Iron-Clad Laws of Childrens' Television

Iron-Clad Laws of Childrens' Television - While I see less of it than I used to - my kids are 10 and 12 - the TV still winds up on the Disney Channel enough to notice the following:

1. The elderly African American Woman is inevitably the wisest person on the show. This is especially true if she's wearing one of those dishiki hats.
2. The best athlete in any group of kids (except possibly the leader, see below) will be a girl, probably hispanic or Afro-American.
3. The smart kid in any group - especially the geek - will be a pudgy Afro-American kid.
4. The leader of that group will be Anglo, blond, and the only kid who can challenge the Athletic Girl.
5. The Athletic Girl is also always the wisest person in the Group.

I ran the list past my daughter, who's the expert. She said the list is accurate - but that there have been a few shows that seemed to systematically violate the formula - almost as if someone else mentioned this to the executives...

Posted by Mitch at January 9, 2004 06:00 AM