I haven't watched Disney Channel's cartoon Phineas and Ferb in a while, but when I saw that a new special had aired and showed the wiz-kids as teenagers, entitled Act Your Age, I just had to check it out. Phineas and Ferb is a smart show. This episode was not smart.
The show itself focuses on step-brothers Phineas and Ferb, who are somewhere between the ages of 8 and 12, who are spending their endless summer with their friends building contraptions and doing extraordinary things. This episode takes place when they're teenagers, and they're at the end of their summer before college. This is something I think fans had wanted to see for some time, but it turned out to be very cliche, forced, and rather sexist.
This episode is mainly about Phineas and Isabella, one of Phineas's best friends who has had a crush on him since they were kids, getting together. Their friends try to force them together, which is creepy and weird. It's full of John Hughes/ 80’s boy-girl dynamics. This episode hardly focuses on any other characters. Ferb is going to study abroad and he and Phineas are shown with little interaction. The episode is literally all about forcing Phineas and Isabella together. 
The sexism and gender stereotypes run rampant in this episode. For example, Phineas laments to his male friends that he is the "friendzone" (ugh) when it comes to Isabella, when his friend Baljeet tells him not really, since she's liked him since they were kids. Baljeet says Isabella's crush was obvious. Phineas says he never knew and why didn't anyone tell him and Baljeet replies "We are guys. We do not talk about feelings." Ah, the stereotype that men don't have feelings. The other example I find even worse. Ginger, one of Isabella's friends, is dating Baljeet. She is trying to get Baljeet to see the movie she wants to see (via text) so her friend Adyson tells her to "manipulate the situation" to get what she wants, and worse, it works. So this episode teaches the young kids that are watching this that boys have no feelings and girls are manipulative.
Maybe I've changed or maybe the show has changed, or maybe both, but episode tried way too hard. It was like watching fanfiction. A very sexist, cliched, forced, 80's-movie-esque, alternate universe, dull fanfiction. It was certainly not the smart Phineas and Ferb I know and love, but fans still love it anyway, all because Phineas and Isabella got together.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I have a strong hatred for the term “friend zone” so it is refreshing to see that someone else feels that same way. I find it awful that they are even incorporating this term in to a children’s show. It has become a common thing that most people don’t even realize how sexist the term is. Here is a really insightful post about why the term “friend zone” is problematic - http://www.gurl.com/2013/06/19/reasons-why-i-hate-the-term-friend-zone/
ReplyDeleteI also agree with what you are saying about gender stereotypes. We all know that gender stereotypes are harmful, so the fact that this show, which is made for younger children is so clearly teaching these stereotypes is bothersome. I noticed in the clip that as soon as the boys briefly got on the topic of feelings, they immediately started talking about cars. We should be teaching young boys that it is okay to discuss their feelings, not that they should avoid them!
Another thing that stood out to me from the clip you posted was that the one character is saying that the parents are “weird” for buying healthy food, which is also an odd message to send towards children. I feel that since children are so much like sponges, being that they just absorb all the information around them, we should be sending positive messages such that healthy food is not “weird,” but actually a good for you.
Overall, it sounds like this episode was a total fail. I did some research and found a clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv6wrGOif3o) that showed that Phineas ends up picking the same college as Isabella, which I also find a little peculiar because we should not be sending the message that you should base your education off of a girl (or boy).
Unfortunately this episode seems very clichéd, something I despise, but also something that sells and easy for children to accept. Bajeet expresses that guys don’t talk about feelings if the writer meant this line in a literal sense, the yes guys don’t usually talk about feelings but that isn’t the best resolution because that usually leads to emotional breakdowns, bullying, or depression. But anyways, if he writer mean that in a figurative sense then that shouldn’t have even be aired on children television let alone Disney channel. That’s a message that sadly defines and represents masculinity. This message should be changing for this generation, in effort to move forward in a positive way for young men to think. In my experience I’ve witnessed Disney try to comfort with whatever is hip to society and air some things that aren’t the most appropriate, but do it to conform to today’s children. Most of them have Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more and are exposed to a lot of inappropriate gestures, and views of society that have poisoned our minds, such as body image, fashion, and language. So when the word “Friendzone” is used I’m not the least bit surprised.
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ReplyDeletesorry but this chapter was far from being a cliche or become a stereotype.
If it were really a fanfiction, then there would be a plot focused on Doof and Perry, the problem with many fanfics is that only focus on isabella and phineas,
This episode showed that Isabella is more than just a stalker, is a character with strengths and weaknesses. She is engaged in other activities such as soccer or discussion (if cliche, isabella serious leader cheerleaders).
It's sexist that they generally portray Isabella as feminine, but I don't mind. While it's true that women and female teenagers are generelly more feminine than guys, I know for a fact that it isn't always the case before pubery. When I was in Elementary School I knew a hyper, goofy, at times blunt-speaking girl named Emma. She had a loud, boyish voice.
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