If you’re not watching Andi Mack , you’re missing out on one of the most progressive shows on television.
With its theme parks and cast of characters, the Walt Disney brand is about as all-American, wholesome and family-oriented as you can get.
The Disney Channel’s Andi Mack, starring breakout star Peyton Elizabeth Lee, kicks off its second season by revealing one of its principal characters to be gay.
It may be disconcerting to some Disney aficionados who consider the entertainment company alongside with the flag, motherhood and apple pie, that a Disney Channel TV show would make history by using a storyline of one its principal characters adjusting to the realization that he is gay. Then, again – why not?
There’s more to the Mack family than what one might see upon first glance. It turns out that Andi’s real mother is Bex, the young woman she grew up thinking was her sister (Lillian Bowden). The woman who raised her as her daughter, is really Andi’s grandmother (Lauren Tom). Not exactly Ozzie and Harriet or Leave it to Beaver.
So right off the bat: Disney Channel has created a family comedy-drama aimed at kids, ages 6-14, that features parents dealing with teenage pregnancy.
The coming-of-age series, which debuted in April, follows the adventures of Asian American tween Andi Mack and her pals, Buffy Driscoll (Sofia Wylie) and Cyrus Goodman (Joshua Rush) as they navigate adolescence. Not one of them is blonde and blue-eyed. In Friday’s (Oct. 27) season premiere, Andi is struggling with a crush on a middle school boy, Jonah Beck (Asher Angel). Later in the episode, Cyrus begins to realize that he, too, has feelings for Jonah. That realization marks the beginning of Cyrus coming to identify ― and eventually embrace himself as ― a gay tween.
A stroll down Main Street in Disneyland harkens back to a simpler time when the country didn’t have the divisive problems we face today. It represents a period in American history that many Donald Trump supporters dream of when they talk about “making America great again.” The Walt Disney company appears to expect some blow back from some of its fans who embrace that brand. It released a statement regarding Andi Mack‘s stories and characters, writing: “The Disney brand has always been inclusive, with stories that reflect acceptance and tolerance and celebrate the differences that make our characters uniquely wonderful in their own way. We constantly strive to live up to that legacy by continuing to create and share compelling storylines from our studios and media networks that entertain with inspirational and aspirational themes and reflect the incredibly rich diversity of the human experience. Our stories are timeless because they speak to the heart; our characters appeal to children across gender, ability, and experience because they’re defined by kindness, loyalty, humor, courage, wit, and other traits that make a good friend. Disney remains committed to continuing to create characters that are accessible and related to all children.”
This story arc is the first of its kind for the cable network, and it was devised with input from child development experts. The season premiere episode was also screened in advance for organizations like Common Sense Media, GLAAD, and PFLAG. Disney Channel claims they’ve aimed to craft a story that maintains their signature brand of age-appropriate storytelling while building a narrative of inclusion and kindness.
With more and more young people coming out as LGBTQ, Andi Mack is reflecting the lives and lived experiences of so many LGBTQ youth around the country,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD.
Andi Mack has quickly become one of the Disney Channel’s most popular shows among young audiences. To date, the show featuring an Asian American family as its centerpiece, is ranked as the year’s top TV series among girls 6-11, 9-14 and 6-14,” according to Deadline.
And if you can teach tolerance and appreciations of diversity at that impressionable age, you can change the world.
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RE: Not Your Parent’s Disney: Glad to see the young generation isn’t letting the older generations dictate nor influence how they should view society and social norms. We wanted to be included and accepted but yet we still find away to exclude others. The younger generation doesn’t understand how to exclude because we taught them they have a right to be counted and that they matter. They sure are learning that they have to right and must learn to accept others in order to be at peace with themselves and the ever changing world we the older generation created and are leaving for them. They sadly have learned that at times the older generations can be very hypocritical when it comes to treatment and stereotypes.