Girl Meets World was you could say, a show where the moral of each episode (http://girlmeetsworldreviewed.blogspot.com/2015/10/episode-review-girl-meets-rah-rah-219.html) all seemed to be same. The typical formula appeared to be that Riley wants something, doesn't know how to get it, her friends/family help her, she doesn't make the best decision, but it always turns out well in the end.

For example, there's an episode (https://girlmeetsworld.fandom.com/wiki/Girl_Meets_Rah_Rah) where Riley wants to be a cheerleader (https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10/10/girl-meets-world-girl-meets-rah-rah-review). Even though she's acknowledged as being bad at tryouts throughout the episode, Riley acts surprised when she was not picked to be on teams.

Ultimately, everybody bands together to convince the coach to allow an objectively bad dancer like Riley to be on the cheerleading squad. The point is that instead of teaching children about what life is really like (a set of disappointments (https://www.theyoungfolks.com/television/65281/tv-review-girl-meets-world-2x19-girl-meets-rah-rah/) and that the world is not full of getting what you want), everything works out for Riley in the end.

I agree! And too often everyone on that show enabled Riley instead of attempt to call her on her stuff ( like when she nagged Maya into seeking out her estranged father instead of respecting Maya's call and butting out &dropping the issue when Maya clearly wasn't ready to do so). Cory, Shawn, and even Topanga had issues on BMW but they were willing to call out each other on their stuff so the characters could grow and learn instead of everyone telling Cory he was perfect all the time(and it had been originally known as 'the Ben Savage Project').

^^^ To me, its only enabling if there isn't any positive growth in the person's behavior.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

^^^
Well,IMO there was little if any positive growth in Riley Matthews's behavior just that she became more entitled, nosy (and bossy), despite all the 'lessons' she was supposed to have learned on a weekly basis.

Now that I've thought about it some more, Full House was guilty of the practice of manipulative "wishful fulfillment" at least two decades prior to Girl Meets World. Or more specifically, there were episodes of Full House where the adults seemed to base their decisions around Michelle's happiness.

Like when Jesse and Becky got married (https://therealfullhousereviewed.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/season-4-episode-20-fuller-house/) and didn't move into Becky's place (which was literally in the same neighborhood) like they planned because Michelle couldn't accept the fact that her Uncle Jesse wouldn't be leaving in her dad's house anymore. Therefore, Jesse and Becky had to move into Danny's attic.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/39/1a/f3/391af3cd15d78e25c5d6224a071835b8.gif

https://mtv.mtvnimages.com/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:mtv.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/uncle-jesse-2-1439923968.gif?quality=.8&height=375&width=500

There was another episode (https://therealfullhousereviewed.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/season-7-episode-24-a-house-divided/) later on, where Michelle again sabotaged her family out of an opportunity to move out. Remember when that rich guy wanted to buy their house and they all agreed to move? But naturally, Michelle was the only one who wasn't having it. So she rounded up her friends to sabotage the proceedings so that man wouldn't buy it. And of course the whole family caved in and decided to stay.

Like on Girl Meets World instead of wanting to show and teach children that things in life won't always go as planned and they'll never always get there way, Full House did just about the opposite with Michelle. It's sort of reminiscent of what is called "helicopter parenting", where adults give kids things that they want (but probably shouldn’t have) due to their own guilt. They want their kids to like them or not wanting them to act out (when you don’t give them what they want).

^^^ In Michelle's defense, she didn't always get her way. She wanted Danny to get married to her kindergarten teacher during season five and of course that didn't happen.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. I remember Stephanie telling Danny in season seven that she and her sisters were going to miss Vicki too and so obviously all three of the girls wanted Vicki to be their step mother. That didn't happen.

I can think of at least two 'lessons' that show presented that could have easily been done without (and it was not atypical of the show's tude).

In 'Girl Meets Pluto', after Cory, Topanga and Shawn trespass on Mr. Feeny's property then vandalize his garden to dig it up for the time capsule Cory insists must be dug up immediately for no real reason or urgency, Mr. Feeny shines his flashlight on Cory and Shawn who scream like children and then Riley and Maya (who'd also been digging ) immediately show up wave their hands in his face, make cat sounds and do their rendition of Feeny Call to him without so much as saying 'hello' much less introducing themselves or apologizing before/afterwards. As per the show, the teens had had no interactions with him whatsoever (at least none in recent years for Riley) and THAT is how they behave to an old man who'd just been their victim of deliberate trespassing and vandalism. Neither Cory, Shawn nor Topanga attempt to stop the teens from deliberately bullying (yes, it was bullying and elder abuse) the old man much less make any objections or even call out a 'Now, girls!' but just let it happen and even smile at it! Let's not forget that Topanga had said in the last BMW that she considered Mr. Feeny to be more of a father than her own had been AND Shawn had said Mr. Feeny was the best person he knew and Cory praised him too- yet they themselves did that to his yard and allowed the teens to treat him like that! BOO!

It would have been one thing if, at a tribute to Mr. Feeny, the teens had said they wanted to give a message from Eric and THEN had done the Feeny Call but that's not what happened.

Oh, and NONE of the five make the slightest attempt to apologize to this old man for having trespassed on his land and vandalized countless hours of hard work on his part or for the teens being needlessly rude and snotty to him. He'd never said or done anything to the teens in particular but be their victim and THAT's how they treated him. Again, BOO!

Lessons learned:

1. You don't have to bother to attempt to ask permission to visit much less dig up someone else's yard. Just DO it and don't apologize.

2. You can be totally snotty to another person who never said or did anything to you and neither of your parents nor their same age family friend will attempt to stop you, apologize for you much less punish you for having behaved so hatefully (despite the high praise they'd given him long ago).

There was this episode (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/girl-meets-world-aspergers-syndrome) in which Farkle believes that he may has Asperger's syndrome (https://www.tmz.com/2021/04/24/girl-meets-world-dragged-problematic-cory-matthews-disney-channel/). But the way (https://twitter.com/i/status/1295931599020752909) that it was presented (https://nativenewspost.com/news/entertainment/girl-meets-world-is-facing-backlash-on-twitter-for-how-the-show-handled-farkles-autism-scene/), it might as well have been like Farkle being tested for having an STD. Maybe I'm a bit personally offended as someone, who themselves, are on the autism spectrum. The episode makes it sound (https://www.justjared.com/2021/04/24/girl-meets-world-is-facing-backlash-on-twitter-for-how-the-show-handled-farkles-autism-scene/) like just because you have Asperger's syndrome, are autistic, or on the spectrum, you're not going to be able to otherwise, live a functional life. The episode instead, just flat out reeks (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/girl-meets-world/user-reviews/adult) of ableism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBnhmuOa61c).

When I found out that I was autistic, I was actually more relived because I finally gained some perspective on who I was as a person. The point is that being autistic (https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/09/03/disney-channel-autism/20768/) or on the spectrum shouldn't be something to be ashamed of or looked at (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/girl-meets-world/user-reviews/adult?page=1) as like having a terminal illness. Instead of actually going all in on Farkle being autistic (https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/mpeln7/thoughts_on_the_girl_meets_world_episode/), they cop out and tell us (https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/12/girl-meets-world-girl-meets-i-am-farkle-review) that the tests proved that he wasn't and everything was finally going to be okay.

There was this episode (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/girl-meets-world-aspergers-syndrome) in which Farkle believes that he may has Asperger's syndrome (https://www.tmz.com/2021/04/24/girl-meets-world-dragged-problematic-cory-matthews-disney-channel/). But the way (https://twitter.com/i/status/1295931599020752909) that it was presented (https://nativenewspost.com/news/entertainment/girl-meets-world-is-facing-backlash-on-twitter-for-how-the-show-handled-farkles-autism-scene/), it might as well have been like Farkle being tested for having an STD. Maybe I'm a bit personally offended as someone, who themselves, are on the autism spectrum. The episode makes it sound (https://www.justjared.com/2021/04/24/girl-meets-world-is-facing-backlash-on-twitter-for-how-the-show-handled-farkles-autism-scene/) like just because you have Asperger's syndrome, are autistic, or on the spectrum, you're not going to be able to otherwise, live a functional life. The episode instead, just flat out reeks (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/girl-meets-world/user-reviews/adult) of ableism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBnhmuOa61c).

When I found out that I was autistic, I was actually more relived because I finally gained some perspective on who I was as a person. The point is that being autistic (https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/09/03/disney-channel-autism/20768/) or on the spectrum shouldn't be something to be ashamed of or looked at (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/girl-meets-world/user-reviews/adult?page=1) as like having a terminal illness. Instead of actually going all in on Farkle being autistic (https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/mpeln7/thoughts_on_the_girl_meets_world_episode/), they cop out and tell us (https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/12/girl-meets-world-girl-meets-i-am-farkle-review) that the tests proved that he wasn't and everything was finally going to be okay.

Agree!

It was awful the way they treated autism as though it was a terminal disease that would doom someone to be forlorn outcast rather than just say that Farkle was who he was but what was KNOWN about him would have been different. And also, they could have framed it by admitting that it would have been a challenge to have to work through but that Farkle and all his friends and family could have had fulfilling lives even with the diagnosis.