In the year 2006, Disney aired a heinous television show that was contaminated with the message that lying to and blind-siding those closest to you is ok. Not to mention how the main character’s father fueled her lies too! Plotting her next move, how to get her out of messes, and even going as far as lying with her. If I were a parent during that time, I wouldn’t want my child to be influenced to lie straight through their teeth. Luckily for Disney fans, the show came to an abrupt end in 2011, the show I hated as a child finally reaching its final destination: the Disney trash can. Surprisingly enough, this show parodies one of Oscar Wilde’s greatest comedies, The Importance of Being Ernest, a play meant to explain the importance of being truthful. However, this disgusting show did anything but that. The poor excuse for a kid’s show, Hannah Montana, and the marvelous comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, both follow the lives of protagonists leading a double life, teaching those both young and old the satire in the truth. Hannah Montana, having an audience of young girls who were most likely being taught that lying isn’t ok, ironically implemented from early on that lying was in fact ok, as long as you don’t get caught. Miley Stewart, the main character of the show, was repeatedly encouraged by her father to lie to her friends about her secret pop sensation alter ego, Hannah Montana because the truth would only bring issues. But this message only left the show’s young viewers wondering “shouldn’t the truth be good”? Well, if we take a look at The Importance of Being Earnest the main male leads believed in the same ideal: that ironically, lying is better than telling the truth. Jack and Algernon, the two leading men, both have no issue with lying and go as far as creating two alter egos themselves: Ernest and Bunbury. Miley, Jack, and Algernon all created stock characters that they could hide behind when they deemed necessary; Hannah was a stereotypical happy, bubbly pop star by night; Ernest was a stereotypical wealthy bachelor in the city; and Bunbury was a fragile, weak “friend” of Algernon who was always conveniently sick. Each alter-ego is so absurdly different from the true human behind the mask that it's almost laughable. They all poke fun at what it means to be a true version of oneself. The only time all three of these characters have an issue with lying is when their lies catch up to them, and those around them finally unmask the lies they were consumed in. Both of these stories spread the valuable message that white lies which don’t harm anyone are ok, as long as you don’t get caught. I still hate Hannah Montana for being a knock-off of the heavenly creation that is The Importance of Being Earnest but who knows, maybe that will change. Or maybe I’ve been lying to you this entire time just like Hannah Montana taught me; because it’s ok for me to lie, as long as I don’t get caught.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHi! I'm La'Kennya Huggins and I'm currently a senior in high school. This blog is primarily for my college course. Archives
November 2021
Categories |