A concern for many parents of growing children is the selection of appropriate television and DVDs. With increasing laxity in classification standards violence and questionable moral themes have begun to creep into the PG bands; making many parents wary of modern reality style shows depicting tweenage children and their daily lives. With television one of the major influences for young people, its important, therefore to be careful with the selection of role models.
Unless you have been living under rock at the back of a distant cave, you will have been exposed at some point to the Empire of Hannah Montana, complete with its huge merchandising range and DVDs. Unike some television personalities and shows which appeal to the tweenage market, the concepts and themes presented in Hannah Montana remain clean, ethical and inspiring; despite its longevity. August 4th marks the release of Series 3 part 2 of the DVD range and is certain not to disappoint.
For those who may have escaped her marketing and shows, Hannah Montana is a world famous pop star who hides her real identity behind Miley Stewart – a normal teenage girl. The formula for episodes revolve around issues in the lives of Miley and her best friend Lilly; interspersed with the girls’ gawky other friend, Oliver. Mileys real life father – Billy Ray Cryrus, plays her father, lending his experience and knowledge as he advises her through her challenges in her split lifestyle. Disney continues a popular plotline made famous with shows such as Superman or Bewitched where the main characters real identity must be kept a secret. Girls in particular identify strongly with the clumsy goofy Miley and dream about being the confident and popular Hannah.
After three series, it’s become a little hazy on who’s ‘in’ on the teenager’s huge, unlikely, impractical secret, but since it’s basically become perfect fodder for most of the jokes, it doesn’t ultimately matter. Every episode generally packs a life lesson where characters learn not to lie, learn about forgiveness, and humility. Overall, the series itself is about not forgetting your roots, which can be an important lesson for anyone to learn. As its often taught in a series of humorous events, viewers do not feel that they are being preached at.
Series 3 sees Miley juggle the challenges of growing-up such as getting her driver’s license, sticking her foot in her mouth on a radio talk show and dealing with secret crushes. As always, with the help of her father and timely reality checks from best friends Lilly and Oliver, Miley learns valuable lessons in trusting her instincts and ways to make decisions which are right for her. Series 3 part 2 also resolves the cliffhanger “What Will Miley Ultimately Decide?” left from part 1.
Disney is usually reluctant to allow most of their shows continue past 50 episodes, siting that the original ingredients cannot be reproduced over a lengthy period of time, that creativity dries up and fans become more demanding and specific about what they want and need to see their icons do and say. In the case of Hanna Montana, they have made an exception. With over 70 episodes now made, the Hanna Montana empire appears as strong and robust as it has ever been. Whilst the script may never make the Nobel Prize, its filled with fun and delivered with a freshness which is envied throughout Hollywood. For die hard Hannah Fans, this is a must buy and see. For those looking for entertainment for their tweenagers which will uphold a strong social basis, you could do alot worse than investing in the entire stock of Hannah Montana DVDs.
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