This was, bar none, the worst episode of this series. I only gave it 1 star because the system would not allow me to give it NO stars!
Disney has topped itself sometimes with the normalization of racism through stereotypical representations of Latinos in this series, but this episode takes the cake--only this time they did it at the expense of gender representation. The potshots the writers take on a regular basis at the character of the daughter and her seeming lack of adherence to socially prescribed gendered roles are annoying at worst and tolerable (in small doses) at best. But this episode explicitly targeted the female character without providing a recognizable sense of what she had "done wrong." The sole evidence of wrongdoing was her lack of agreement with her older brother and therefore (almost hateful) censure was the only "appropriate" response. It was evident that the writers attempted to redeem themselves with the ending of the program where the brothers beneficently "forgave" their sister her folly and "followed along" with her plan to "save the day." However, they failed miserably in this attempt given the overwhelmingly strong negative treatment of the daughter throughout the episode.
It's sad to see an organization, such as Disney, who wields significant power to influence young minds, reinforcing negative stereotypes about identity. They took a program that might have had some redeeming quality with a message about family relations and social values and used it as an opportunity to mock difference (yet again), relying on the vilification of an ostensibly strong female character with an opinion as a plot device.
It's disgraceful and Disney should be ashamed of producing programming of this nature. If they do not feel the social responsibility to produce programs that value the diverse nature of our society, they, at least, could produce programs that do not do damage to the progress that has been made! I would be ashamed for my nieces, who love this show, to see this episode. Badly done, Disney! Badly done!
Disney has topped itself sometimes with the normalization of racism through stereotypical representations of Latinos in this series, but this episode takes the cake--only this time they did it at the expense of gender representation. The potshots the writers take on a regular basis at the character of the daughter and her seeming lack of adherence to socially prescribed gendered roles are annoying at worst and tolerable (in small doses) at best. But this episode explicitly targeted the female character without providing a recognizable sense of what she had "done wrong." The sole evidence of wrongdoing was her lack of agreement with her older brother and therefore (almost hateful) censure was the only "appropriate" response. It was evident that the writers attempted to redeem themselves with the ending of the program where the brothers beneficently "forgave" their sister her folly and "followed along" with her plan to "save the day." However, they failed miserably in this attempt given the overwhelmingly strong negative treatment of the daughter throughout the episode.
It's sad to see an organization, such as Disney, who wields significant power to influence young minds, reinforcing negative stereotypes about identity. They took a program that might have had some redeeming quality with a message about family relations and social values and used it as an opportunity to mock difference (yet again), relying on the vilification of an ostensibly strong female character with an opinion as a plot device.
It's disgraceful and Disney should be ashamed of producing programming of this nature. If they do not feel the social responsibility to produce programs that value the diverse nature of our society, they, at least, could produce programs that do not do damage to the progress that has been made! I would be ashamed for my nieces, who love this show, to see this episode. Badly done, Disney! Badly done!
