Boy Meets World was a coming-of-age sitcom that aired on ABC between the Fall of 1993 and the Spring of 2000 and is widely considered to be one of the best TV shows about being a teenager. Following the exploits of Corey Matthews, his friends Shawn and Topanga, as well as his family and a sprawling cast of others. The show as able to capture and sustain a generation of teen viewers and remains in syndication today.
While the series serves as a nostalgic reminder for a large subsection of now adults in the real world, it is important to not view the entire series with rose-tinted glasses. There were some incredibly problematic and questionable storylines throughout the show's seven seasons, and since its debut, stories have come out regarding the behind-the-scenes issues actors experienced on the show.
This is not meant to discount some of the truly relatable and authentic lessons that the show does cover, but an examination of a flawed series that does not quite hold up under the microscope of today. These are 10 issues from Boy Meets World that are now totally un-relatable and problematic.
10 Cults
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
Remember when season four of Boy Meets World was chugging along and then BOOM! Shawn joins... a cult? This episode really comes out of nowhere and never ceases to surprise no matter how many times you rewatch the series. Throughout the show, Shawn can often be found searching for meaning and a place where he feels he fits in, despite being reminded time and time again that he already has a place, but more on that later.
In this particular episode, Shawn finds himself at "The Centr", with a group of young teens led by Mr. Mac. It doesn't take long for the audience to realize that The Centr is essentially a cult, Shawn even calls it that himself. Searching for purpose is not an uncommon experience for young people. However, abruptly throwing one of the show's main characters into a cult as a means to find this purpose is a premise that did not work in 1997 and is one that is certainly not relatable now.
9 Getting Into College
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
The first five seasons of Boy Meets World treat the concept of getting into college as the end all be all measurement of success. Everyone from the kids, to the parents, to the teachers are of the belief that anything short of a college education is viewed as a failure. We know the opposite to be true, as every young person's path is different and not all roads lead to college.
This was true during the show's initial run, and it remains true to this day. The series covered this particular topic on several different occasions, something that had to have influenced the belief system of many of its viewers.
8 Sexuality
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
Early on in the series, we are introduced to Joey and Frankie, two lackeys for the school's main bully, Harley. In one of these early episodes, it is insinuated that Frankie could perhaps be questioning his sexuality. The premise is more or less a throwaway joke, but a pre-cursor of how the show would handle the topic of sexuality. That being, it doesn't really, nor should it.
There is a season six episode that features a small B-story of a gay classmate of the group. Aside from this, all the main characters in the series are heterosexual, and the show does not unnecessarily venture into other territories just to do it. Where the problem lies is in the way homosexuality is mostly portrayed through the lenses of the main characters, as they are often overcome with uncomforted reactions when the topic is addressed or alluded to.
7 Gender Norms
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
Much like the topic of sexuality, gender norms are another area where the show tends to fall flat. Throughout the series, there are countless examples of the main characters being boxed into roles traditionally viewed as belonging to a specific gender. Amy being viewed as the stay at home Mom and nothing more, Corey and Shawn embracing each other in a hug, resulting in Topanga saying "You're boys". While yes, a lot of this is used for comedic purposes on the obviously comedic show.
We now live in a world where gender norms have all but disappeared from mainstream culture; one where gender fluidity is discussed in an open forum. These aspects of Boy Meets World, while seeming normal during the show's first run, are all but out of touch in today's society.
6 Mr. Feeny’s Curriculum Choices
On the whole, Mr. Feeny is one of the standout characters on the show and one whose lessons remain very much relatable even today. Where the character is out of touch in today's world is in his approach as a teacher. Everyone has memories of a teacher who sticks to the academic curriculum and does not waiver in any way. Mr. Feeny is very much this teacher. While dispensing life lessons to the main cast throughout the series outside the classroom, inside Feeny is very traditional.
5 Sex: Mixed Messages
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
Boy Meets World tries to handle the topic of sex in two vastly different ways. On one hand, there are several episodes that comment on sex as something to wait on, something special to be done when you find someone you love. The series also uses sex as a comedic plot device, using the tried and true "horny teenagers" approach. The end results end up being a show that wants to teach valuable lessons to young people, sending mixed messages on one of the biggest topics they will encounter in their teenage years.
4 Lifelong Love
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
The age at which Cory and Topanga first meet is changed a handful of times throughout the series, but the two have essentially known each other for the majority of their lives and have always had a loving connection. A connection that sees the two marry one another and have a daughter of their own.
A daughter who becomes the main character of her own story in the spin-off show Girl Meets World. While it was not once uncommon for middle school and high school sweethearts to spend together forever, and it does occasionally still happen today. It seems like a concept that is of its time, and one that many of today's youth can not relate to whatsoever.
3 Socio-Economic Differences
- Michael Jacobs Productions, Touchstone Television
The class differences between Cory and Shawn are a running theme throughout almost the entire seven seasons of the series. Cory comes from an upper-middle-class family, they live in a fairly large home, his parents are together, and he enjoys the luxuries of that lifestyle. Shawn's parents are separated, he calls a trailer home, and more than once throughout the series finds himself abandoned by his family. Class struggle between two friends is not uncommon in the world and remains a relatable topic. The show's approach to this situation however is not always as tactful as it probably could be.
One particular example of this is a Thanksgiving episode early on in the series that finds the Matthews' family venturing over to Shawn's trailer park for Turkey Day. Not only do the two sets of parents decide to forgo the whole event due to what in their mind are insurmountable differences between the two groups. The trailer park in general is portrayed as some otherworldly setting, and its residents are written to fulfill every trailer park stereotype there has ever been in media.
2 Shawn… Almost Everything About Shawn
Among the robust cast of characters in Boy Meets World, Shawn Hunter is the lovable yet incredibly frustrating character in Boy Meets World. One of the few with adult-like struggles that he battles through while venturing through high school and college. Shawn learns lessons time and time again only to forget them and have to relearn them a few episodes later.
The character constantly contradicts himself from episode to episode and never really seems to have any sustained character growth. While he is not written as poorly as some of his fellow trailer park neighbors throughout the series, Shawn doesn't quite seem like a relatable person you would encounter in the real world.
1 Cory’s Flawed Expectations
Here we are, the biggest out-of-touch and un-relatable aspect of the series. The "boy" in Boy Meets World, Cory Matthews. Cory is a unique character in coming-of-age sitcom history, as he regresses as the series goes on when other characters typically grow. Starting off as a lovable middle school kid and increasingly becoming more selfish, self-centered, and unlikable.
His expectations of life are centered around him and his needs, and the world is almost expected to alter itself to these wishes. Boy Manipulates the World is perhaps a more apt title when discussing Cory as the lead of the show.
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May 22, 2023 at 01:00AM
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Boy Meets World: 10 Issues from the TV Show That Are Now Totally Unrelatable and Out of Touch - MovieWeb
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