Our boys, ages eleven and six, are big fans of Phineas and Ferb. My wife and I also have a positive opinion of the show's emphasis on scientific curiosity and creativity, and of its portrayal of the good-natured mischief which occupies the protagonists through 104 long summer days. We would love to see more programming on TV which encourages kids to use their free time to explore, tinker, and ask questions about the world, rather than passively receive information and entertainment via electronic media.
We are dismayed, however, by the inappropriate — even offensive — use of ethnic humor in the show, especially in the portrayal of Baljeet, the boy from India who is a regular member of Phineas and Ferb's "gang." The boy's heavy Indian accent immediately identifies him as an outsider. That by itself would not be problematic if his portrayal were not so unsympathetic. His character's singular concern is with grades; it seems that this is his only value. Are Phineas and Ferb's writers trying to tell our children that Indian students, as group, are all obsessed with getting A-pluses, or that this very successful immigrant population poses a threat to their academic and professional success? What message is this intended to deliver to an age group which seldomly thinks about their peers in ethnic terms? Obviously, Disney is trying to get a few chuckles from the adult fans of the show by appealing to a low common denominator, which finds that amusing.
This show should not aspire to be Family Guy or Seinfeld. Unfortunately, our kids will have plenty of exposure to ethnic stereotyping in the media, but we find it unnecessary, appalling, and frankly un-American, to introduce this type of humor into pre-teen programming.
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