That bluey article...

Heyho2

So I read this article…

https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/can-bluey-show-be-more-representative/100042084 and I thought it was so lovely and I thought the point about it being more representative was so sensitively made. But it seems to have caused a whole heap of backlash on twitter? (And then to the rest of the media). I thought her point was valid. After many hours spent listening to peppa pig, I would guess they have a diverse cast for cartoon animals (maybe I’m naive?) . And I think bluey was the first cartoon where I went … that’s us! (The duck cake episode… that’s our birthday cake book!) It’s a great feeling to see yourself represented on TV. But it seems to have created some strong feelings in others. Anyone here got strong feelings abut it?

NightHawk

I haven’t seen Bluey, my kids are older but isn’t it about dogs? A female dog and her family and friends?

How do you make a cartoon about a blue dog more representative?

squeekums

NightHawk add a pink cat? a rainbow horse?

its sure as shit not something id even notice or care about let alone tweet or post about it lol

MizHops

squeekums but it’s easy for you not to notice when you’re the status quo.

I love Bluey, we all love Bluey in this house. Sure on the surface it’s about a dog family but like @AnnHiggins said, there’s a premise that children/parents see themselves in the characters. They have personable qualities. Given their amazing reach and platform, surely they are in the perfect position to represent more of their audience in some ways. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

Camokat

I honestly don’t know. It’s hard to add ‘diversity’ into a small ensemble cast without it looking like tokenism.

Wilding

I keep meaning to watch some bluey, the children at jobs keep asking if I have watched it when we talk about pets and stuff. Nothing useful to add though.

AnnHiggins

as with PP my kids are older so i haven’t ever really watched Bluey, i know about it though, and know that it’s extremely popular in the demographic. so, with that in mind - i take this quote from the article -

“Where are the disabled, queer, poor, gender diverse, dogs of colour and single-parent dog families in Bluey’s Brisbane? If they’re in the background, let them come forward. (Maynard, voiced by Sean Choolburra, I’m looking at you.)”

my initial reaction is a bit “huh? it’s about a dog…is it representative of the dog community?” but then i guess that’s probably a tad churlish - clearly the shows makers are appealing to children through the character - they want kids to sympathise and see themselves in the characters, so, maybe it should be more representative. i assume it certainly doesn’t denigrate any particular minority, which is good. as the article states, quoting a professor of children’s literature -

There’s no narrative that’s perfect," Dr Chapman says. “We have to keep thinking of the possibilities, right?”

there would always be room for improvement. If a show called Bluey, about a blue dog is seen to be too - white middle class ableist etc then i’d certainly be open to the shows creators injecting some more diversity into it - but here’s the rub - how to do that in a way that’s not tokenistic and condescending?

if the show resonates, isn’t punching down, has a positive message - “maybe” that can be enough?

BloodyMary

But they are still dogs? I didn’t look at cartoons as a child and wonder where all the single parent families were? Feels like overthinking over a cartoon about dogs? Maybe if the cartoon characters were humans, but quite often they are cancelled for not getting it right.

ALittleBitter

My kids love Bluey and I’m a fan too. It’s such a lovely show and I guess that’s partly why there’s been a backlash against the article? You’d be hard pressed to find a more positive, thoughtful TV show for kids at the moment but it’s still not immune to articles criticising it for not being perfect.

I dunno, diversity is certainly important.. hard for one show to be everything to everyone though

Camokat

Segueing, but I’d love to see Aussie TV portray more diversity in income, class, and attitudes, not just in skin colour or sexuality. The range of people shown on Aussie TV is very much a reflection of the interests and backgrounds of the urban, upper-middle-class, tertiary-educated, left-wing people who dominate the TV industry. Which is understandable, but leaves a huge gap in our cultural representations of ourselves. Even in the show Upper Middle Bogan (anyone remember that?), the bogans were very much of the cashed-up variety - no-one had any particular worries about money or job insecurity, which millions of us spend a lot of time thinking about. I can’t think of a single Aussie drama that centres lower-income people. Is there one?

Heyho2

Camokat agree. More funding for the abc so they can make more content! There’s a nz show called hardball, which has a kid who lives with his dad and his aunty, one of his friends is in a wheelchair and another works in her parents shop after school. It’s funny and heart-warming, without laying it on too thick. Love to see more stuff like that.

Blinkybill

Camokat the ABC show The Heights is a fantastic drama centering people living in a housing commission tower. I am hanging out for them to make another series.

Gum-boots

I think Bluey is a fabulous show. So many positive messages for kids and families. This article feels so …. petty.

squeekums

MizHops but it’s easy for you not to notice when you’re the status quo.

My point is though do we need to politicize everything, thrust adult problems onto kids?

cant a kids tv show that kids love just be a tv show kids love?

I think people tend to over-think a lot of things, like say this ad

there a thread on eb about how its sexist, yet to me its a what the, you read THAT much into an ad, why? I wouldn’t have picked up any of the ‘sexist’ messages they see on eb and yet im female. Its just an add, conveying a basic travel message, its clear and no fuss.

to me, bluey seems generally well liked by kids and parents, has overall a good message, surely thats ok and enough for a preschoolers tv show.

Camokat

That show sounds great HeyHo! I love Kiwi shows 🥰

CallMeAl

Bluey is so lovely. I actually feel for the parents whose kids didn’t grow up in the Bluey era and aren’t familiar with it! It’s such a quality show.

I think the author was fine to say it could be more diverse. It was a small postscript in an otherwise adoring article, and that’s exactly the right weighting for it - what she wrote is true, would be a good improvement, and minor.

The backlash against it as if the whole article is a diatribe for diversity on Bluey is just a ridiculous beatup.

Heyho2

CallMeAl it is lovely, but also glad my kid didn’t see it growing up, or she might have expected more playing from me! It sets some pretty high standards!

LadySybilVimes

CallMeAl I completely agree, CMA. It was a really positive article and her thoughts about changes she’d like to see were expressed in a very thoughtful way with the acknowledgement that she might be asking too much of one kids show. I would like to see more articles written that way instead of this constant demands for things to be shunned. It’s a real shame the article has been sucked into the global outrage machine and people are reacting to it without reading it.

Bluey is such a gorgeous show and I think her article reflected that, for the most part. Someone made a great point that Bluey already does reflect gender diversity because lots of people assume that Bluey is a boy. I know I did. She’s definitely not coded as girly in the same way as Peppa Pig or Dora the Explorer.

Luna

It’s funny because I had a,ways thought that the other breeds of dogs (poodles etc) were representative of other races. Obv I got that wrong if Mackenzie is from no.

I did think the article you linked was well written. But I read something similar the other day wasn’t. I suspect what has happened is someone has cut and pasted part of the article somewhere else and it looked less nuanced and maybe that’s the problem. I will try and find it.

I do think (as a white married person so perhaps I am wrong) it can sometimes be hard not to look tokenisation in a show that is very insular (as in most episodes are about the four main family members). You can make an uncle gay but they are just not going to be possible in every episode, I feel sure I remember s single parent of one of their friends, but perhaps I have that wrong.

But overall a fair point for the writers to strive harder.

CallMeAl

Heyho2 CallMeAl it is lovely, but also glad my kid didn’t see it growing up, or she might have expected more playing from me! It sets some pretty high standards!

That is so true. My gosh those parents have endless time and patience.

DYNAR

Blinkybill

I tried so hard to like it but they’re all such bad actors (well the few good ones don’t come out well when acting with the bad ones).

Camokat

Blinkybill

Thanks Blinky, I’ll check it out.

PuddingPlease

I think the reason a lot of people reacted so emphatically is that it actually is pretty diverse in its depiction of different people and families.

The show features characters who talk about having divorced parents or living with only one parent and the second season features an episode that is narrated entirely from the perspective of a child who (it becomes increasingly clear throughout the episode) has ADHD.

The show uses different breeds of dog to differentiate the families in the story so there is no possible way to depict race or ethnicity in a way that would directly link to human characteristics. While it is alway technically possible to suggest that any show should be more diverse, it’s not the case that this particular show depicts a whole world of identical white middle class families. It’s no Home and Away. 😆