If anyone remembers watching Disney Channel in their younger years, you probably remember how great the shows were. And if you check out the Disney Channel nowadays, the shows are exceedingly different. I personally think that the old Disney shows were infinitely better, and here is why.
The message being sent to the viewers
Let’s compare two popular TV shows. Surely you’ve heard of That’s So Raven, and you’ve probably heard a bit on controversy over the show Shake it Up.
To the left is from an episode of That’s So Raven, a show that dealt with problems such as racism, self confidence, relationships, and much more. That’s So Raven, despite being overall a very lighthearted show, also demonstrated real life problems that are dealt with in everyday life. The picture shown on the left is from Season 2, Episode 8 of That’s So Raven. In this episode, Raven designed a beautiful dress, and a magazine company decided they wanted it displayed in their pages. Raven, ecstatic, models for them in her dress, and is thoroughly disappointed when
she finds that they have Photoshopped her photo. At the show where her dressed is to be premiered for the first time, she goes to the show, wearing her dress, and she tells the editor of the the magazine that “Because in case you haven’t noticed, people come in all shapes and sizes and they are all beautiful. Put that in your magazine.”
In the controversial episode of Shake it Up, Rocky and Cece are headed to work at a very prestigious event, and one of the guests attending says to them, that they are adorable, and that she “would eat them up, you know, if [she] ate” (click on link to see video). People saw this and immediately assumed that Disney was making fun of eating disorders. This would be a reasonable assumption, considering that Demi Lovato had left the show earlier that year due to her struggle with eating disorders. Disney denied the allegations but took down the episode anyway.
Lessons being taught
In the new Disney shows, kids get away with doing whatever they want. Kids are disrespectful to their parents and are constantly breaking rules, without consequence. In older shows, such as the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, although they were rather mischievous, they always learned their lesson in the end. They always received consequences for whatever they did wrong. That show ultimately taught kids not to lie, to never steal, and to have good intentions, all while having fun.
Hannah Montana is another example of shows that taught good lessons for kids. That show always stayed true to its message of being a true friend, and staying loyal to those you love. It also showed that lying comes with a lot of consequence, and that you should always be responsible for your actions. I learned a lot from that show. I learned about maturity and being the bigger person, and how to forgive others as well.
To those of you who haven’t seen any of the old Disney shows, I strongly suggest you watch some!