Recessis an American children’s program following the journeys of TJ, Spinelli, Mikey, Vince, Gretchen and Gus as they attempt to maneuver through the ever-changing politics of their school playground during lunch breaks, and avoid detection for their crazy schemes by the ever watchful Principal Prickly and Mrs Finster. The gang is a tight-knit bunch from very different backgrounds, with a whole range of skills that makes each of them unique but also a valuable asset to the group, and together they reach a harmony that ensures they never have to face tough times alone.
Recessis iconic because of the message it teaches children, about what is really important in life. The episodes are always set in comical scenarios where the gang has to come up with witty and clever solutions to their problems, but the stories that they tell and the challenges that they face are always much deeper at their heart than the surface level at first depicts. Tackling major themes of identity, conformity, loyalty, love and acceptance, the show is a great social commentary on what it’s like to grow up and survive school, and how difficult it can be to navigate some of those personal relationships both inside out outside of the classroom.
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Although it’s important to acknowledge (as Disney itself has) that there are someways in which the show had aged badlyin the 20-odd years since its initial launch, including some inappropriate cultural references, some negative representation of specific races or abilities, and some detrimental portrayals of the American schooling system, the show as a whole goes a long way towards encouraging acceptance and understanding of difference of all kind.
Episodes like “First Name Ashley” are a great example of kids learning to express themselves, both their personalities and their boundaries, as Spinelli is forced to join the dreaded Ashley’s club and remodel herself based on their perceptions of perfection. Ultimately, her friends manage to get her out of it with some clever trickery, but the overall message speaks to allowing children to be unashamedly themselves, even if they go against the grain, which is become increasingly more important in today’s society of acceptance and belonging.
Another memorable episode is “Speedy, we hardly knew thee,” which is about the death of the fourth-grade classroom hamster, and the ways in which to tackle grief and loss with children in a mature way, unlike manyNickelodeon shows with their characters. Speedy taught many lessons in life, including joy in simple things, compassion when listening to others' problems, and how to bring communities together, but his death taught even more than that, because it taught the teachers that children are emotionally mature enough to handle these scenarios when given the right support, and it taught the kids what it means to say goodbye, a skill that they will need throughout their lives.
The show details the importance of recess as a sort of respite for kids within the school day, a chance to process and to create, a chance to tackle some of the personal problems that may compound to serious troubles in adult life if not treated with compassion and honesty. It is one of those rare children’s shows to actually treat its characters like adults, and represent them as multi-faceted, 3-dimensional beings with thoughts and feelings that grow and develop over the course ofthe surprisingly deep children’s show, which is a hugely beneficial thing for audiences to see.
Moving throughthe follow-up series, the themes begin to tackle the idea of growing up, or puberty and first crushes, of moving on to new heights, and of thinking about the future, including the episode where Spinelli gets her first crush on Johnny V and learns all about love and rejection, and the episode where Becky Benson steals Gretchen’s science project because she admires the protagonists genius and wants to win the fare.
Ultimately these episodes are all about growing up, learning the difference between right and wrong, learning how to relate to others and how to stand up for oneself against bullying and discrimination, and when the characters need some support, their friends are never far behind. There are several movies that also exist within the franchise as there are with many good children’s series includingSpongebob Squarepants, two of the most noteable of which areRecess: School’s OutandTaking the Fifth (Grade)which are colorful and inventive continuations of the themes as the kids transition from childhood to their teenage years, and start to contend with the new challenges that arise within these impressionable years.
Recess reflects some of the most difficult constructs that children face within society, including cliques and hierarchies, economic and cultural backgrounds, the ‘unwritten rules’ that can be impossible for children who process differently to discern, relationships with others and with adults, and finally finding that balance between work and play, between when to buckle down, and when to be able to step back and let go. The show handles these elements in a refreshingly mature and insightful way, providing its watchers with a cast of emotionally intelligent children who can offer real examples to aspire to, rather than just the escapism of many other children’s shows of the time.
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