Arthur: Muffy, the Best Worst Character
The Secret Agenda of PBS Series
Some History
Arthur is a Canadian/American animated kids show originally created by the Cookie Jar Group (Seasons 1 -15), and now produced by Story Media Group. It was based on the kids books of the same title by Marc Brown, but the universe has long since expanded into a much more diverse set of characters.
The merge of CJE to DHX Media was not kind to the legacy of the show. It degraded the animation quality. It introduced plot contradictions. Most tragically, it simplified the stories: character development stagnated and even regressed, which resulted in more cliche plots lacking nuance. In other words, today’s Arthur pushes us to accept the world’s progress we have made, but yesterday’s Arthur pushed us to learn about world’s viewpoints we overlooked.
You know who (metaphorically speaking) did age well though?
Muffy: The Winner
This princess ain’t a basic bitch, she’s a QUEEN. While she can’t create anything good, has terrible ideas about everything, is the ultimate stupid-white-feminist-capitalist-hypocrite; she has 1) money 2) money skillz 3) and the “I’m always right and get my way” attitude that allows her to thrive off of the kindness and ignorance of the middle and lower class.
And so you have it: Muffy Crosswire, the third grade daughter of a filthy-rich Car Dealer who embraces all things capitalism at the expense of nature and humanity. Like her father, she feels entitled to everything she wants, ruins her so-called friends’ lives if it will boost her ego, and can’t donate anything but garbage to charities. She’s against some injustices, but only injustices against her.
Aside: Muffy is Ivanka Trump.
If you don’t know who Ivanka Trump is, she’s the daughter of Donald Trump who acted as a shield against criticisms of Donald as a misogynist. If you know who she is, it’s hard to miss the glaring similarities between her and Muffy:
- Both pretend to be allies to other women/people, but really only want to serve themselves.
Ivanka pretended to be a feminist as long as it supported her ambitions, but in the end she has never done any work (so much for maternity leave and rights) to actually improve the lives of women. Similarly, Muffy will throw her friends under a bus period. She’s constantly insulting her “best friend” Francine and there’s a lot of evidence to suggest she keeps Francine around to have someone to put down as well bolster her, yet she’s allowed to keep this title and everyone’s respect… because (rich pretty white girl).
- Both are constantly figuring out ways to exploit others.
Like Ivanka Trump, Muffy uses her wealth and good looks/taste to present herself in a way that appeals to the public. People admire her behavior instead of denouncing it. In Muffy’s case, she does so by openly exposing the flaws of capitalism while fully engaging in the system with no remorse in the company of people who do not recognize how they are constantly being exploited because she has won them over with her fancy possessions. It’s very similar to how Ivanka Trump chooses to surround herself with the admiration of conservative white women through showing off her wealth as “success”.
- Both would protect their fathers’ reputations and wealth at expense of everyone else.
There’s plenty of articles out there on why Ivanka is a problem including her defending her father even when evidence appeared that he sexually assaulted people and was clearly someone who didn’t support women’s rights. In the episode “Muffy’s Car Campaign”, she pretends she will bring the signatures her classmates have collected to reduce carbon emissions at their school, but actually throws them away, because the plan they are proposing would negatively affect her father’s business. In both women’s eyes, their father’s reputations and ambitions come before doing the right thing.
Despicable? Endearing? In the end it depends on who you are. As you can see, despite Ivanka and Muffy behaving very similarly, in the context of real world implications versus cartoon entertainment, often the former is viewed more negatively and the latter more positively. Yet, the fact that such behavior can be both poorly- and well-recieved demonstrates how Ivanka Trump was able to charm so many (white women) voters to her father’s side despite the catastrophic impact his election would have for those same people.
Then why is Muffy (still) such a hit?
Honestly, it’s because Muffy has always been the conduit in which the thoughts of the youth (first millennials, then gen z) the show are spoken. Here are some of my favorite examples of everything wrong with our reality-show loving nation:
Muffy and how to be a successful musician (by selling out).
The Muffy today was transformed into the stereotype of how the older generations perceive the younger generations of today. Her shallowness, selfishness, and laziness are both relatable and abhorrent to the accused. Oftentimes, she ends up representing and experiencing the trappings of today’s children and the resulting consequences of our capitalistic society.
Such a character would be the bane of our existence in real life, but in the context of a kid’s show with nothing else substantial going on, Muffy brings life to what would be an ordinary show that avoids the political discourse that adults want to hide from children to preserve Western corporate rule.
