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| Childrens' TV: Report Card |
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Childrens' TV: Report Card
> School-Age
> Danny Phantom
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Danny Phantom
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| NAME: | Danny Phantom
| | NETWORK: | NickToons | | GENRE: | Animated adventure
| | SHOW DESCRIPTION: | Danny Phantom is about a teenage half-ghost boy, who frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret.
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Appearance/Body Types | How characters are portrayed in terms of their bodies—weight, hair, breasts, muscles, etc. Is there a broad range of sizes or are all characters featured in similar, stereotypical ways? | |
Interpersonal/Emotional Style | How characters are portrayed in terms of their communication styles and interactions with other characters. Do they display characteristics such as assertiveness, confidence, sensitivity, kindness, adventurousness, etc.? | |
Leadership & Independence | How characters are portrayed as leaders or followers. Do they act independently, initiate conversations and actions, show respect for others, etc.? | |
Activities | How characters are portrayed in terms of their activities and physicality. Are characters portrayed doing only stereotypical activities (girls cheerleading and boys playing sports, for example) or are there a broad range of activities for each? | |
Self Image/Self Worth | How characters are portrayed in terms of valuing themselves. Are characters too focused on, or worried about, their appearance? Are characters overly concerned with attracting potential romantic partners or behaving differently when they're around? | |
Skills & Intelligence | How characters are portrayed in terms of their intelligence and abilities. Do they show aptitude with science, technology or math as well as art, dance or music? | |
TRUECHILD SAYS: Danny Phantom has an interesting premise but the show is another in a long line of shows that feature male lead characters that are very conventional and don't dare to take risks in terms of featuring emotions, vulnerability, creativity, etc. Danny is a Clark Kent-like figure who is a bit unpopular at school but secretly turns into a ghost-hunting superhero.
There are some interesting female characters like Sam, one of Danny's best friends. She is a rich girl who wants to be liked for who she is. She is a radical vegetarian and takes on a goth appearance. All of Sam's virtues as an individualist are negated by Jazz, Danny's sister. Jazz, is a typical older sister character who is bossy and domineering and is often looking for ways to get her brother in trouble. At the same time, Jazz is a social climber. She is smart but very focused on being popular and attracting boys. We really like Danny's mom Maddie Fenton. She is a bit unconventional in that she is brilliantly smart and is a ghost hunter along with her husband. She certainly is a great role model of a working mom! What frustrates us about Maddie's character is that she is often reminding her family that, while she loves her work, her family comes first. It seems to diminish her part as a role-model working mother to have her continually justify her role as a mom as well.
Overall, we know Danny Phantom is a cookie-cutter concept that will likely never be anything but a comic adventure show appealing mostly to boys. Even though it does take some risks with the characters and choices in their portrayals, the show relies far too much on conventional stereotypes to maintain a broad appeal.
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