Why Girl Meets World is Still Relevant

Despite some fans’ opinions, I genuinely love Girl Meets World (sometimes more than Boy Meets World). It didn’t have mature subject matter, like Boy Meets World, since it was on Disney Channel and not Freeform. Regardless, it didn’t stop them from addressing powerful real-world issues. So just like I did with Boy Meets World, I want to illustrate why Girl Meets World still matters, even years after the series ended.

Bullying

Girl Meets World devotes a couple episodes to bullying. The world we live in doesn’t often have Harley Keiners pushing us up against lockers on a daily basis. However, we are hit with words from every direction. In “Girl Meets Rileytown”, Riley was being constantly attacked by the words of a virtual bully at her school. You can’t even look at Facebook without someone faceless individual tearing into someone. We can’t control how they act, but we can control ourselves. Like Riley and Farkle (in “Girl Meets Farkle”) learned, it’s up to us to own up to who we are, faults and everything, and be confident in who we are (still working on that myself). If we know who we are, angry people on the internet won’t be able to shake us. 

Forgiveness

Maybe this one seems a bit basic, but in “Girl Meets Forgiveness” we see a more complex side of forgiving people. Sure, there are incidents like Lucas and Zay’s complaints against Farkle that you need to forgive and get over. But there are also hard issues, like Maya forgiving her father, that hit home. I never had to worry about divorced parents, but I’ve had to forgive myself for things that weren’t my fault. And that was Maya’s bigger issue. Sure, it’d be ideal and great to eventually forgive her father. But she was able to forgive herself and stop blaming herself for him leaving. It’s one of the moments that nearly brought me to tears.

Religion

In many respects, religion and politics are among the most taboo subjects of conversation. And “Girl Meets Belief” did a great job demonstrating what civil discourse (at least in the context of religion) can look like. We don’t get anything explicitly said about characters’ religious beliefs (except Farkle’s position as an atheist), but it’s heavily implied that Maya is agnostic and that Lucas and Riley are Christian (though even that is a little subjective). With differing religious beliefs, it can get tense (see Community’s “Comparative Religion”), but I like how the kids were led to appreciate each other’s beliefs and to keep an open mind to understand how others believe. The world could use more of that.

Divorce

With Maya’s story arc, you get a bigger picture of divorce and the effect it has on kids. But I particularly love how in “Girl Meets High School” we get it from another perspective, as Ava’s parents are in the middle of separating. Things come full circle and Maya is able to share what she’s learned from her parents’ divorce: “When people you've loved all of your life suddenly decide to leave? Well, you sit by yourself for a while and you'll try to figure it out. And you'll blame yourself. But it isn't your fault. You probably won't believe that, though, and you'll think you did something wrong, but... you didn't. It isn't your fault. And most of all, you stay with your best friend. People make their own decisions. And sometimes, they decide to go away for a while. Sometimes, it takes time to understand why. It isn't your fault.” And that bit about “Stay with your best friend” could honestly apply to any trauma, not just divorce.

The Secret of Life

From early on in the series we get the lessons about the “Secret of Life”. While I wouldn’t necessarily call it “gospel truth” there’s something to it. But I think Cory was certainly right about one of life’s secrets: People change people. I don’t think anyone would disagree that the people we choose to associate with influence us. And the people we choose to not associate with. Do you let someone build you into a better version of yourself? Do you choose friends who lull you into complacency by never challenging you? Or do you choose friends who drag you down into a gulf of misery? It seems straightforward and easy on paper, but real life is messier than that. 

So as my wife and I finish Girl Meets World again, I want to quote one of Mr. Feeny’s last lines from Boy Meets World (which is posted to the wall of Cory’s classroom): “Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good.”

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Why Snape Is the Absolute Worst (Besides Umbridge)

When Deathly Hallows came out 14 years ago, we were kind of blindsided by the fact that Snape had a childhood friendship and a lifetime crush on Lily Evans Potter. Some people had predicted it, but I thought they were crazy. Over the years, his "always" (especially as portrayed by Alan Rickman) has become a go-to for Harry Potter fans and their love for the series or their love for their significant other. The deep affection he held for Lily has been romanticized by fans as a strong, undying love that we all wish to feel towards another human being. However, even though Snape died a hero, he was still a jerk and doesn't deserve all the praise he gets... He died a hero, but he wasn't a good person.

For a moment, let's not discuss whether it was true love or an unhealthy obsession (I've already stated my opinion on the matter). What matters is how he handled his emotions and how he treated others. I can understand the extreme bias towards his Slytherin students and even unfairly taking points from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Short version, he was a selfish bully. Long version, here's why.

Let's start with his (mis)treatment of Harry. I know he looked like James, but he supposedly loved Lily right? He committed his life to protecting Harry and didn't want anyone to know... but did he have to be so awful? It would have been a good enough façade to express his distain for Harry by showing the bias he had against any non-Slytherin. But instead, he verbally abused the child. I could see the argument that it was Harry's fault that Lily died (although really it was Snape who told Voldemort about the prophecy to begin with...). 

Next up let's talk about Neville. Perhaps it's because Neville could have been the Chosen One. If Voldemort had chosen to go after the Longbottoms, Lily would never have died. So perhaps Snape blames Neville for Lily's death. Regardless, two years into Hogwarts, Neville was so terrified of Snape, because of his verbal assaults and abuse, that he saw him as his worst fear ever. Not spiders like Ron, or dementors like Harry, or the woman who tortured his parents into insanity. He saw his teacher. 

Finally, Hermione. Let's talk about how he treated Harry's best friend. Is it because she was his friend? Or perhaps because she was a muggleborn like Lily? Snape verbally abused the brightest student of Harry's year, constantly calling her names and putting her down.

Bullying is a serious problem. It comes in many forms. Looking back at where Snape came from, it makes sense that he'd be cruel. He was bullied by James and the Marauders and made to feel less than he was. You see it with people who are abused and bullied; they become abusers and bullies themselves. They use positions of power to make themselves feel better than those who seem inferior. 

It makes sense, but it's no excuse. We have free will. We can be better than where we came from. Look at Sirius Black: he came from a racist, abusive household and became a hero. Sure he made mistakes along the way, but he became better than where he started. On the flip side, Snape stayed prejudiced and only seemed to care that Voldemort was being evil when it affected a girl he liked... Snape didn't even care that Voldemort was a bad guy or that James and Harry could die. He just had a soft spot for Lily. Snape could have chosen to rise above the dark friends he found in Hogwarts... but instead he waited until it was too late... and even after Lily died he still didn't change, not really.

With all that said, I do have something positive to say about Snape. He was an amazingly written character. He was written so that you didn't like him, and we didn't. He was written to be anti-hero, and he kind of was. And his backstory chapter in Deathly Hallows was written to mess with our perceptions of him, and it did. He may not be a good person, but he's a good character.

Bullying

Hay folks,

Earlier this week I saw a video about a young man being harrassed for bringing a My Little Pony backpack to school and how the school banned his backpack because it was causing a "distraction". I hate bullying and I hate how often the victim is blamed for being bullied, so I made a little video in support of the kid and just sharing some of my views. Check it out!

-JOE