It’s always been interesting to see how racism is presented in animated media, formatted to be palatable to children.

What’s even more interesting to see is how violently the ball is dropped so often. 

So many shows strive to denounce discrimination and teach kids about equality, but only reinforce the bigotry of racism and xenophobia in the process. 

What’s even worse is that kids miss the lessons entirely if the metaphors are too figurative, so now thinly veiled intolerance is a plot point in a show for no reason at all.

I understand the sentiment—trying to rewrite the wrongs of generations past by getting into kid’s heads ahead of time. But by making racism so broad and not accounting for the different groups affected, kids are harmed in the process.

Kids aren’t gonna be force-fed Malcom X’s ideals in a show about anthropomorphic animals. Expecting it to be is unrealistic—but treating Black specific discrimination as a general issue doesn’t clear things up for kids.

Shows should definitely take an approach at serious topics like racism, but those things can’t be watered down. Otherwise, it’s the same as reiterating what we learn in kindergarten: be kind to everyone. 

Kindness and activism go hand in hand, but they aren’t the same thing. Children can’t grasp the nuances of microaggressions, or systemically oppressive forces. It’s not something that’s taken lightly.

Either teach the kids the heavy stuff from the start and offer them context as they grow, or leave it at the door for someone else. Minimizing the scale of how serious racism is benefits no one.