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Arthur is an American children's book series and TV show that has been around for ages. Growing up, my family watched a lot of public television, especially after we gave up cable when I was eight. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) shows were generally animated and aimed at teaching children something about the world. I remember watching a lot of interesting, colorful shows that were more than mere excuses to leave kids in front of the TV.
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat was about a family of cats belonging to the emperor and the whole show carried a certain mythological feel, since the cats had Siamese markings due to ink splashing on them when they were using their tails to write calligraphy. Most of the stories were about the kittens getting in and out of trouble while learning lessons. My favorite episode was about the selfish empress, who decided to get rid of bees and silkworms on the palace grounds because they grossed her out, only to discover that her offhanded decision to not have bugs around meant that she could no longer have honey or silk, her favorite things.
The list goes on. Cyber Chase was about some kids who got sucked into the virtual computer world by the powerful Motherboard and had to solve math puzzles to outsmart the villains. Liberty Kids was about a boy and a girl who worked with Benjamin Franklin during the American Revolution. Clifford the Big Red Dog, like Arthur, was famous for being both a series of children's books and a number of TV shows, and focused on a dog the size of a house, his human family, and his doggie friends. Dragon Tales was another show about kids, who were Mexican-American in this case, being sucked into a different world. They had adventures and learned lessons with a group of young dragons. I especially liked that one because I have always loved dragons and magic. One episode was all about the long journey they all went on together to reach the amusement park, climbing mountains and sailing over rivers, only to discover that the park was just for kids and that the journey had been much, much more interesting than the destination.
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The reason Arthur stands out to me is that my mom, my sister, and I watched it every single morning during breakfast until I was about thirteen. It was aimed at kids, since the characters were in third grade, but we really liked having it on. Years later, I began to think that Arthur would actually be a good show to watch with foreign students who are learning English and learning about American culture. This show is a solid portrayal of how middle class Midwestern Americans view their lives and values. The stories take place in Elwood City, which experiences all the seasons and has no trace of any mountains or oceans nearby, although Arthur's family does go on vacations to those sorts of places. People live in very American homes, go about doing and eating American things, and partake in American pop culture.
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Each episode lasts half an hour, and has two short episode stories and one shorter interlude story about real life school children around the country. The main character is a boy named Arthur Read who lives with his mother, father, 4-year-old sister D.W., baby sister Kate, and dog Pal. He is about eight years old and is in the third grade, which is taught by the overly difficult teacher Mr. Ratburn. Arthur has lots of friends who come from different economic and ethnic backgrounds, and have all sorts of different interests. As you watch the show, you learn more about each and every one of them. The cultural and racial backgrounds of the characters are one of my favorite aspects of the show. All the characters are animals, so you have to use context clues and the occasional physical feature to figure out which group of people they represent.
Brain, Francine, Buster, Arthur, Pal (dog), D.W., Muffy, and Binky
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A lot of the episodes about Arthur and his friends are focused on accepting each other's differences and finding common things to do together. For example, Muffy and Francine, who I believe are both monkeys, come from radically different places in terms of wealth, morals, and hobbies. Muffy is a spoiled child who lives in a huge mansion with her rich parents and gets anything and everything she wants. She likes to dress up, play with expensive toys, and go on glamorous trips. When she is first introduced in the show, she actually cheats off Francine to seem smart at her new school. On the other hand, Francine's father works for the garbage company, her family lives in an apartment, and her favorite thing to do is play muddy sports with the boys. There are lots of episodes about the two of them being best friends yet having the hardest time finding things to do together without ruining Muffy's shoes or forcing Francine to wear a dress. Another interesting pair of friends is Prunella and Marina, but I will talk about them later. Perhaps the one downside to showing English learners Arthur is that most of the characters' names are completely ridiculous.
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There is a huge range of characters in Arthur which includes Arthur's classmates, the adults around town, and even celebrities voicing themselves. Mr. Rodgers makes a visit, as does Yo-Yo Ma. Bullies in the fifth grade often get their own episodes where they show their good side or their shy side. For example, Binky is a tall, heavily built bull dog who leads the bullies and is taller than everyone else because he was held back a few grades. However, we learn that Binky is afraid of the dark and that his greatest dream is to be a ballet dancer. Adults in the show get their time to shine as well, such as the aforementioned teacher Mr. Ratburn, who comes to stay at Arthur's house one winter when the snow causes his roof to cave in. Arthur's sister D.W. learns that teachers do not sleep at the school and Arthur realizes that just because Mr. Ratburn is a strict teacher does not mean he is not a good, fun person who likes games and cartoons. Arthur's parents, neighbors, grandparents, and others make frequent appearances. Many episodes are about his little sister D.W., whose bossiness and stubbornness often get her into trouble.
Above: Binky showing his soft side
Below: DW, baby Kate, and Arthur in the car
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As for Arthur the aardvark, as far as lead characters go, he is pretty straightforward, but interesting and sometimes surprising. He plays piano, babysits the badly behaved kids down the street, plays with his best friend Buster the rabbit, fights with his sister, participates in school musicals, lies about going to the junkyard when he wasn't supposed to, and generally gets into normal trouble. One interesting episode covers how Arthur and friends are at that age where they start to see themselves as boys and girls, and everyone thinks that he and Francine are in love because they spend so much time together. They start avoiding each other because of these rumors, but make up after declaring that they are not in love and decide they do not care what people think. In some episodes Arthur is the main character, in others he is not at all, and in some he is more of the detective finding out about what others are doing. Arthur's home is a bit unorthodox in terms of structure because his father works from home as a desserts caterer and his mother works as something like an accountant from the home computer. Some episodes focus on Arthur and D.W. realizing how hard their parents work, or on how they worry their mother will become a powerful, mean business lady who is always running out the door. They eventually learn to take more responsibility or that their parents will not change just because they are successful.
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One of the best aspects of the world of Arthur is how it manages to show what kids are doing by parodying pop culture. When Harry Potter was sweeping across the world, it entered the world of Arthur through a book series about a boy called Henry Skreever. He had a key-shaped marking on his forehead and lived in a world of wizardry. They even brought up a character in this series called Persephone, and Mr. Ratburn taught the students how to pronounce her name correctly. I think this was meant to be a message to children reading Harry Potter who might not know how to pronounce the name Hermione, a main character. This episode also features one of my favorite friendships in the show, which is between Prunella the poodle and Marina the blind rabbit. Prunella loves spending time with Marina, but it takes a long time for her to realize that just because Marina bumps into things occasionally, she is not helpless. Marina plays soccer with a beeping ball and goes to the movies using a pair of headphones that explain everything going on in the film.
Marina and Prunella playing with Braille playing cards.
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Another great parody is Spooky-Poo, which is a TV show about a kangaroo and his friends who solve mysteries. It is clearly representing Scooby-Doo, and in more ways than the surface similarity. When Mr. Ratburn came to stay at Arthur's family's house, he brought his old Spooky-Poo tapes and Arthur's parents came running in all excited because they used to watch the show when they were young. Arthur recognizes it to, and knows that it is a kid's show, which is why it surprises him so much that his teacher likes it.
Above: Spooky-Poo
Below: Henry Skreever
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Arthur is a great show because it tackles many difficult situations children might find themselves in and utilizes all its characters. There are really too many examples to list: learning to ignore people who tease you, making friends from different cultures, not panicking when the whole school gets lice, dealing with a bed-wetting problem, apologizing after hurting your sibling, admitting you are wrong, dealing with guilt, trying to be yourself, etc. The episodes are short, the characters speak clearly, and the subject matter is always entertaining.
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