Most of Disney is pretty solid: we like seeing diverse families, we like the family friendly fun, we like that they're okay with LGBT folks.
But lately, watching the Disney channel, I've been increasingly disappointed.
It started with the show "Kicking It" about a guy who runs a karate dojo and the kids he teaches. That's all well and good, other than the fact that there is a character, I'm not kidding, named Bobby Wasabi. He's pictured to the right. If you hadn't noticed or can't see the image or live in the 1950s you might not realize that he's a white guy who is doing what is commonly referred to as 'yellow face.' Using Asian stereotypes in the form of his makeup, his stick on 'fu man chu' beard, his wig and his over the top Asian dress. I was offended enough by this that I made the kid stop watching the show. I'm not sure if they're making new episodes, but we still see the occasional ad for episodes, so possibly they are. But we don't watch it. Fast forward to this summer and the introduction of their new show, "Girl Meets World." If you were or had a kid in the 90s, you might have seen this show's predecessor, "Boy Meets World." I wasn't, so I didn't. But it was a coming of age show that centered around the main character, Cory and his experience from elementary school through college and marriage. It explores his relationships with his family, with his friends and his place in the world. Well, at least that's what I understand of it from the few episodes we watched leading up to the "Girl Meets World" premiere this summer. Cory dealt with his friends, a relationship with the girl who ultimately becomes his wife, his family, and so on. It focused on Cory but wrestled with a number of heavy issues, if the Wikipedia page is to be believed.
I'll give you the recap from a mom watching this with her 8 year old daughter: Riley meets the new boy in school, he's cute, she's in love, she spends every episode obsessing over him.
It's weak. It's beyond weak. It's as offensive as Bobby Wasabi. It's a parade of bad caricatures and stereotypes.
This show is supposed to be about a girl figuring out who she is in the context of her family, her friends and her new middle school. It's supposed to be about the challenges of starting to recognize that she's growing up and needs to make the world her own. Instead, she's a perfectly gorgeous girl who is quirky and adorable in her affects and dress. She has her entirely too worldly aware friend, Maya (also perfect in appearance. We don't know much about Maya yet other than she's a 'bad influence' in that she doesn't like to do homework and she knows all about boys. Then there's Farkle. They had to call him that because "Ducky" and "Geek" were already taken. You guessed it: he's the nerdy kid in love with the gorgeous girls who don't realize how gorgeous they are (they, of course, tolerate him and use him as a friend but don't love him back). And of course, there's Lucas. Lucas has no depth, other than being the new boy from Texas. He's got an occasional country/southern accent and he serves no purpose other than to be obsessed and fawned over by Riley.
Not even a character who was developed over 7 years on television and widely lauded can survive the sexist stereotypes this show shovels out. Cory is now reduced to a neurotic dad who doesn't want his kids to grow up and spends all of his time as Riley's teacher trying to keep her and Lucas apart, lest that boy corrupt his sweet, innocent girl. (By the way, there's no chance of that happening yet, Riley can't get up the courage to speak out loud to him in 90% of the 3 episodes we've seen.)
Unless a meteor hits this school and Riley is suddenly charged with leading her friends to safety from the oncoming zombie hordes, or, I don't know, she takes a class other than history or expresses an interest in something other than Lucas, this show is going nowhere.
More importantly, my daughter won't be allowed to watch it. Which sucks for me, since she seems to like it, but I can't stand the idea of showing her yet another show that tells her she is only an interesting character in relation to the boys in her life. Riley could be a strong young character with all of her requisite 7th grade fears and problems, but the only one this show and its writers have chosen is that related to boys: the nerdy one who loves her but whom she doesn't want and the gorgeous one for whom her heart is all a flutter. They haven't shown her worry about her grades, her classes, family conflicts, or even just fitting in with other kids (well, other than that one episode where she was insanely jealous when another girl in school shows interest in Lucas).
All I can say here is this, shame on you, Disney. Shame on you for bringing us heroines like Merida whose main conflict and resolution have to do with her family for the right to choose her own husband, should she choose to marry. Shame on you for showing us that an act of true love doesn't have to be romantic love, like the one Ana showed Elsa*. And then on the heels of those strong messages, you bring a whole generation of little girls (and boys) this sexist drivel on a weekly basis. I guess you were afraid girls would learn to define themselves outside of their relationship to boys, so you had to shut that self empowerment down.
Unless this show turns around right quick, it's going to find itself in a place of honor at our house: on the "blocked" list.
*FYI, Disney, as an aside, you only get partial points for Frozen, since when Elsa decided to "be herself" she got completely tarted up in her low cut dress with the slit up the side to her hips. She couldn't be herself in something less completely and obviously meant to be sexy?
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