quickly tag along on her adventure. While having a smart main character is somewhat of a staple to mystery series, their intelligence often gets in the way of being able to make friends along the way, or it can be considered somewhat of a burden by the main character or their peers. If anything, One-One seems to be a bit envious of Tulip’s wisdom, as they aren’t portrayed as a very smart character. Tulip is never ashamed of her intelligence, and she uses it as a necessary tool along the way.

In conclusion, “Infinity Train” is a quality piece of media, not only because of its interesting story and mysteries, but also because it finally shows a smart and nerdy protagonist as a person with supportive friends and family who are proud of her interests, and she has no shame about her intelligence. Viewers might watch this show and think differently about smarter kids after seeing all the different types of media that shows negative stereotypes instead. If a viewer is an intelligent and nerdy teenage girl, she might be able to relate to Tulip and feel proud of her own intelligence and her friends.