(no subject)

Scott's new favorite TV show is Phineas and Ferb. Cordelia loves it, too. Me, I'm torn. On the one hand, it's funny and family appropriate and so on. On the other hand, I cringe every time Baljeet shows up.

For those who aren't familiar with the show, it's a Disney channel cartoon about two kids who create spectacular new projects (like a roller coaster, a spa, an aquarium large enough to house killer whales) in their back yard and about their older sister who's always trying to get their parents to notice. The b plot of every episode follows the boys' pet platypus, Perry, who is actually Agent P, a sort of James Bond critter out to thwart the evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz. The episodes are mostly under fifteen minutes long, and all contain at least one musical number.

Baljeet is a supporting character. He's a nerdy, super smart, Indian kid with an accent and an obsession with rules, good grades and so on. He's bullied by Buford, another supporting character, and often made to look gullible. If Baljeet were white, I'd think he was straightforwardly funny. He's not white, however, and I can't stop thinking about the stereotypes he's reinforcing.

Then I start thinking about the other characters and trying to decide which ones could be changed from white to some other race without being insulting. They're all stereotypes on some level, but I think some of them who're currently white could have been designed as not-- Perry's commanding officer, Doofenschmirtz's daughter and ex-wife, Ferb and his dad, Phineas and Candace and their mother. (I don't mention Isabella because the commercials for the Christmas special indicate that she's Jewish. I haven't seen anything reflecting that before, but I don't want to take it away now that it's there.)

Anyway, I wish for more from Phineas and Ferb. I still enjoy it. I just wish for more.

(no subject)

Scott's new favorite TV show is Phineas and Ferb. Cordelia loves it, too. Me, I'm torn. On the one hand, it's funny and family appropriate and so on. On the other hand, I cringe every time Baljeet shows up.

For those who aren't familiar with the show, it's a Disney channel cartoon about two kids who create spectacular new projects (like a roller coaster, a spa, an aquarium large enough to house killer whales) in their back yard and about their older sister who's always trying to get their parents to notice. The b plot of every episode follows the boys' pet platypus, Perry, who is actually Agent P, a sort of James Bond critter out to thwart the evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz. The episodes are mostly under fifteen minutes long, and all contain at least one musical number.

Baljeet is a supporting character. He's a nerdy, super smart, Indian kid with an accent and an obsession with rules, good grades and so on. He's bullied by Buford, another supporting character, and often made to look gullible. If Baljeet were white, I'd think he was straightforwardly funny. He's not white, however, and I can't stop thinking about the stereotypes he's reinforcing.

Then I start thinking about the other characters and trying to decide which ones could be changed from white to some other race without being insulting. They're all stereotypes on some level, but I think some of them who're currently white could have been designed as not-- Perry's commanding officer, Doofenschmirtz's daughter and ex-wife, Ferb and his dad, Phineas and Candace and their mother. (I don't mention Isabella because the commercials for the Christmas special indicate that she's Jewish. I haven't seen anything reflecting that before, but I don't want to take it away now that it's there.)

Anyway, I wish for more from Phineas and Ferb. I still enjoy it. I just wish for more.