Disney's Channels highest rating show on air, Girl Meets World, was recently cancelled as of January 4, 2017. Girl Meets World was a spin-off of hit sitcom Boy Meets World in the 90s. This show follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley Matthews and her friends through their journey of life. Girl Meets World became the sole Disney Channel show that the program actually got right and taught valuable life lessons that any age group would benefit from. It covered touchy subjects and broke norms to give young children a better look on, well, the world.
Girl Meets World covered:
1. Bullies
Within the first two seasons, two of the main characters, Riley Matthews and Farkle Minkus, run into bullies and it shows the struggles the characters dealt with. These two episodes showed how even though someone may not like a certain quality about you does not mean that quality is bad. Sometimes you have to accept yourself and love yourself first. Farkle, who is known for wearing turtle necks, embraced his fashion style and helped Billy, his bully, accept his flaw of being jealous. By talking it out and coming to an understanding, along with an apology, everyone was able to resolve Farkle's incident. In Riley's case, her bully thought she was weird and did not deserve the friends she had. She stood up to her bully and accepted that she could be whoever she wanted to be no matter what. This show overall showed positive ways to accept oneself and enforce talking out problems. Standing up to a bully can be hard, but young children watching that show can definitely benefit from it.
2. Autism
Autism is rarely seen on cable and the lack of representation has left a large hole in reality. In the episode, Girl Meets Farkle, Farkle Minkus goes under study to see if he falls on the Asperger's Autism spectrum. The episode thoroughly goes through mannerisms of Autism. Farkle's love interest, Isadora Smackle, is later revealed that she was a form of Asperger's. Her group of friends think nothing less of Smackle and openly accept her the way she is. They comfort her and make sure that they love her every way she is. This representation matters and this show did an incredible job of displaying it.
3. Feminism
In Girl Meets STEM, Riley Matthews pushes for her female friends to be interested in STEM classes and careers. The science teacher, Mr. Norton, states that teenage girls lose interest in STEM areas and often feel intimidated by male students in those fields. This episode covers how all the partnered groups, one boy and one girl, makes the girl half do the "easy part"(dropping a marble in water) while the boys do all the math. Riley stands up for her female friends and demands a change in the system. She empowers her friends to strive for their goals and that just because you are a woman, you are not less than a man. This episode empowers young girls watching the show to go for STEM fields. The majority of viewers are young tweens and teens and this is a great message for girls entering science courses.
4. Cultural Appreciation
In the episode, Girl Meets the Great Lady of New York, the characters experience World Cultural Appreciation Week. The characters learn about their heritage and where they came from. They cover stereotypes and are given a new perspective about different ethnicities.
5. Single Parent Struggles
Main character Maya Hart is raised solely by her mother. It is known her father, Kermit, left Maya and her mother when she was young and never reached out to her. In Girl Meets Forgiveness, we meet Kermit and learn that he is happy with a new wife and family. Maya, holding the baggage of a runaway father, tries her best to forgive her father, but in the end falls short of it. This is a needed episode to show that sometimes effort is better than success. It also helps children in that situation understand that is it okay to be angry and sad, but that it was never their fault for their parent's disappearance. It also showed Maya gratitude and extreme thankfulness for her mother.
6. The Secret of Life
Cory Matthews became a teacher in the spinoff following in Mr. Feeny's footsteps. Cory pushes the secret of life that "People change people." Throughout the show, the characters develop into better versions of themselves through their friends and the people they surround themselves with. Lucas, a troubled kid in Texas, becomes kind and compassionate, willing to do anything for his friends. Maya, a hopeless troublemaker, finds her love for art and becomes extremely loyal to all her friends. Farkle outgrows his turtlenecks and superior claim and stands beside all of his friends. Lastly, Riley goes from a girl who wanted to be invisible to ruling her own world.
It's crushing to realize that an incredible show has ended, but as Ben Savage, actor for Cory Matthews, said, "The great thing about Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World is that no matter what, you are always meeting the world over and over again." The show may have ended, but the lessons carry on.
