One Disney Channel show that was ahead of its time is That’s So Raven because it touched on serious issues like racism, stealing, and bullying, which other programs shied away from.
The best part of That’s So Raven is the humour. Watching the show puts me in a good mood because I’m always laughing while watching it. Raven has a few catch phrases that make me laugh every time she says them such as, “Ya nasty” and “Oh snap!”.
I’m not the only person who enjoys the show’s humour. A person who calls themself Ambivalent Queen posted a review about the show on Google and speaks about how she loves the humour in it.
“The characters are funny, endearing. Raven is just amazing. “Oh Snap”, “You nasty”, “Now, Goodbye” her dances, her clothes and impersonations & a lot more. I loved the party episode at her house where her jam kept on playing. Eddie, Chelsea and the fam, they’re just the bomb.”
I was a young child when I first started watching this show, so I didn’t really understand the major topics that were covered.
Now that I’m an adult, I can understand the importance of drawing attention to those serious issues. One of the most memorable episodes of the show for me was called True Colours. In this episode, Raven applies for a job at a store called Sassy’s, which she was perfect for, but she didn’t get the job because of her skin colour.
One of the most important parts of the show is that Raven is a teenage psychic. She had a vision of the Sassy’s manager saying she doesn’t hire black people.
This vision prompted Raven to bring attention to the issue of racism by exposing Sassy’s manager. With help from her friends, Raven was able to get the store’s manager to admit she doesn’t hire black people.
An article called, That’s So Raven was groundbreaking for me as an early-‘00s Black tween, written by Alexis Reliford and published by hellogiggles.com on Feb. 27, 2019, commends the show for bringing awareness to racism.
“Workplace discrimination continues to be a huge, significant issue, and the show’s ability to discuss oppression in a funny, informative and real voice is a skill many programs today still lack.”
Another favourite episode of mine is called The Road to Audition because it has great musical numbers in it.
Eddie, one of the show’s main characters and one of Raven’s best friends, sings a rap in the episode that’s so catchy.
Here is the link to the song, take a listen to it. It’s amazing, every time I listen to it I just want to dance!
The episode focused on stealing is called Five Finger Discount. Raven’s younger brother Cory starts hanging out with a new group of friends and they like to steal things.
Out of concern for Cory, Raven dresses up like a security guard and scares Cory and his friends.
Because of his nightmares, Cory returns what he stole from the toy store without getting caught.
The reason I find this episode to be very influential is because it speaks on an important issue.
A lot of kids have friends that are bad influences on them. To continue hanging out with them, some kids give into peer pressure and do the bad things their friends are encouraging them to do.
In Cory’s case, even though he initially gave into peer pressure, he did the right thing and returned what he took and decided those friends weren’t right for him.
I hope more kids will do what Cory did and walk away from peer pressure and bad friends. In my high school I witnessed kids who were strong students and then they came to my school and they got caught up in partying, smoking and drinking because of the friends they had. I believe if they hung out with a different friend group, they would not have got into the partying lifestyle.
Throughout the show, Raven and her friends have multiple run-ins with a group of bullies. The head of the group, Alana, used to be friends with Raven.
Even though they never really reconcile their differences, Raven is still kind to Alana when she can be and learns not to give into intimidation and bullying.
Raven can be described as a fashionista who designs her own clothes, has a great sense of humour and is always there for her friends and family when they need her. In some episodes Raven comes off as being self-centred, but later learns this and goes out of her way to help those in need.
Chelsea is Raven’s best friend. She cares a lot about the environment and is an animal lover. She can be a little ditzy, but when it comes to things that really matter to her, she becomes very wise.
Eddie is Raven’s other best friend who loves sports, also has a great sense of humour and is great at rapping and expressing himself. On the show, Eddie has his own radio show where he is the host. Even though that’s short-lived, we get to see his personality shine through.
Cory is Raven’s little brother. He is intelligent and loves money.
In a lot of episodes, Cory’s main motivation for doing things is getting money out of it.
Tanya and Victor Baxter are Raven and Cory’s parents. Throughout the course of the show, Tanya and Victor use the things Cory and Raven go through to teach them lessons about life.
Disney+ gives an overview of what the show is about.
“Raven Baxter is a typical teenager who just happens to be psychic. The only problem is Raven’s sneak peaks into the future can make her (and her best friends Eddie and Chelsea) jump to the wrong conclusions. Somehow, they manage to create more comedic problems than they solve!”
To watch That’s So Raven and the spinoff show, Raven’s Home, subscribe to Disney+.
