The Lizzie MaGuire Movie

The Lizzie MaGuire Movie

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            Growing up watching the Disney Channel, the show Lizzie Maguire was a big hit, perhaps the Hannah Montana of my generation. Staring Hilary Duff, the show follows a young blond girl name Lizzie and her life at home and in middle school. A threesome since elementary school, Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo have been best friends for as long as they can remember but now that they’ve entered middle school and it’s all about cute boys and climbing the social ladder. Along with Kate, the most popular girl, Lizzie’s number one enemy and used to be best friend and Ethan, the heartthrob of their class, Lizzie is faced with the daily struggles of middle school life. Based on the hit show, a movie was made that follows Lizzie, Gordo and their classmates on a trip to Italy before they enter high school. While in Italy, Hilary Duff’s character runs into an Italian Pop Star Paulo and is mistaken for the famous Isabella that is his singing partner. Throughout the film, Lizzie tours Rome on the back of Paulo’s vespa and practices on what will be an out of this world performance at the end of the movie in the Colosseum.

                   While I actually enjoyed this movie, it quickly grew frustrating when Lizzie is mistaken for an Italian Pop Star and ends up singing at the end of the movie. One thing I truly don’t understand is that every actor and actress can now sing and become instantly famous pop stars. This movie is essentially building on the Hilary Duff brand and is the beginning of her singing career. Despite being this girl who deals with mean girls and wondering if she’ll ever be kissed by Ethan, the cutest boy in school, Lizzie now becomes a pop star, wears designer fashion and ‘girlfriend’ of the biggest Italian Pop Star. What kind of message does this send little girls, that is normal?! With shows like Hannah Montana that focus on a girl who is a normal little girl by day and pop diva by night and Lizzie Maguire becoming the it girl in The Lizzie Maguire Movie, we’re playing on the idea that a girls only ambition is to become pretty, perfect and famous! 

Lizzie MaGuire

Lizzie MaGuire Season One: Aaron Carter's in Town

           Lizzie Maguire was a popular television show that aired on the Disney Channel in early 2001, a show that centered on the life of Lizzie a young girl getting through middle school along with an animated sarcastic alter ego. The series stars Hilary Duff as Lizzie an ordinary, ‘girl next door’ preteen who is confronted by issue adolescents face in their daily life along.  In this particular episode, the famous teen pop star Aaron Carter is in town shooting a Christmas music video. Lizzie offers to write a piece about the music video for the school paper and shows up at the studio harassing the staff to meet the one and only Aaron but lets her best friend take her place to meet the pop star. Leaving her tape recorder in Aaron’s dressing room, she is confronted by Aaron and shares a kiss under the mistletoe outside his door and she and her friends end up being featured in the music video.

                        Another example of this theme becoming more and more normalized in television and books targeted to tweens, the idea of fame has become an important part of the tween life. While it’s perfectly acceptable for children to look up too and aspire to be like their favorite characters on television, the celebrity lifestyle seems so normal to our kids today. In shows like Lizzie Maguire that would be categorized as contemporary realistic fiction, the show features a very realistic lifestyle, making experiences and situations very relatable for the viewers. However with the fame and celebrity lives becoming more and more a part of the story or show, what is this setting our kids up for, aspirations or rejection by standards that television portrays? Is it healthy for our children to be surrounded by the celebrity lifestyle. 

The Idol In Me

Hannah Montana Season One: The Idol In Me

           Considered one of the Disney’s Channels best and most popular shows, Hannah Montana was an extremely successful series that launched the Hannah Montana brand and literally became a nationwide phenomenon. With a huge fan base following, Miley Cyrus became the “it” girl after making Hannah Montana the must watch show in 2006 when it aired. The show focuses on the double life of Miley Stewert, she’s secretly the singing sensation known as Hannah Montana. Dealing with the life as a tween and life in middle school, she’s also the hottest thing around when she portrays the super popular Hannah Montana. In the episode, The Idol side Of Me, Hannah participates in a reality singing competition, Singing with the Stars she’s paired with her enemy, the queen bee Amber and gets her into the top three to humiliate and embarrass her but ends up regretting her decision.

                   A show about a normal girl living a double life as a teen pop star, it’s every girls dream to live the life of Hannah Montana. Already a story about the life (the ups and downs) of being a famous celebrity, Hannah must learn to keep her life as a pop star to her family and closest friends. An episode that focuses on popularity, fitting in, fame, self promotion, this may not be such a good show to promote to young and vulnerable girls. Although a show that emphasizes the life of Miley Stewart and her life with her friends and fitting in at school, girls may relate to that side of Miley but notice and focus more on the glitz and glamour of the pop princess that Hannah is. While the show may be fun and entertaining, it’s unrealistic and terrible example for children. A wig magically transform Miley to Hannah and her mean, sarcastic and trashy attitude is far from what we want our children looking up to.

Hannah Montana

Hannah Montana

            After perusing the Children’s Department at the local library, when I came across Hannah Montana I thought there couldn’t be a better show to evaluate and review.  Lucky for me I was able to find the first season of the series easily. One of the biggest and most influential series for “tween” aged girls. Every girl from second grade into early middle school at the school my mother taught was obsessed with the hit show starring Miley Cyrus. The basis of the show centers on Miley Stewart (portrayed by pop star Miley Cyrus) a teenage girl who leads a double life as a normal teenage girl and the pop sensation Hannah Montana. The show became an instant success and proceeded with three more seasons and is considered one of the Disney Channels greatest shows geared towards tween aged girls.

            Now for someone who has no younger siblings I didn’t know much about the show at all. In fact I thought the character of “Hannah Montana” was a dream or fantasy of the Miley Stewart. After watching the first few episodes, I was clearly in the wrong, Hannah Montana is an actual character as well as Miley Stewart. I was a little shocked to learn that within the very first couple episodes Miley’s two friends find out her true identity but are sworn to keep it secret until the right moment presents itself for Miley to share who she really is. Although, a famous pop star, Miley is a normal teenage girl facing normal day to day experiences. This is perhaps why there was such a huge following of the show, many young girls felt they could relate to this character. However the consequence with this show is the idea of wanting fame and the celebrity lifestyle. Very much of our culture focuses on the obsession to be famous, whatever that may mean. I only watched a few episodes of Hannah Montana, but I don’t know if this is show that should be encouraged for young girls to watch. Although the show addresses the normal lives, does it also promote the celebrity lifestyle and encourage young girls to focus on wanting fame and publicity? Maybe I’ll finish the series to see how this question is handled through the show!  

(images via pinterest)