I was browsing through DISH On Demand the other day and I was pleasantly surprised to see a multitude of older Disney Channel shows and movies that were available for me to watch. As I sat down to watch an episode of "Hannah Montana," it made me think about just how much Disney Channel had been a part of my life growing up. Shows like "Phil of the Future," "That’s So Raven," "Kim Possible," "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody," "Lizzie McGuire," and "Hannah Montana" had all been staples of my childhood. And not only had they taught me many life lessons, such as not having to stick with the status quo (High School Musical) and to always believe in yourself and the people who have always been by your side (Cheetah Girls), but watching back these shows and movies has demonstrated how vastly different Disney Channel is now.
The shows and movies had a common goal to teach life lessons with a bit of a comedic twist. Turning on the tv now to shows like “Dog With A Blog” and “Best Friends Whenever” is an awakening to my generation that Disney Channel will never be the same as it used to be. The plots are unrealistic, unrelatable, and the comedy just isn’t amusing.
Let me be clear, I love Disney, the franchise has done many amazing things over the years and has garnered not just my heart but the hearts of audiences all over the world. But now the channel is known for crude humor and disrespect. What’s so funny about middle school aged kids talking back to their parents and teachers with no consequences? Many kids now look up to characters on Disney Channel, I can assure you growing up I wanted to be just like Hannah Montana and Lizzie McGuire. But if these characters now are the “role models” children are looking up to it’s unfortunate.
Children are constantly learning whether that is through experiences or what they are exposed to. If a kid watches sassy, disrespectful, and sarcastic banter going on in tv shows they watch throughout the day, it’s bound to have some impact on them. Which is why many parents today simply aren’t letting their kids even watch Disney Channel at all.
I know my childhood wouldn’t have been the same without Disney Channel’s quality television shows that I used to watch religiously which is why instead of constantly introducing new material with poor content it would be better for the parents, children, and the channel itself to re-introduce the Disney Channel we all grew up watching. A channel where Phil, Raven, Lizzie, and many of the classic characters made up the foundation for shows and movies where families could huddle up on the couch and watch together and children could actually learn valuable lessons that they could take with them from childhood onwards. That, is a Disney Channel I would be proud of watching.
