Recently I came across discourse about the new(?) monster high series. I haven't watched it, I haven't watched any media related to monster high. But the discourse was mostly about the representation. Usual complaints, "forced representation" and how "clunky" the dialogue feels.
Are we going to ignore the fact that these are adults talking about how a childrens show isnt up to their expectations?
First of all, isn't monster high specifically about how everyone can be themselves and how everyones important the way they are? Does this only apply if youre skinny, white, cis, straight, neurotypical and ablebodied?
Again, it is a childrens show. Childrens shows are made for entertainment yes, but at their core they're meant to teach children about the world, and about different kinds of people. Children aren't born hateful, they're turned hateful by miserable adults.
Adults live in a world where it's normal for minorities to get systematically erased in more ways than one. So maybe it is expected for these adults to feel uncomfortable watching a show where peoples differences are embraced and normalized instead of dismissed. But we need to keep one fact in mind. It is a childrens show, made for kids. Not adults.
"The dialogue is clunky, why do they say they're disabled instead of hinting it."
The show is for kids. CHILDREN. YOUNG PEOPLE. An adult might understand hints like that, but a child often doesn't even know what a disability is. That is why the dialogue explicitly states that. Also, kids dont care if the dialogue is clunky. Because they're kids.
"But why do they add all that representation? What use is there for it?"
Let's imagine a scenario. A kid watches a show, and one of the characters shows clear traits of some condition. Let's say the character is sensitive to light and sound in some situations. The kid watching the show will see how the character is treated with understanding by the other characters, and so that kid will go to school and realize that their friend, who is also sensitive to light and sound, needs understanding instead of being told "just deal with it"
A kid will see all the other characters, all with their own traits, and learn how everyone is valuable just the way they are, and how diverse the world is.
An adult will watch that show and get uncomfortable because they can't handle seeing minorities represented.
That is why i'm sick of miserable adults thinking their opinion matters when talking about childrens shows.
Do not bean soup theory me in the comments please.
