Nobonita Chowdhury
Since I have no actual social life in Dhaka, yesterday I spent most of my evening illegally streaming Hercules on my laptop. Yes, Hercules the Disney movie. Don’t laugh at me. It’s been ages since I’ve last watched it. But while watching the movie, I started noticing things I hadn’t noticed before.
For instance, how much of a feminist Megara was. You’ll know what I mean soon enough. Here are some of her lines:
“I’m a damsel, I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day!”
“You know how men are. They think ‘NO’ means ‘YES’ and ‘get lost’ means ‘take me I’m yours’.”
And I thought Mulan was feisty. Scratch that, Meg’s my new favorite Disney princess (even though technically she’s not one).
So among cartoons that are catching up with the current mindset, Hercules is definitely a significant one. But here are some other ones which are also doing great in breaking the usual stereotypes.
AVATAR THE LEGEND OF KORRA
So I haven’t been a religious viewer of this one, but I know that it features a lot of diverse female characters of all ages. Furthermore, the protagonist is a strong, brown-skinned female. How often do you see that happening? The show also hints at same-sex relationships and bisexuality without having any explicit content (as speculated by Mike Hoffman and Megan Farokhmanesh of Polygon).
I personally believe that this exposure is important for children to become more open-minded and accepting individuals. The Legened Of Korra has definitely set a new standard for producers of children’s TV shows to follow.
STEVEN UNIVERSE
I have been a huge fan of this show since the day it aired.
The show features a unique protagonist (named Steven, DUH!) who stands out because of his open and accepting values and opinions. What makes this series so special is its ethnically diverse characters and voice actors, the variation in body types of the characters, and last but not least, a pretty evident LGBTQA relationship. Also it’s super fun to watch as all the characters have been developed pretty well; along with interesting back stories.
RECESS
In comparison to the previous shows on the list, Recess is much older, airing in 1997. According to nerdmuch.com (The IDEAL website for certified geeks), Recess uses the social hierarchy among the students to portray the hierarchy in real society and in politics and the government. The protagonists in Recess don’t fit into any cliques, and are led by a character who challenges the hierarchical problems at their school. Again, the cast is diverse, and there are some pretty great quotes that hint at progressiveness. Here are some pretty great recess quotes:
“Great leaders aren’t remembered for the things they build. They are remembered for the things they *do*.”-Gretchen
“I’m not a painted up doll – I’m a kid! And I don’t want to be anything else.”
-Spinelli referring to gender norm phobia with children.
Aside from these, there are plenty of other cartoons out there that are adapting their content to fit the current mindset. I’m sure that many of you have already watched some without noticing the references. My only hope is that with time these cartoons can help break the political, religious and racial tensions around the world. One thing’s for sure: These cartoons are setting a bold example for the future generation.