Blaze and the Monster Machines

While I don't deny the educational aspect of the show (it's not always 100% accurate but it does help with a basic understanding of STEM topics.) The biggest (and honestly worst) lesson my daughter picked up from this show is to do with the idea of good and bad. The show's protagonist ALWAYS wins. No matter what the situation or race or whatever, Blaze ALWAYS wins. This constant example the show portrays means that kids will make the unhealthy association of "Winner = Good, Loser = Bad" and also turns Blaze into an unlikeable Gary Stu. While it's great that exposes kids to STEM subjects, the moral dilemmas the show creates is just not worth it.

First of all, I'd like to comment about the folks who are complaining about the use of words like Centripetal force and believe the show is using incorrect terms. I'd encourage folks to Google search a word they don't recognize and educate themselves. In this particular episode, the use of centripetal force was correct and is not the same as centrifugal force. As for the show itself, it's alright for kids to learn basic concepts and new vocabulary. The main characters Blaze and Crusher seem to be the most powerful machines in the world because they can create machines out of nothing by just saying the word. Some of the concerns I have are the following: 1) Blaze is the only character with blue eyes and significant expression in the facial features, the rest of the characters have black dots for eyes. This seems to me like the show is portraying the "hero" as a certain demographic. 2) Blaze is snarky at times and acts like a "frienemy" to Crusher. 3) the bullying is a little too much. The show tries to portray Crusher as the bad guy because he cheats, but as an adult watching the show, what I see is that Crusher is usually in the lead during races to begin with, and stops to set up obstacles to deter Blaze- perhaps because he's tired of Blaze cheating all the time using "blazing speed" at the last minute, a feature none of the other characters seem to have unless Blaze decides to share it with them. The other cars also don't seem to include Crusher or Pickle in their activities much. Blaze is so obsessed with winning and has a clear hero complex that even in episodes where another character is inches from the finish line, Blaze will use his booster cheat to speed past them to take the win. He can never let someone else have the spotlight. 4) the other characters are always calling for help with their problems, and do nothing on their own to solve them. It would be nice to see some balance in this show, where all the other characters have a spotlight and are the hero as well. It's not healthy to teach kids that they should always take a back seat to overzealous show-offs and have no ambition or autonomy of their own.