5 Progressive Cartoon Shows I Grew Up Watching And So Should You

I have often heard people say that good cartoon shows with radical ideas and progressive narratives are not actually meant for kids. They argue that such 'intense' stories get lost on children. In my opinion, children are much more open to such 'intense' stories than adults are. Their curious minds raise questions and when adults try to shun them away by saying " you are not old enough to know this", there should be someone educating them. While television can be a bad influence on children, it can also be a great educator. If I hadn't relied on television whenever I felt confused and couldn't get my mind off things, there is a chance that I would have been more lost in life than I already am. Here is a list of some progressive cartoon shows I grew up watching and the things I learnt from them:

The Legend Of Korra

At the time when The Legend Of Korra came to television, there weren't many female heroes to fangirl. She was strong, reckless and also had a mystery about herself. No doubt the narrative of the show took time to develop over the seasons but little nuances in most episodes were something to look up to. Especially the show's treatment of war. When you are a kid, you are often made to believe in the brave deed of dying for one's country, it was The Legend Of Korra which taught me other. It was refreshing and yet heartbreaking to see the characters dealing with the ruins of war and how much they hated it. Even before the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was introduced to me, I was familiar with its meaning. Plus, Korra ends up with Asami Sato, another girl so that opened up several realities that I wasn't familiar with.

Hey Arnold

There were American shows with white characters and there were Indian shows with brown character. Hey Arnold was one of the few shows which had diverse characters. Americans weren't the only ones in focus for once. The show's dealing with a topic as complex as immigration was commendable. When a character Mr Hyunh, an immigrant from Vietnam, had to give up his daughter when he was in Vietnam because he wanted her to have a better life in America. Now that he was also in America, Arnold being the good kid storms out to find her for Mr Hyunh. The show also talks about broken homes in a very non-triggering way. When a character starts getting bullied in school for being different and always rude, we find that the reason behind her behaviour is her family.

The Simpsons 

In one episode, which I vividly remember, Homer Simpson accidentally pushes a dog in the trash can. After a series of hilarious events, we see the dogs taking over the town. When things get out control, Homer Simpson gets sued in the court for badly treating a dog. Even though the episode went ultra sarcastic and had too much exaggeration, it showed me how animals must be feeling with no court of their own. These days when the news about dogs being killed and abused surfaces, it is that Dogtown episode of The Simpsons I think about. Besides, there is hardly any show as socially aware than The Simpsons.

Recess

Mrs Grotke is one of the many characters that make Recess such a cool television show. She was a teacher we all deserve in classrooms. In all honestly, I got to know about America's history because of Mrs Grokte. Her dialogues were non-heteronormative, she talked about male historians writing only about the male history and she even talked about rising against the oppressors! " Fight the power," she said. Her one dialogue that stuck with me is when she said, " Take these history books with a pinch of salt as they primarily focus on white western males."

Kim Possible

Despite its shortcomings, Kim really showed us how to multitask. She was the Spiderman before Spiderman was cool. She followed her heart and did everything she wanted to do even if it caused her problems. Even though it was difficult to see myself in her, I always wished to be like her. No doubt her life was difficult too. Even after being the coolest kid on the planet, she dealt with family issues, difficult relationships and few of the things a not-so-normal girl can face with her super cool detective lifestyle. All in all, she was a role model.