*** Contains Mild Spoilers *** When I was a kid, I didn't really enjoy this show because I was never into the Goth subculture, which is what this series appears to be promoting. There's a very interesting interplay between the main characters: Mandy is the intelligent Goth girl, while Billy and Irwin are the two "normal" children who end up getting involved due to their association with Mandy.
I couldn't fully grasp it back then, but there's more to this show than meets the eye, especially when you take into account issues of race and gender. At first glance, it appears that this show is throwing minority characters under the bus in favor of strong female leads like Mandy-- Irwin rarely acts outside of his stereotype as a dorky, socially awkward black kid, and Billy is a multiracial kid who is constantly dependent on Mandy to make decisions on his behalf.
Although it may seem like the epitome of racism to make a show about a young blond white girl who is so smart that she can even control Death himself, it makes a lot more sense if you account for the cultural climate when this show was produced. It came out right after the end of the 1990s, a decade defined by the IT bubble and boy bands. The cultural emphasis on machismo that characterized this period was bound to create a reaction, and this show appears to be part of it.
Recommended for anyone who would like to take a trip down memory lane.
I couldn't fully grasp it back then, but there's more to this show than meets the eye, especially when you take into account issues of race and gender. At first glance, it appears that this show is throwing minority characters under the bus in favor of strong female leads like Mandy-- Irwin rarely acts outside of his stereotype as a dorky, socially awkward black kid, and Billy is a multiracial kid who is constantly dependent on Mandy to make decisions on his behalf.
Although it may seem like the epitome of racism to make a show about a young blond white girl who is so smart that she can even control Death himself, it makes a lot more sense if you account for the cultural climate when this show was produced. It came out right after the end of the 1990s, a decade defined by the IT bubble and boy bands. The cultural emphasis on machismo that characterized this period was bound to create a reaction, and this show appears to be part of it.
Recommended for anyone who would like to take a trip down memory lane.