When I was younger, shows like 'That's So Raven,' 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,' 'Lizzie McGuire,' and 'Hannah Montana,' kept my friends and I occupied for hours. Whether it was watching them on TV, role-playing them in my backyard, or playing games on disney.com, Disney was my life as a kid. To this day, Raven, Hilary Duff, and Miley Cyrus are some of my favorite celebrities, and it's all because of the prevalence they had in my childhood.
I have a sister who is seven years younger than me, and the shows that she watches are just not the same. Some of the shows she grew up watching are 'Girl Meets World,' 'K.C. Undercover,' 'Liv and Maddie,' and 'Jessie.' Don't get me wrong, I used to love reliving my childhood by watching these shows with my little sister- they are entertaining for sure. However, Disney no longer has the same impact in its shows as it used to. The main reason being that it has steered away from dealing with real, important issues and has resorted to ending the episodes with some cheesy, unrelatable life lesson when the characters finally come to an epiphany.
A couple episodes from my generation of Disney stand out as being super important, and I wish that my sister's generation could have grown up with the same material. For one, there was an episode of 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' where London and Maddie have disordered thoughts around their bodies and eating. London thinks she is too fat and Maddie thinks she is too skinny, so both girls take steps in their eating and exercise habits to combat how they view their bodies. At the time, I was probably too young to appreciate Disney's approach to educating its viewers about eating disorders. However, looking back at it now, I think it was really bold for Disney to start a conversation about eating disorders and communicate ideas of the self-perception of beauty to even young kids.
Another episode that stands out to me is an episode of 'That's So Raven' that deals with racism. Raven and Chelsea both apply for the same job at a clothing store. Raven is extremely over-qualified for the job, as fashion is her passion, while Chelsea does not show up with the same credentials. Shockingly, it is Chelsea who gets the job. Raven has a vision that the store owner makes a racist comment and it becomes clear to her that she did not get the job because she is African-American. In this day and age, the topic of race is extremely sensitive and I think that the episode's explanation of subtle acts of racism seen every day was really well done.
I'm not sure why Disney has watered down its shows and shied away from discussing real issues that preteens deal with and should be educated about. The list of important and relevant episodes from Disney in the early 2000's goes on and on and include eating disorders, racism, feminism, and self-confidence. I think that our society right now is pretty sensitive to anything that can be seen as slightly controversial, but these issues are universal and timeless.
So Disney, please, I beg of you, bring back the old stuff. Certain lessons didn't necessarily stick when I was younger, but looking back on them now, I think it is so important to not only make your content entertaining but also educational in a way that isn't academic. This is the stuff that matters and this is the stuff I would want my little sister to watch.
#BringBackHannahMontana2018
