I happened to be hanging around with my boys when the Disney channel popped up. "Dog.., turn back. Turn back. That was the Suite Life of Zach and Cody." Now. I didn't know that I knew any college students that watched Disney so religiously. Reluctantly, I stopped to watch the show. As I watched the show, I realized that I only saw 3 minority characters. There was a little African American girl, an Asian girl, and a black man. All of the main characters were white. I was a bit annoyed with the awkward stereotyping I saw on such an innocent show. The African American girl was a bit of the typical loud-mouth "mammy" in the making. It made me feel a little weird to see the girl act and talk as if she were from the hood. The show is set in a hotel owned by an Asian family. The young Asian girl is the typical stereotypical "model minority" we have discussed in class. She is well-dressed, prissy and has a snobbish attitude. She comes off as being a bit annoying in relation to the other characters.
The main problem I have with the show is that the minorities follow stereotypes that kids of the target age are probably unaware of. Kids that will benefit from the lessons that the writers of the show are trying to convey, do not need to be exposed to stereotypes that create a template that the shows for older people only further. Disney has a reputation of having hidden racism as it is. Though the actual show's oddness is very subtle, the implications of children following along with the stereotypes are very detremental. I feel like other shows on the Disney channel do things to help erase those negative images, but shows like "The Suite Life" don't really sound so "suite" when you think about it. It pays to be picky when it comes to looking at what the future is watching.
3 comments:
I am absolutely thrilled to hear that you watch “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody,” or at least one episode. I have watched this show a few times with my cousin, or when it comes on after an episode of Hanna Montana J. You are absolutely right, this show does have many stereotypes, which you wouldn’t think you would find these stereotypes in Disney show this day in age.
The two main characters, Zach and Cody, get into mischief in each and every episode. They break things, make people mad, and do all kinds of crazy things. This is very typical for 2 white boys, who just so happen to live in a 5 star hotel. Yes, I said it, they LIVE in this hotel. They aren’t just staying for a week or two, they live there. I haven’t followed the show close enough to actually catch why they live in the hotel. These boys live the dream of getting room service brought to them and living in luxury, which is not reality.
In addition to all of the stereotypes mentioned, you forgot Esteban, the trusty bellboy. A Latino actor plays Esteban. Esteban speaks with a Latino accent, and is the stereotypical Latino character. He brings room service to the characters, cleans up after them, and helps them with whatever they want and need. It is funny that Disney picked this character to be Latino, because heaven forbid the bellboy be white.
The predominant African American character is Mr. Moseby. I think Disney thought they were being “diverse” when putting this character into the show. This character is successful, and runs the hotel. In my opinion, Mr. Moseby is almost like an “Uncle Tom” character. London, the Asian character, is the daughter of the owner of the hotel, who you never seen, but it is implied that he is Asian himself. Mr. Moseby’s job is to be at London’s ever beckoning call. He is her “trusty sidekick,” but I really didn’t notice this until I started analyzing the show.
I really do think Disney did a pretty good job putting diversity into this show. This is one of the only shows on Disney that does show many different characters of color. I do agree with you, though, it really is scary thinking about what the future of America is watching. The children that watch this show will grow up thinking these stereotypes. Parents think Disney is a “save haven” for children to watch where they won’t be exposed to anything questionable, think again.
I admit..I am one of those college kids that watches Disney channel. And I have seen "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” several times. I am not which episode you watched but normally there is no such black female character. The only African American in the main cast is almost an executive type-he is the main manager of the hotel and is always in a business suit. The Asian girl is indeed very spoiled and quite a priss, but is very different from the “model minority” figure because, just as one main stereotype of Asians is their intelligence, “London” (the character’s name) is very very dumb. Her character is more of the stereotypical ditzy, dumb blonde.
The white girl in the show is very blue-collar, working the candy counter and constantly referring to how she has to work for what little she has.
Zack and Cody, the two main characters, are raised by a single mother that works as a singer for the hotel which is why they live there. This mother, again, is white and a single mother. I am not sure what happened to the father but he is not, nor has he ever been, in the picture.
If anything it would seem that all of these roles negate the stereotypes!
The only character that could be seen as stereotypical is, like Lauren said, Esteban, the Latino bellhop. His character also is very dim-witted.
I agree with Lauren’s comment about how Disney tried to make this diverse, even though I know that Disney has often come under fire for inuendos and racist tendencies in their movies.
If you look at a lot of other Disney shows, they are always either ‘white’ shows or ‘black’ shows…very rarely are they mixed like this. The most popular shows, like Hannah Montana or the old Lizzie McGuire episodes were all white-not one diverse character. Shows such as ‘That’s So Raven’ or “Cory in the House’ are just the opposite-all black and few, if any, other ethnicities. It’s interesting that this blog picked up on this one particular show, as it is one of the more diverse and stereotype-negating ones on the channel.
They live in the hotel because their mother works there. Okay, so I watch the show from time to time, what about it. I am always a little reluctant to slap a television show that is at least making attempts. My question is if Zack and Cody were not White but Latino, would it be as successful. Hey what happend to the series Lincoln Heights, it was diverse and the family were people of color. I am glad you are thinking, now make sure this goes past June 27
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