Up@dawn 2.0

Friday, March 1, 2013

Introduction of Philosophical Ideas in Children's TV: Arthur! ( Midterm Post #1)


                                                                   Yusra Mohammed
                                                                       H01 Group 4
                                                                 Midterm Report Part 1
     Well friends here we are! I present to you my midterm topic! As the title suggests, this is going to be a series that analyzes philosophical innuendos in children’s television. For the midterm I am going to focus on my all-time, hands down, without a doubt, favorite show growing up- Arthur! But, here’s my plan: for the final, I was thinking I would branch out to other kid’s programs that we (the children of the 90’s) grew up on.

 Alright! So let’s get a basic understanding for the show (for those of you who’ve lived under a rock. No judgment! I’m sure it was a very nice rock!) The series pretty much follows an 8 year old aardvark, (bonus points if you know the aardvark song from the spelling bee episode!!) his family, friends, and the everyday encounters they have. Sounds pretty boring when I put it that way but I think it’s why I liked it so much there’s none of that garbage reality tv boasts or suggestive material Nick and Disney have.

OKAY! Now let us get started!

Arthur & Cosmopolitanism 



Cosmopolitanism is the philosophy Kwame Anthony Appiah shared in Philosophy Bites. Cosmopolitanism is the belief that we as members of the Earth need to learn  about different cultures, religions, and beliefs in order to live harmoniously while were on this planet. Let’s take a second and analyze some of the characters that helped preach this concept…

Chiekh
Now unless you’re some kind of crazy person, you probably haven’t seen this more recent episode of Arthur. The clip below is the full episode I have selected a little snippet that will explain to you what’s going on.
  



Brain’s cousin moves to Elwood City from Senegal and as you see from the clip there are stereotypes that both Chiekh has about America, and DW has about Africa. The clip portrays how (even in an innocent way) assumptions about other places and cultures is wrong and unfair to the person you are making them against.

After DW publicly states a few (childish) ideas she had embedded in her mind from outside sources her teacher says :
“DW I’m sure you meant well, but you should learn about a place before you describe it.”
The Tibble twins make fun of her, but she vows “I’m gonna learn!”

 Now, let’s examine how Marc Brown skillfully weaved in how easy and necessary it is to try and learn about our neighbors on the planet. DW goes on to try and learn a fact about every country (that’s 54!). The point of cosmopolitanism is not to learn every detail you possibly can, it’s meant to make us well informed citizens of the globe. It is a mentality that is essential to have. By the end of the episode (if you watched all the way till then) a new kid joins the class. The Ms. Morgan asks if anyone knows anything about the place he’s from, DW raises her hand and says “No, but I’d love to learn!” What do you make of that? I think it’s brilliant! As the 2nd longest running animated series in the US, I think it is so important that this show is teaching kids morals and getting them into a philosophical mind set!

Yom Kippur
Alright, here is another example from a character y’all can (hopefully) more easily identify- Francine! The episode I’m going to be talking about is called “Is that Kosher?”




In this episode the audience gets to see a different kind of cosmopolitanism. How does one learn about other religions or beliefs? Hopefully not by googling everything, but by asking, if they have access to them, practicing people. BUT how exactly can a person tell you about their beliefs if they themselves don’t know too much about it? In the cosmopolitan view, it is their duty to learn and understand about their own religion so that they can spread their understanding those inquiring about it.
In this episode, Francine learns about the Jewish faith, why they fast, and visits the synagogue. Her friends are absolutely flabbergasted by the concept of fasting. Except for one. Arthur was familiar with the concept because his pen pal in Turkey fasts for an entire month during Ramadan. He helped Francine explain the concept.
Hold on. Let’s analyze the situation through a philosophical lens. Who are the cosmopolitans? Arthur and Francine. Arthur’s knowledge of other cultures helped him deal with the situations that later arose in the episode, as well as explain it to his friends. Who were the (I’m using these pretty loosely, I mean how hard can you be on a group of 8 year olds?) non-cultured/ uninformed/ non-cosmopolitans? Buster, Muffy and the rest of the crew. They couldn't comprehend the whole concept, because of this they didn’t make Francine’s 25 hour fast easier. Instead, they indulged in a pizza party the same day.

So, how was that? Hopefully, it opened your eyes to the possibility of philosophical ideology being in even the most unlikely places. You may still be thinking “seriously Yusra, ARTHUR?!” But hey, there are worse things to be “obsessed” with! That concludes my first installment! Till next time!

(Word count: 867)

4 comments:

  1. Haha, this is awesome! I'm looking forward to your future posts. I didn't realize that Arthur was the second longest running animated show in the States.

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  2. My daughter's gonna love this. "What a wonderful kinda day. Hey!"

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  3. This is a great post. It’s really interesting to think about. From what I remember about children’s television shows, a lot of them teach you about being nice, and sharing, etc. It’s pretty neat that Arthur is able to go beyond that whole idea and help children understand and be open to other viewpoints.

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  4. Wow, this is awesome - best post on the site! I've watched Arthur my entire life (18 now...I know) and yet I've never thought about it in this way. You've really opened my eyes Yusra! Can't wait to read your next post!

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