Body Image in 'Thats So Raven'

In this post, I will look at the representation of body positivity in the Disney Channel show That’s So Raven.

When That’s So Raven, a supernatural, coming-of-age situational-comedy, first aired on Disney Channel in 2003 it arguably changed the channel for the future. Focusing the narrative around psychic African-American teenager Raven Baxter (played by Raven Sỳmone) the programme explored themes of racism, feminism and body positivity in the family-friendly form of a situational-comedy aimed at ages 6-14. The programme broadcast for four seasons and 100 episodes, which at the time ended the Disney Channel remit of no more than 65 episodes per programme.

The specific extract that will be analysed in this post is 2x11: That’s So Not Raven (That’s So Raven, 2004) (16.40-21.03) within which Raven battles prejudice against body normativity and media discrimination. The premise of the episode is a fashion designing competition about which Raven has a ‘vision’ that her design wins the contest, and what is more she sees herself modelling the dress on the catwalk: “I was on a runway in front of a cheering crowd. I felt so proud and beautiful” (That’s So Raven, 2004). As often happens in the narrative of That’s So Raven, she misinterprets her ‘vision’ which leads to comedic yet similarly real and emotional consequences which in this instance centre around body-confidence and acceptance.

Before the extract being analysed in this post is reached within the episode Raven goes on a journey to reach the level of body-confidence she portrays at the climax. Several characters are introduced in order to help or hinder Raven along her journey throughout the narrative of the episode: Mimi is a plus-sized, body confident African-American woman who works backstage at the catwalk and is intended to be the positive influence, introducing herself to Raven with the words, “You are working that dress”. Raven is pitched against Emayshia, a tall, American size 2 (British size XS) caucasian supermodel to juxtapose the ‘want’ and the ‘reality’ of Raven’s catwalk dreams. From the get-go the catwalk coordinator, who announces herself as a former supermodel and doesn’t appear to be ashamed of her body or lack confidence in anyway, is introduced as the archetypal ‘villain’: the one who will stop Raven from getting what she wants. It is this character, Victoria Kayne, who tells Raven she doesn’t have ‘the look’, id est isn’t what the readers of the Teen Look magazine want to look at, thus setting Raven up as lacking in media appeal and forcing her to doubt her own confidence. Raven responds with “this is the only look I have, what am I supposed to do?” Raven later takes offence to the magazine photoshopping her body to fit their idea of ‘the look’, but rather than accepting it or fighting the magazine itself, she instead vows to adapt her own body to suit what they want. Raven’s friend Chelsea tries to persuade Raven that a size 2 is the width of a lamppost, and asks her if she’s going to “do something stupid like go on one of those crash diets”. Although the characters quickly establish that crash diets are dangerous and that exercise is the best way to achieve their goals, directly speaking to any teenage viewers who may be struggling with body-confidence, Raven is still struggling with her body image and appears to ‘give in’ to the prejudiced gaze of the modelling media. The episode becomes about dynamics of representation; about “how the text shows us events, objects, people, ideas, emotions and everything else that can be signified” (Gillespie & Toynbee, 2006, 40). In the case of 2x11: That’s So Not Raven, it will be analysed below how this representation is presented.

At the beginning of the extract Raven and Chelsea enter the backstage area to see Emayshia wearing Raven’s dress. The camera lingers on Raven looking downcast as she tells Chelsea she wishes she could have achieved her vision. Mimi gives Raven the ‘cold shoulder’. When Raven challenges her Mimi tells her she ‘sold out’ by giving in to the demands of the catwalk and not modelling her creation herself. Mimi then goes on to tell Raven “just once I wanted to see a regular person out there, modelling clothes for regular people.” Raven argues that she has been told she doesn’t have ‘the look’ and gestures to the size 2 models walking past. Mimi leaves Raven with the words “that may be the look, but it’s not the only look” at which point there is a slow-zoom in on Raven as she seems to have received Mimi’s message and made up her mind. The extract then cuts to the catwalk and the character of Victoria Kayne, the villain, dressed in the stereotypical ‘little black dress’ associated with class and style as she sashays up the catwalk and speaks in a patronising tone. The first model is introduced, a white American size 2, and Victoria seems happy to announce her.

When Raven’s design is announced Victoria is shocked to see that Raven is not sitting in her named space in the audience, which seems to be where Victoria feels Raven belongs. Victoria is visually angered by this break in the status quo. As Emayshia steps out to model Raven’s design, Raven quickly steps out in front her and blocks her from view, showing much more confidence then the professional model. She is claiming her place on the catwalk where she believes she belongs. Emayshia asks her what she is doing and Raven replies “modelling my design”. The crowd are visibly cheering for Raven, including the three judges, further highlighting the point that ‘the look’ is simply in Victoria’s eyes.

Raven proceeds to strut down the catwalk slightly in front of Emayshia whilst Victoria leaves the catwalk, perhaps feeling she has lost control. She hurries around the front of the catwalk, causing a scene as she does, to tell Raven she “should not be up there”. Raven responds with “I think I should”, a vastly empowering sentence to any reader who may be feeling insecure. To prove that this show is still firmly a sitcom, the following lines of dialogue from Raven’s parents (T’Keyah Crystal Keymah & Rondell Sheridan) “My baby made that dress!” “I made that baby!” are intended to make the audience laugh whilst simultaneously expressing their pride, perhaps voicing the opinions of the audience too.

Raven continues to enjoy herself up and down the catwalk beside Emayshia. As they both approach the end of the catwalk Emayshia strikes a seemingly well practiced model pose intended to show just how thin she is. Raven responds to this by deliberately gesturing to suck her stomach in and pouts her lips. This response is comedic whilst similarly making a statement. This catwalk competition then becomes a breakdancing showdown as they both show they have other skills and it’s not all about how they look. Emayshia, thus far shown to have no personality, helps Raven to her feet in order to emphasise a new found bond. All the while the audience at the fashion show are cheering.

Victoria interrupts to tell Raven she is “ruining the show” to which Emayshia replies “I think she’s actually pretty good” and Victoria retorts with “I don’t pay you to think”, perhaps a direct reference to the media industry as a whole. Victoria, losing control entirely, storms back onto the catwalk to tell them all Raven doesn’t have ‘the look’, hoping to shame her publically and gesturing to the enormous Teen Look front cover hanging behind them, featuring Emayshia. Raven argues, saying “you make people feel bad if they don’t look like that. No-one looks like that”. Emayshia then adds “I don’t even look like that”. This sentence is immensely important in showing that even the ideal ‘look’ of a supermodel is edited for magazine covers and that very few front covers are not ‘photoshopped’.

Raven and Emayshia then proceed to push Victoria out of the way and she falls through the magazine cover and rips it in half. This is symbolic of breaking the stereotypical ‘look’ and possession of the female form in the media. Raven then struts down the catwalk as in her vision earlier in the episode, with the crowd and Emayshia cheering her on. The song playing behind her includes the lyrics, “Look down deep inside of you”.The extract ends with Raven being carried off by security guards, symbolic of the media hold on imagery, and then running back to continue taking the limelight, symbolic of being free to live your own life. She leaps down the catwalk in a gay and happy way. This final set of images is important to get the message across and could be read as ‘don’t give up on your dreams, no matter who tells you otherwise’, “because in case you haven’t noticed, people come in all different shapes and sizes, and they’re all beautiful” (That’s So Raven, 2004).

The character of Raven Baxter is portrayed as strong, independent and body-confident, often appearing in bright outfits that she has designed herself. As a comedienne, Raven uses humour to ‘laugh off’ uncomfortable situations and comments a lot of the time. However in this extract she is forced to see the seriousness in the situation. The choice to cast Raven-Symoné as the protagonist meant the show could tackle a variety of real-life issues. Although Raven Baxter and her family are of African-American descent the subject of their race is only mentioned when necessary and doesn’t become the entire focus of the plot, allowing them to focus on other, potentially less obvious, real-life issues. Raven-Sỳmone is an influential figure in the media for her promotion of African-American, women’s and LGBT+ rights, as well as body positivity, saying “there is always something that we are raised and brainwashed to not like about ourselves because somebody always has it better. You have to find the moment where you just fall in love with yourself” (YouTube, 2011). A lot of these themes promoted by Raven-Symoné are apparent in That’s So Raven as her fictional character. A long time representative of the Disney Channel, Raven-Symoné also appeared in a series of films entitled The Cheetah Girls (Scott, 2003), a set of musical movies produced by Whitney Houston and aimed at accepting teenage body-image, ethnicity, culture, womanhood and empowerment. The films delivered messages through music, using lyrics such as “I don’t wanna wait for a Prince to come and save me, I’d rather rescue myself” (The Cheetah Girls, 2003). It could be argued that, as this specific episode of That’s So Raven is written and directed by men, the views expressed are that of a male gaze of female form, especially as “some television may be produced primarily for a female audience, but that for does not predict how that audience is conceived, who will respond to that solicitation or how the programming will be watched” (Brunsdon, 2017, 1). However, the use of Raven-Symoné as the protagonist, a strong, body-confident woman, the reader of the text is much more likely to accept the message of the episode as one of positivity and feminine empowerment. “Disney owes much to the many girls who create, consume and critique its media. Girls’ contribution to Disney Channel franchises can influence how we, as a society, understand girlhood” (Blue, 2017, 13).

This episode of That’s So Raven premiered at a time when body-image portrayal on television, especially television aimed at children, was reaching a peak in the media. “With media pressure to be thin and a multibillion dollar dieting industry at our disposal, higher rates of eating disorders in the population seem concerning, but are also understandable. While cultural standards of beauty are certainly not new, today’s media is far more ubiquitous and powerful” (Derenne & Beresin, 2006, 260). At the time of airing Raven-Symoné was a spokesperson for such issues and therefore the message delivered in 2x11: That’s So Not Raven would be more likely to be received by the appropriate and intended audience: everybody is beautiful and you should love yourself in your own skin.

References:

Blue, M.G., (2017) Girlhood on Disney Channel: Branding, Celebrity and Femininity. Routledge: New York City, USA.

Brunsdon, C., (2017) in Moseley, R., Wheatley, H., and Wood, H. Television for Women: New Directions. Routledge: Oxon, UK.

Derenna, J.L. & Beresin, E.V. (2006) Body Image, Media & Eating Disorders in Academic Psychiatry. Springer-Verlag.

Gillespie, M. & Toynbee, J., (2006) Analysing Media Texts. Open University Press: New York City, USA.

Scott, O. (dir.) (2003) The Cheetah Girls. [DVD]. Buena Vista Television & Disney Channel Originals.

That’s So Raven (2004). [television] Disney Channel. April 9th.

The Cheetah Girls (2003) Cinderella [download]. 3 mins. 21 secs. The Cheetah Girls. California: Walt Disney Records. Available from https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/the-cheetah-girls/44445534 [accessed 5 April 2019]

YouTube (2011) Raven Symone Video Interview: Body Image, Hollywood, Rumours. [video]. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS1msbB4JM0 [accessed 5 April 2019]