Corpus Christi Caller-Times Ricardo Baca, media critic

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Ricardo Baca is the Caller-Times media critic. He can be reached via email at bacar@caller.com.

Sunday, October 22, 2000

Nickelodeon works to defy stereotypes

Network’s new lineup shows that TV needs to give a new role to minorities

Nickelodeon is changing the face of TV. And the skin color tones. And the physical capabilities.
   In an era when able-bodied white men and women with straight teeth and trendy clothes rule the ratings, ethnic groups have rallied in protest and demanded equal representation.
   Multiple groups, including the NAACP, called Hollywood’s attention to the numbers that proved what everyone else was thinking: TV doesn’t represent the world we live in.
   Since then, multiple networks have tip-toed around the issue, but in one of the most important forums - a forum that influences our impressionable children every day - Nick has made a commitment with its recent schedule by putting ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in leading roles.
   These characters are in your face and unavoidable, and they aren’t afraid to defy existing and outdated stereotypes.
   Being bold
   Take "Pelswick," for example. This is an animated show (which debuts 7 p.m. Tuesday on Nick) about a 13-year-old named Pelswick, a quick-witted kid who happens to be a quadriplegic. Pelswick doesn’t understand a world that treats him differently because he’s not exactly the same as everyone. By treating Pelswick differently that would only reinforce the fact that he’s different from everybody, but really he’s fine with just fitting in and abiding by the same rules as everyone else.
   It’s a progressive edge for a children’s show, and its creator John Callahan is the person who breathes the bold honesty into Pelswick. A quadriplegic himself since the age of 21, Callahan noticed how unknowledgeable the public is about life in a wheelchair - and he also found out that kids ask the darndest questions.
   "Kids ask funny questions like: ‘Do you sleep in your wheelchair?’ or ‘Is your girlfriend paralyzed?,’ " Callahan said. "You know...‘Is your dog paralyzed?’ And these questions get answered naturally in the show."
   Callahan relies on exposition to express his views to a point with Pelswick, but he also has no problem having the eighth-grader tell it like it is. For example, Pelswick could sneak around the issue of not liking to get preferential treatment, but instead Pelswick comes out boldly telling people not to treat him differently.
   "I created ‘Pelswick’ because I want kids to know that people using wheelchairs are just like everybody else - and they want to be treated the same as everybody else," said Callahan. "(Pelswick) demands to be treated normally, and he doesn’t like it when people walk on eggshells. He has a no-nonsense way of looking at things."
   And Callahan hopes that children will learn from Pelwick as a model and take that knowledge into the real world. When Callahan was a child, he said, TV was homogenized and without diversity. He’s excited that he’s playing an active role in bringing culturally and physically diverse characters to the screen with the support of Nickelodeon.
   Changing lead roles
   In addition to "Pelswick," Nick also has:

"Dora the Explorer," about a new Latina preschooler heroine who lives in a computer and isn’t afraid show her bilingual talents;

"All That," a diverse children’s sketch comedy show that recently passed the 100-episode mark; and

"The Brothers Garcia," which tells of three Latino brothers growing up in San Antonio.
   Other shows include "Little Bill," which is based on Bill Cosby’s books, and the live-action "Taina," which tells of a Puerto Rican girl going to a school of the arts and dealing with culture clash.
   While other networks have released notable diverse shows, Nick’s push for diversity comes where it is most needed. This is also the network that took girls such as Clarissa, Alex Mack and Shelby Woo and put them in the driver’s seat of intelligent shows that drew male and female fans. Giving girls and minorities and the disabled leading roles in TV shows was simply the right thing to do, said Cyma Zarghami, executive vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon.
   "It makes for good TV," she said. "All these shows are based on good characters. "Pelswick" isn’t about a kid in a wheelchair."
   Just as "The Brothers Garcia" isn’t about a Latino family. Both of these shows tell coming-of-age stories about family and friends and unification, and the lead characters happen to be Latino or in a wheelchair.
   "Increasing kids’ awareness and understanding of the diverse world they live in by introducing them to great characters and entertaining storylines they can relate to empowers them," said Zarghami. " ‘The Brothers Garcia’s’ simple tale of kids being kids, with a touch of Latino culture, enables kids to recognize and appreciate the similarities and differences they see in their own backyards."
   Two years ago the thought of an entire English-language sit-com about a Latino family wouldn’t fly. Nick recently announced that "The Brothers Garcia" was picked up for another season. When Callahan told people that he was developing a strip about a paralyzed eighth-grader, people would roll their eyes.
   "Things have changed a lot in the past few years," said Callahan. "There is more and more exposure to disabled people, and it’s more common to see people with disabilities and talk with the people about their disabilities."
   Callahan’s own disability comes through strongly in "Pelswick," which features a controlled messy style of animation. The characters were created by Callahan. He has normal arm function but both sets of fingers are stiff, so he draws with his right hand and he steadies the pencil with his left hand. From there, the animators took his distinctive childlike drawings of kids of many ethnicities and abilities, and they come to life on the screen.
   "Hopefully (diversity) will be more natural in the future," said Zarghami. "This country is not everything that it should be quite yet. Kids are leaders of the future, and if you believe that is true, like Nick does...this is the best place to start."

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