A Commentary on Vegetarianism and Arthur
This title is misleading, but while Arthur Read himself did not become a vegetarian, his friend Sue Ellen did. Essentially, this is the plot of one of the newer Arthur episodes. If you didn't watch Arthur on PBS Kids, you were probably never loved as a child, so google it.
I stumbled upon this 11 minute-long children's television show episode when I was up late the other night and on the ~weird~ side of Youtube. You know how when you start to look at makeup tutorials online and then 27 minutes later you're watching something along the lines of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6EoRBvdVPQ
Other times, you come across full episodes of your favorite childhood television show. In an episode entitled "Sue Ellen Vegges Out", Sue Ellen, Francine, and Muffy experiment with vegetarianism, and drama ensues. The following is my commentary.
Marc Brown you've done it again.
Apparently, this middle-class elementary school cafeteria is more dressed up for Cinco De Mayo than actual Mexico.
The first meatless meal they show and it looks entirely unappetizing. Look, I would be down to eat that pesto filling but to most children watching this show that looks like str8-up vomit. If this episode was created to be inclusive of vegetarians then all they are doing is making them look like giant nerds.
This isn't even how people reacted when I told them I was becoming a vegan! Those reactions were nowhere near as dramatic, so Francine and Arthur would you please have a little class?
Buster... Honey no...
Who gave this 8 year old child a perfectly-cooked, medium rare New York strip steak for her god-damned lunch? Who is funding this school's lunch program?
Girlfriend, you took maybe two bites of that steak that somebody (God knows who) had to slave over, and you're just gonna LEAVE IT? Check your privilege.
Well no wonder Muffy doesn't know what meat is, all of the funding that was supposed to go towards her education went towards her thousand dollar a plate lunch service.
This is what Muffy's food at home looks like. Isn't her family loaded? Why does her food look so sad? So we got some mushrooms, a slice of tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and corn. PBS Kids, you're telling your adolescent viewers that sad vegetables are the only alternative to meat. Why can't she eat some dope mac and cheese?
Ew?
If they're vegetarian, not vegan, they should be able to eat regular ice cream. Why are they making this so much harder for themselves? This is why 8 year old shouldn't make important life decisions by themselves!
Is... is Francine tripping? Is she tripping?
BOO. BOO. Francine's sister you're the absolute worst. There's nothing that annoys me more than when people pull the "but where do you get your protein from?" card... like suddenly people need to be eating chicken breasts with every meal or else they're collapse into a cloud of ashes or something. The GIVE Project states that while chicken contains 23% protein, spinach and broccoli contains 49%, cucumbers contain 24%, and tomatoes contain 18%. Here are several other foods that you can get all of your protein from:
-Lentils
-Chickpeas
-Pasta
-Grains
-Bagels
-Beans
-Potatoes
-Soy products
Buster agrees to go to a party he knows nothing about!
DO NOT TRY TO TELL ME THAT THIS 8 YEAR OLD GIRL NAMED FERN MADE SHEPHERD'S PIE ALL BY HERSELF. I CALL BULL.
I wouldn't eat this TBH. Sorry Sue.
Um... bitch?
You're telling me that not one of these kids brought anything meatless to this extravagant potluck? No cheese pizza, no pasta, no dessert. This is a horribly-organized potluck. Muffy Crosswire, you spawn of satan.
"Well, we can't eat meat, so let's overcorrect and only eat carrots!"
That's disgusting!
I DON'T KNOW SUE ELLEN, OKAY?
The show resolves with Francine and Muffy giving up on the whole vegetarian thing but making sure that the cafeteria has more vegetarian options. Also, would you look at Mrs. McGrady's side-eye? Jesus, she bad.
Feel free to watch the episode for yourself. A warning, it's from one of the newer seasons, AKA, not as good as the classic Arthur you grew up with. Until next-time, my anthropomorphic pals!