Hey Arnold!’s diversity helps keep it fresh – Clacking in Color

Can anyone tell me what has happened to cartoons nowadays? I really am dying to know. You see, I grew up in the ’90s, a wonderful decade where cartoons were must see TV. Ask anyone in their mid-twenties and they’ll tell you what I’m talking about. Very few shows become appointment television for me anymore, but back in the day, it seemed that networks actually produced a decent amount of quality. Cartoons today simply don’t compare. Pardon my slang, but growing up in my house, Nickelodeon was the business — emphasis on the word ‘was.’

I hate being negative, but let’s keep it real — Nickelodeon is not what it used to be. They had it, lost it, and now they need to find it. Perchance they should contact Craig Bartlett, the creator of one of my favorite cartoons — Hey Arnold! I’ve never particularly been a fan of Netflix … probably because I never knew how to use it. Don’t judge me. Nevertheless, after discovering that Netflix had all five seasons of Hey Arnold! in their lineup, I colored myself intrigued. From 1996 to 2004, this cartoon managed to fire on all cylinders and never missed a beat. I’m not saying that because I’m a fan. I’m merely giving credit where it’s due. Not only was Hey Arnold! entertaining for children, but parents could watch too. Lord knows mine did. Quite frankly, I’m not so sure they had a choice.

What I noticed as I traveled back down memory lane, courtesy of the Netflix on my best friend’s Nintendo Wii, was that Hey Arnold! also didn’t shy away from racial diversity. In fact, it embraced it. I have but one thing to say about that … God bless Craig Bartlett.

We’ll get to the diversity in a second. In the meantime, let’s play catch up. For those of you that grew up in the ’90s, this should be a simple refresher. Clever fourth grader Arnold Shortman — Yup! That’s really his last name! — lived in the “urban” area of town with his hilarious grandparents in a boarding house full of equally funny characters. He had a football shaped head, a pig named Abner, and an African-American best friend named Gerald — arguably the coolest character on the show. If you’ve seen the cartoon, you’ll know what I mean. There to complicate things was Helga G. Pataki, a brute of a young girl, who bullied Arnold while secretly harboring a crush on him. Those three characters were the leads, and stories usually revolved around them with each one receiving a decent amount of screen time.

I was nine when Hey Arnold! began its eight year run and 17 when it ended. As a kid, I enjoyed seeing Arnold serve as the voice of reason for his colorful and dissimilar friends who always seemed to be constantly scheming. I loved seeing his grandmother, a woman with advanced Alzheimer’s, who could one day be a martial arts guru and the next day be a spy. I also got a kick out of the various myths going on in their town such as a man living in the sewers, and a haunted train circling the tracks. That was good stuff. However, at 25, one of the things that I really appreciate is the diversity that Bartlett offered viewers. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Arnold is of Caucasian descent. Gerald, of course, looks like myself. Helga’s confidante Phoebe is half Japanese whereas snobbish Rhonda is Welsh-American. Wealthy student Lorenzo is Hispanic, and blonde haired, brown skinned Nadine was mixed. That’s quite a colorful team, wouldn’t you agree? However, not only did the show boast racial diversity,  it was diverse period. I think we all knew that Arnold’s teacher Mr. Simmons was gay. Bartlett even revealed it in a later interview. Furthermore, he didn’t shy away from religious diversity either. Rotund bully Harold was Jewish and received an episode that focused specifically on his bar mitzvah. Variety is the spice of life, people.

With that being said, it does beg the question –- why aren’t more cartoons this diverse? Perhaps I’ll ask my friend Katie Schenkel, CliqueClack’s resident cartoon expert. I’m not trying to cause a ruckus. I’m just making a point. It seems as though television shows have the obligatory ‘token’ character, a character that serves as the minority representation. I think Bartlett had it right when he created a cartoon that pretty much let every child see themselves on screen. It didn’t matter what color you were or what you believed in. Not only were Bartlett’s characters diverse — such as country bumpkin Stinky Peterson whose signature catchphrase, “That really bites!'” frequently made me chuckle — but they were fun, spirited and downtight entertaining.

All in all, it made for good television. In my dreams, I see the executives of Nickelodeon having an epiphany one day and realizing that, well, the content that they produce now doesn’t quite hold a candle to what they were able to pump out in the ’90s. I dream that they will contact Bartlett and he’ll give us another bonus season of Hey Arnold! I dream that the original voice actors will all reprise their roles. I dream that it would be a hit. Now, that would be awesome.

Sadly, that may never come to pass. Well, at least we’ve got Netflix. Still, it would be fantastic if we could get another season. I’m just saying. Who do I need to contact to make this happen? Oh, who am I kidding? They’d probably toss my letter to the side like yesterday’s trash. Sheesh.

I guess that really bites.

Clacked by Jaylen Christie
on Jun 19, 2012 @ 09:00 EST5EDT