I was watching TV the other night and happened to catch a rerun episode of Wizards of Waverly Place titled Paint By Committee, which originally aired 6/26/2009. In the episode we see Alex in an abandoned subway tunnel painting alongside an adult artist; male. What they're painting has become the subject of my article today. The man has painted a 4 foot question mark. When I saw that I thought that the creators of the show had just opted out of creativity, but when we get to see what Alex has been working on further down the wall I am FLOORED. It is nothing less than a 6 foot anarchy symbol! WTF?! Have I fallen into another dimension? Did I fall asleep?! No, okay, I'm awake and this is happening for real. So she's asked what she's painting and she says it's her initial inside a circle. Yeah, right! This isn't subtle subliminal conditioning; it's blatant. It's as if Disney is saying the answer to your question is anarchy. The rest of the episode has me rapt with its storyline of Alex having to decide whether or not to sell out as an artist. Since when is Alex Russo and artist anyway? She goes to the tunnel with this conflict on her mind after using magic to appease the people and the adult artist guy shares with her that he's sold out, makes sappy greeting cards for a living, and that's just what you have to do in real life. I was all geared up to be royally pissed off by the end of the show, thinking that the final message would be to sell out and use the self-hatred of doing so to fuel your passion to art.
Okay, I personally had an opportunity to do that very thing, create greeting cards for hallmark, and instead chose artistic integrity, so I am very intrigued regarding the final moral of this mural story. In the end Alex decides that she can't please everyone, so she's got to please herself. And with her brother's help her original painting is magically displayed at their school.
Her original idea for the mural, by the by, was to show the happy, bright surface of the city along with the darkness and filth below it. If that's not demonstrative of a dualistic split in reality as experienced by a newly disenchanted teenager then I just don't know what is. Now, I know I haven't seen every episode of WOWP, but from what I have seen the stories are weak and the morals are flimsy, predictable, and executed more successfully in other popular tween network programs. So, in my mind this particular episode stands out like a sore thumb even without the seemingly blatant brainwashing.
I feel like this story so closely mirrors my own life experiences that Disney has answered my question as it called to them across the cosmos; can't all your tween shows stand as morally significant positive contributions to the collective human consciousness, like Hannah Montana?! In a way the wall is representative of our unconscious exchange or, if you will, a shift in consciousness toward pro-enlightenment that I just happened to contribute to. We heard the question and this episode is for you, nosmartyr. Enjoy.
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