It to me, they’re still fake and Penny should’ve cut her off a long time ago. Dejanay is still the worst and I don’t see how they’re friendship lasted as long as it did.
To this day I still ask myself, why does LaCienega even hang out with them if she dislikes Penny so much, like get your *OWN* group of awful friends girl!
I think she’s secretly jealous of Penny and wants what Penny has (a happy and loving family). I had a friend like that in middle school and it took me a while to see she was a huge bully who would talk about me behind my back and even in front of me but in subtle ways. Girls (and people in general) are just weird sometimes.
It’s like they don’t like you, but they don’t hate you either. In a way, she is a jealous person who won’t admit it, but I honestly believe she cares about penny. There are people who don’t like you, but don’t hate you and act like that🤷🏿♂️
It's also stated that LaCienega is Dijonay's friend. Since Dijonay and Penny are 'best friends' naturally LaCienega will be around Penny because of Dijonay.
I honestly hate Maya, I don’t dislike her to same extent as Djionne or Lacienega, she’s the type of person I hate the most: a hypocrite. She doesn’t want to become friends with her because she think she’s “fake and superficial” yet she hangs out with Lacienega, who IS fake and superficial. Like are they trying to make us hate her?!
She literally assumed Penny and her friends were superficial all because they were nice to her. Then after that, Penny thought SHE was superficial because LaCienega is a bi-
@lavenderpeach1347 which is honestly how alot of these activist type teenagers are though, they don't really care. It's a trend for them. A way to stand out, be different while virtue signaling
It sucks that one of the few black shows on Disney at that time was full of such fake friends. I am so glad we had Raven and her friends to show us what real friendship was like
Yes! Chelsea and Eddie was there for her and knocked some sense into her. And when they were in the wrong, they apologized. Nowadays, people cut off people so easily over a minor thing. Sometimes it’s reasonable though. And “woke” people try to give advice but barely handle their own lives.
@@snixxdevaughn3267 as a kid, I thought bad treatment from fake friends was normal because of what I saw on the proud family. When I went through some of the same stuff, I just dealt with it and stayed friends with the wrong people just like Penny. Kids need to be shown positivity. Yes these issues are real, we see them in real life every day. At least let us see our community in a positive way on TV. Especially a kids show.
@@angeltv3112 There was also that time Penny became a child star and they tried to humiliate her by spraying water guns at her on the red carpet. (Look at the song “All About Me”)
I don’t like the reboot. It’s too political for me. It’s like pissing on me and telling me it’s raining or drowning me in a bucket and saying I’m drinking from a water fountain. Back then sure there were some political moments but they seemed more organic and didn’t surround every moment of each episode.
i think they got worse. remember that one episode where they thirsted over a dude literally in front of their bfs only to get mad at their other friend because he liked her more? that was weird
I have a feeling she’ll do that once she graduates high school and goes to college. That’s normally when high school peers begin going their separate ways. I think if it were just Penny and Zoe together, there wouldn’t be any problems.
Honestly I see penny as an all-around person. She’s cool with almost everybody, but stays to herself. Ain’t nothing wrong with staying to yourself. I wish they taught that in some shows. That it’s ok to be alone sometimes. You don’t need a friend to do or for everything. Some things are just meant for you!
After the Disney Princess episode of Louder and Prouder how the whole group completely ostracized Zoey because a celebrity chose her over them because she was "white" really begs the question how are any of them friends to begin with?
@@justinenicole3926exactly! And the kicker, the two saltiest people were the ones that had boyfriends 🤦🏻 Even Maya who was a relative newcomer got involved, and Michael was being so shady, like this does not concern you Lacienega is always a b**** so no surprise there
@Hannah Patwell Thank you! They had whole boyfriends that they acted straight ridiculous towards when famous rich boy came into the picture. Now they all hate Zoey cause they got curved by someone that isn't even attracted to them?!! Honey that's life you will not always be someone's option. Sit down.
I really do not see why does Penny hang around these people that are her so-called friends, considering when trouble strikes they’re always the first to abandon her in our time of need. Do these writers not understand the definition of friendship? Now granted, Zoey is loyal out of all of them.
Sadly, lots of teens do that, some even know that they’re friends are fake but they still tolerate them. At this age they’re going through a phase where being liked and accepted by their peers is everything, and without friends, they have nothing. As you grow older, your circle of friends get smaller and only the true ones stick around
@@amylee8969 I mean, sure, is intimidating to be alone, but like we say in my country mejor solo que mal acompañado better alone than with bad company and beyond what they do with Penny, they are horrible people in general
and everyone but Penny was horrible to Zoey, they even rubbed in her face she doesn't get asked out much using that as proof the guy could only like her for being white because they were convinced that no one would want her for her
@@kikiblue7169 but at the same time penny was fake too she didn’t invite her to the princess party over a boy and then she was jealous about it even though she already has a boyfriend she’s fake too
Yes! He was so genuine just as a person in general. I really wished Orlando Brown would’ve gotten better to join because both him on Ravens Home and Louder and prouder were much needed.
I have a theory. In a lot of these types of shows about high schoolers/middle schoolers there's usually a popular clique that the main characters deal with, but we don't really get that in Proud family. I think that Penny might be the most popular girl in her school. She has a hand in a lot of activities and holds quite a bit of sway in school. She wants to be cool, but by her own terms, not to impress anyone. It would explain her friends. They want to be cool, popular kids by association. That's why they're so quick to ditch her anytime she's seen being uncool. It would certainly explain why LaCienega is always hanging around. Trying to gain popularity by joining the cool clique until you're able to oust the queen bee is mean girl 101, and When Maya pegs her as one of 'those types' of girls, she wasn't wrong. She was just wrong about Penny being a mean, superficial popular girl.
The latest season is so awful. That episode where they destroy Zoey’s confidence because of their jealousy is completely awful and outrageous. How it got green lit is beyond me. Zoey deserves way better.
So do the writers legitimately think that there’s nothing wrong with the way Penny’s friend group treats each other? People have been complaining about the toxicity since the original series, and they had 17 years to learn from their mistakes. Either the writers didn’t know/understand the criticism or they just didn’t care. 😓
I think they’re doing it on purpose, to show the reality of so called “friendships” and the realistic glimpse of how young girls in their adolescent behave towards eachother in the midst of puberty/hormones, boys, Highschool, etc. It would honestly be corny if they went the generic Disney friendship route and and displayed all friends as happy go lucky besties that never but heads at all. We can see a friend in each of these characters and relate to it tbh.
Don’t forget during the recent colorism episode . When the new teen celebrity transfer student asked Zoe to the dance they immediately assumed it must be cause she was white and nothing else. They were mad at her and insulted her because in their group she’s the ugly duckling and there’s no way a dude would pick her and pass them up. It couldn’t possibly just be that the celebrity dude stated he wanted a normal life and the moment he got into the school everyone in the group but zoe was all up over him. A clear reason he might like her .And yeah it did come out that he only supposedly liked her because she was white but they never showed anything.
Also they had _boyfriends_ in that episode too?? And I hate how the writers did make the guy racist to try ti make the friend group right. That whole episode was just garbage
Tbh dijonay actually got better in this continuity compared to the original. She actually stood up for penny and called out laci, and voted to keep penny in the dance group when everyone else including Zoey voted her out. Maya apologized she's gotten better and a actual friend too. Maya became a friend later on but wasn't at the start
Then again it still doesn’t justify DiJonay’s actions considering how she always throws others under the Bus including Penny, especially when she let the cat out of the bag through Social Media on Maya and her brother having two dads resulting in them being bullied the next day and hasn’t really apologized to them at the end of the episode. As Sugar Mama said to Penny in the original series, _"You should've ditched that DiJonay long ago!!"_
You're right about that a lot of people ate always saying Zoe is the better friend but they keep forgetting every time, there is danger or if the friend group decides to turn they back again Penny then Zoe always sides with the friend group in order to save her image
If they are going to keep her toxic friends the least they could do is really call them out on it. Dijonay and Lacieniga really need to have some character growth. Maya does too, but she’s new so it’s not as overdue.
This. Like it'd be interesting to see topics like toxic relationships being shown (e.g Amphibia), the problem is that the show NEVER framed the message to be "the toxic friends are in the wrong", it's "Penny shouldn't have abandoned her friends even though they're terrible, she HAS to go back to them!", and playing the "it's realistic!" card DOESN'T excuse the writing that impressionable kids will watch it, and either apply the toxic behaviour to their friends or accept said toxicity because they don't know any better. What's the point of a reboot if you can't address the previous writing issues?
I’m surprised Penny isn’t tired of being treated poorly by her so-called friends. In order to make it more realistic, have them FALL OUT. Eventually, friendships in middle school and high school do fall apart. The most realistic thing to happen is for them to stop hanging out with each other. Once Penny ditches on her friends, Zoe will become the new punching bag for LaCienega and Dijonay. Those two will ditch Zoe and may end up turning their backs on each other. I’m thinking once Penny leaves, their friendship group will fall apart.
LaCienega was a character that always rattled Latinos that I talked to. For a Latina she acts way more like a kid who wants to be black instead of their own heritage. Heck Sunset and Felix don’t even seem to notice. My mom once said, if LaCienega was her daughter she would’ve knocked some sense into her.
@@mz.dee4443sunset isn’t a Afro-Latina. She is based on her VA Maria Canals-Barrera who isn’t Afro-Latina. Also there are dark brown skinned Latinas who aren’t necessarily Afro-Latinas. Sunset does have my skin tone and I’m not Afro-Latina
@@RinaIsForever Honestly, would've loved to see the reboot have all the old boys back and have Penny decide she's better off hanging out with the boys instead.
I kind of like her friends being fake. It's relateable for kids who are stuck with terrible friends because there is no one else. The problem is more that penny is made out to be in the wrong when she shouldn't be
@Melody Safo it would be great if they faced some consiquenses or penny was vindicated, but for a lot of people like myself, who didn't have the fortune of decent friends. It makes you feel less isolated and like there is something wrong with you. Not everything has to be sanitised and happy go sunshine.
@@gd3741 you sound like those boomers! If you want reality, go watch the news instead of ruining fiction for everyone, including those who would like to escape. The last thing anyone wants when watching tv or reading books is a reminder of how horrible life is!
Seriously. I was mad when she opted for “neutrality” for the sake of running for student council, when Maya and her brother were getting bullied for having two dads. I’d hoped she’d have joined Penny and Michael in trying to do the right thing. Very disappointing
Not only was Zoey the only white kid in the whole show she was also Penny's only true friend and the only one of her friend group who was a good person.
Which is certainly a Choice and a Half for this show. The only white girl in the squad of WoC also happens to be the only one who isn't messy, mean or a backstabber? Did the writers not see what they were doing there?
This happens often in works that self-advertise as "diverse and inclusive" or created for "representation". They have such a warped sense of morality and what is "relatability" that even with a mostly "diverse" cast, they struggle to make any of them likeable or relateable. Their condescention and demeaning of white characters make them more sympathetic and relateable, because contrary to what "inclusive" activists believe, most people don't get joy out of seeing others treated like crap. Black people don't actually want to see white people being denigrated, women don't actually like seeing men denigrated, etc.
@@jazzycat8917 I mean they have an ep where the entire friend group bashes her bc a celeb likes her and says it's bc she wh8te since theirs no way he likes someone they consider unattractive. This show feels pretty racist honestly. (My opinion)
5:05 THIS! I really don’t like how they handled Maya. Since she’s pretty much Sticky’s replacement, she has so much potential to be more than just another Dijonay/Lacienaga. I would’ve love to see her as one of Penny’s decent friend along with Zoey. Have her point out how awful Penny’s friends are, yes even Zoey had her moments. Although idk if it’ll be any good to have a character that is there to make the show more self aware. I like Maya’s addition to the group, but I also think the writers wanted a Huey Freeman type character but without any of his charms
I can see so much potential with Maya, especially since they wanted to portray an activist type character in a family targeted show. It was shown in her intro episode she's a bad judge of character and clearly not so great at research if she believed that the Panda was in danger and needed freeing. they could do an episode where her bad character judgement gets her to trust the wrong person. Or maybe she gets taken in by a group that uses progressive language on the surface to push a very 'unprogressive' agenda. She was willing to give money to Make up boy just because he seemed surface level woke. Maybe Penny tries to stop her from doing something she might regret. We got a little bit of that but we could make a whole episode focusing on it. Maybe they could do an episode where she gets overwhelmed by so many bad things happening worldwide and Penny helps her to see that maybe the best thing she can do is just focus on one good thing she can do in her local community as a start. So many kids want to make the world a better place through activism but fall into so many traps that just make them feel hopeless or they get scammed. The show could use Maya as a way to teaching kids to not fall into certain pitfalls.
@@MadameTamma THIS!! Her first episode was okay but from what I’ve seen so far the writers just wants a female Huey Freeman as one of their main characters. By “Huey Freeman” I meant in term of personality and charm and not just them being a black activist. In Maya’s case she doesn’t have as much charm as Huey
@@adilali8265 That might be the case. If I remember correctly the old show seems rather consistent with their continuity. So what is the right order then?
I think if it was just Zoe and Penny, there would be no problems. Cause honestly, Lacienaga can be shallow to her too. She once called Zoe a “pumpkin” or “dork”.
I’ll be honest during the first episodes Maya didn’t sit right with me, but after finishing s2 and (spoilers for the last ep of s2) The final episode where it takes Mayas perspective was honestly amazing, it felt like we got to truly understand why she acts the way she does and in general I love her character development
I mean to be fair the name LaCienega refers to swamps and wet lands in Spanish and LaBrea shares the name with the tar pits in Los Angeles So the fact they're both messy really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone
I do NOT like the new girl Maya, and the show insist they are friends. If you let the bully stay, you let the bully win, that's whay I am getting. And to make it worst, everyone had pointed out out Zoey in a bully spot.
Micheal and Sticky were really her only real friends, it's really sad that basically everyone in her "friend's group" always leave her when she needs it and stab her in the back whenever they have the chance :( Our girl needs friends who actually love and care about her
@@dantemcedgelord9331we not saying that penny is innocent but she's a damn good friend to have I've seen her everytime she's done wrong apologize and make it right her friends don't do that
@@amylee8969 yeah you’re right about that. The gross sisters got on my nerves, but at least they were loyal. It’s crazy how people who deem others as bad (which the sisters are) has a strong moral code that they themselves struggle with or even lack.
The only difference between LaCienega and Dejonay is that LaCienega and Penny are, at bes,t frienemies where as Dejonay would've probably got with Kareem and try to gaslight Penny where LaCienega would be upfront about it. I know that doesnt make LaCienega any better, but with what we see from the OG show and the reboot we can't really call them friends.
I feel like the Proud Family is an example of how some friend groups are only friends because school is so isolated. While my friend group never backstabbed each other, it became clear that we were only friends due to being stuck in school together. Once we graduated, the friend group didn't last at all. Going out into the wider world exposed us to a wider variety of people where we met people we could build stronger friendships with. I have contact with only one member of my old school friend group, and even then it's just the fact that we like each other's posts on FB once in a while.
The thing that truly bugged me about the Proud family were Penny's friends. I mean La Cienega was awful, but at least she was honest. Zoe is weakminded but she's just a people pleaser. The true toxic friend was Dijonay who always left Penny hanging.
I don’t know about you but I hated DiJonay more than LaCienega considering how DiJonay always throws others under the Bus including Penny in the original series and her actions in the original and in _Louder and Prouder_ don’t justify here especially when DiJonay let the "cat out of the bag" through Social Media on Maya and her brother having two dads resulting in them being bullied and the next day and hasn’t apologized to them at the end of the episode. As Sugar Mama said to Penny in the original series, _"You should've ditched that DiJonay long ago!!"_
Genuinely the closest thing Penny has to a real friend in this group is Michael (and sometimes Zoe when she decides she's not gonna be a follower), and even HE'S bailed on her both in the original series and this one. He's nowhere near as bad as the others, though, thankfully.
Micheal is the only good friend. When the celebrity asked Zoey to the dance he smiled and was happy for her while the other girls looked shocked and confused.
1:34 LaCienega was never penny’s friend which both of them confirmed. She only tolerated her like penny does her due to hanging with Dijonay, Micheal, Maya, and Zoey 3:10 Dijonay Is The Worst Of Penny’s Friends Because She Has Done Too Much And Never Really See Her Wrong. 4:10 Maya Was Stated To Be Enemies With Penny Throughout S1 But They Eventually Become Friends.
You could make an argument about everyone having a crappy friend group in middle school, so that’s what this represents. Like, they’re not great, but they share common interests with you, and as a middle school kid, beggars can’t be choosers.
that knid of only works in a TV show if the friend group are all outcasts in some way. in this case, Penny is shown to be likeable and not in any way different from her pears. the audience is never given a reason why she doesn't just make other friends, nor why she keeos taking the old ones back afte they screw her over every time
@@mrs.shortcakestrawberries2557 I 100% agree with that, my closest friends I’ve ever had were in middle school, stopped talking in high school but still I dearly do miss them all. And my sis always go on about how friends are fake but then I bring up them and she does agree that my friends were real but then she goes onto to say it’s rare what I had and I don’t think so you just got to know what you will and will not deal with and because I have boundaries I was able to find the closest friends.
Absolutely, middle school friends are bottom of the barrel and that is how I always interpreted the original series (when I was same age as Penny), that those are just the shitty friends you’re stuck with out of proximity and convenience.
The problem is they never address it, it's not a good example to audiences. If they want to keep the friendship they need to have plenty of episodes dedicated to their character development and have some just cut out for good
I am going to make fanfiction about this show for the Summer. I will be getting inspiration from House of Payne, My Little Pony, and other black family-friendly comedies about real family and friend relations and how problems can be solved and everyone is evolving. I am thinking of making two different versions. One where Penny leaves her friend group for a different one or one where the toxic friends become non-toxic.
Turning Red shows middle school girls in a tight friendship without the story being corny. The life of a middle school girl can have plenty of drama for other reasons than her own friends constantly being two-faced.
I never thought of LaCienega as a 'friend'. More of like a bully who sometimes gaslights you into thinking your friends with them sometimes to manipulate you. Does she ever do anything positive towards Penny? Or is she always doing what she's doing at 2:25 - trying to undermine her out of jealousy? That's not friendship. Idk if there's positive examples of her behavior towards Penny I just don't remember? It's been a while since I've seen it and I haven't watched any of the new stuff yet. Tbh the main reason I didn't like the show when I was a kid was bc watching bullying scenes and stuff like this stress me out. I don't understand what's supposed to be entertaining for a child about going home from school, then unwinding by reliving the awfulness they JUST experienced at school. I wanted to escape as a kid. I didn't like shows with school settings or bullies.
I think it's good to show toxic friendships but part of growing up is realizing who is actually gonna have your back when you need them. I think since Louder and Prouder is showing Penny grow up they also need to start distancing her from her old toxic friend group.
Eh I feel like this is a real portrayal of how most people are in the world. It Becomes harder and harder to really have good friends that stay good throughout the relationship
@@jellyskys893 I don't give a fuck, here friends are shit save for Zoey, and she's stupid to realize that, I'm getting sick of these characters being awful, and not being called outout, and even when they do the next episode they doing the same shit. It's like this show is just afraid of character development.
If I were Penny I would dump those fake friends and transfer to a new school. I remember my mom not liking the Proud Family when I was a kid. Now that I'm an adult I can see why my mom didn't like the Proud Family. 😳😬
I didn't like Proud Family that much as a kid and even now I still don't like it. I always thought that it was a bit sexist towards men and I didn't like how Sugar Mama treated Oscar in the show.
I still don’t know how Penny is friends with Lacienaga and Dijonay. I dislike Maya because she makes everything about skin color and politics. Honestly, Penny should have kicked them to the curb when they started trashing Zoey behind her back.
Even though this is a kids show, I actually respect why they choose to make this type of friend group the way they are. I’m hoping what they were trying to show was that over time, these young girls are growing, due to peer pressure and stress of growing up too quickly, shows where their mindset is at. Penny who is usually Considered the level headed character ends up to teach us that not everyone will stand up for what is right, but focuses to stand up for what is right even if it may be the unpopular opinion. :) Even penny herself isn’t perfect but teaches us a good lesson in the end for each episode.
Not too surprised this show turned out as it has, many shows these days get messed up do the petulant attitude & logic used to excuse people's actions or how they live. I do hope this show finally touches on the fact a bad friend isn't a friend, at the very least. Penny has her faults, but she hangs out with several people who straight up don't care about their actions unless it actually may effect them. It's not healthy & can cause some real pain and trust issues later on for a person, making it harder to let anyone new in their life who will treat them like a person instead of a convenience.
LaCienega and Maya. LaCienega for everything in the original series, and in this series for always trying to steal her boyfriend. I kinda thought that after the episode where she celebrates her quinceanera she would improve her character but she doesn’t and I remember feeling mad about it. Maya didn’t like Penny at first but she almost Penny in trouble after Penny tried to be nice, Penny also tried to get her friend Dijonay not to out her parents, and later was there for her and KG. Meanwhile again tried to get Penny in trouble in the pilot and Maya ruined Penny’s career as an influencer, no one liked Penny’s behavior so Penny had to be taken down a peg but Maya compared Penny to a black racist who hates black people from the boondocks (I REALLY hated her for that) and blamed Penny for her father making deals with the Wizard, and the entire world turns on Penny a teenager. Maya at least tries to be straight with Penny when she was kicked out of her girl group so she gets some points there. Then again she’s friends with LaCienega and doesn’t try to get her to calm down when she mean. So she looses points there. For all bad Dijonay did in this series she at least was a better friend to Penny. While outing people is always wrong and not trying to help Maya and KG was bad or apologize to them or their parents. I actually felt sorry for her in her other bad moment, outing her teacher as homeless, especially when we learn why Dijonay told the principal, she wanted lunch for her and her siblings and for their lunch debt to be paid off. She also stood up for Penny in a another episode. I like how they improved Diionay while also not changing her too much. I actually like her now, most of the time. Zoey was also a good friend to Penny as was Michael, KG and her boyfriend. Penny has four good friends and a boyfriend
This is where I wish the Chang triplets (especially with that glow up DAMN) got used more. They were always good with Penny and they were usually pretty nice to her. Would've been a fun dynamic seeing the friendship dynamics change to have them be part of the main crew instead and bring back the other guys like Omar and Deuce who were also good to her.
@@EeveelutionStorm That would be so nice, teens in real life need to learn to cut mean and toxic people out of their life. They could learn how from seeing Penny do it.
I remember The Proud Family as being one of my favorite shows, so when I heard they did a reboot, I decided to re-watch the show. I was honestly surprised I never noticed how terrible the friend group was!! I hoped that the reboot showed their growth, but nope, they are all the same terrible friends as before. Kind of sad really.
Penny could always expect Lacienega to pull some bullshit im not sure why she hasn’t wised up on Dijonay yet. I remember one episode she did when Dijonay dumped babysitting duties on Penny knowing that she had enough on her plate already with her own 2 siblings just to go to a concert with fake tickets and Penny burned her ass for that but for as many times Dijonay has taken Penny for granted I don’t get how she can even consider her a friend much less a best friend.
Imean tbh, Penny does have fake friends but penny still hangouts with them even those clearly knows so its also kinda penny fault. Also there's been some eps where penny can be just as bad as them, it's just never really brought up bc penny has alot of character development and you get to see different aspects of her.
I like to compare this show and its reboot to Miraculous Ladybug. For a show that is supposedly aimed at empowering teenage girls they sure do seem to hate them instead. Always pitting them against each other, always making them bullies, always making them fight over boys, always making them catty, mean, vindictive, spiteful, and jealous.
Tbf, I give Miraculous a slight pass because at the very least, Marinette actually knows what a good friend looks like. Could they do better by calling her out? Yeah, but that's about it.
@@bluebird1914 True. Although I do wish Marinette could call her friends out too for a lot of the pushy things that they be doing to make her get close to Adrien. They think they know what's best for her and it stinks. They ain't her mothers.
And people wonder why I still refuse to watch Proud Family Louder and Prouder? I mean I loved the original show when I was in middle school, but even back then I felt there was a lot they could improve on, and sadly at times the original show gets worse the more I watch it.
My name is actually Penny, so growing up I loved this show. I haven’t watched the new series yet but I’m disappointed but not surprised to find out her friends are still two faced.
I do not like how Maya, the new darkskin character was written to be mean! This is the first episode we see her and they write her like this? Why continue the sapphire trope? Once again this show is continuing its colorism. Honestly, this show shouldn't have come back since they never changed Dijonay's design.
1) LaCienega literally just hates Penny. I never seen a episode of 'The Proud Family' or the reboot where she show signs of being a true friend. 2) Dijonay is Penny so-called best friend but this is a one-sided relationship Penny puts her heart and soul in the friendship but there's numerous of times Dijonay abandoned Penny for ridiculous reasons. In the reboot it is stated that Penny knows her since they were babies Penny literally has a friendversary for Dijonay every year and every year Dijonay always forgets to give Penny a gift. 3) Michael throws a lot of shaded at Penny but it's not because he hates her it's just playful fun. Kind of like a brother-sister dynamic. 4) Maya doesn't really hate Penny she just hates certain actions that she does because Maya is a strong black activist she thinks Penny should do more for her black culture which I can fully understand. 5) Zoey is one of the most sweetest character in Penny friend group and is the only one that shows characteristics of being a true friend. But after saying all of this I feel like the show is trying to give examples of different friends in a friend group because I think we can all agree that at least one person in Penny's friend group we had as a friend.
It's not just Dijonay forgets the gift. She forgets the whole day. Stating she can only remember the important things. So the friendship is unimportant, hm? I was really speechless yesterday. When they announced Maya last year I really hoped Penny will get a real friend. A partner in crime, you know?
I've never watched the show, and I hope I dont come off as rude, but genuine question: isnt it abit of an A-hole move to dislike someone/act cold to them solely because they dont do what you want them to do? I dont think its fair that Maya treats Penny that way just because penny doesnt do much for her black culture.. Again, I havent watched the show and this is from what ive seen and if anyone can kindly explain it would be much appreciated
How all the girls treat Zoey when a celebrity asks her out was disgusting. It would be one thing to be worried for your friend that the guy only like she’d for her skin color, but the way they act is out of pure jealousy and nothing else. That’s not a good friend group.
Season 2 and they still shady, but it’s important to understand why. It’s because the Proud Family has always been about teaching lessons. Lessons about friendship, society, etc. If the friend group was better there wouldn’t be any lesson to learn. Penny for instance is a pretty good person, but that fact most of her friends are trash, shows one of Penny’s flaws which is that she caves to peer pressure a lot. This allows Penny to learn a moral by the end of the episode. This formula happens often and is necessary for the show to work. Plus it’s kind of real in a way, especially in middle/high school. Kids are selfish.
The problem with that little theory is that the "lesson"/"moral" in question never, ever, ever, *EVER* sticks, no matter how many episodes where the characters are made to "learn" it! It gets irritating, tiresome, and needlessly contrived after a while.
The problem with cartoon shows is that the characters tend to be one dimensional and neither improve or disimprove because their is no overall story arc. For example, if this was a live-action teen drama, Lacienaga could have started out as being rude and snobby to Penny but when Penny eventually made it her mission to see why that is, it could ahve revealed that Lacienaga is insecure and jealous of Penny and her close family. The two could have become friends or at the very least associates. Instead Disney insists on implying that Penny should keep toxic people like Dijonay and Lacienaga in her life because 'that's what friendship is all about'.
i enjoy that they are all fake with eachother, its pretty realistic both from the first series' trajectory and just how kids are. i have a feeling the staff are aware and are going to build to an awakening kind of moment for the characters
Honestly Penny needs to ditch the majority of them especially Lacienga and Dijonay, definition of toxic. How many times do they need to prove to Penny how awful they are. In the newest season of the revival, Dijonay jokes that she never remembers hers and Penny's friendship anniversary. LIKE WHY?! The list can go on and on about Lacienga, I swear she's givin' us Latinas a bad name!
I mean. It really showcased how people DO be fake in your social circles. It taught you signs of how people would pretend to be your friend but in reality did not like you at all.
Honestly Maya is the realest out of all of them. She didn't want to be friends to penny and penny was being obnoxious about it. The next few episode were the episode where Maya actually got on my nerves. But after penny stood up for her and her brother I think that's where I started liking her because she started being nice and real yknow I understand why people wouldn't like dijonay but I disliked her for outing Mayas fathers. But anyway I feel like the hate dijonay gets for being rude toward Zoey is not fair and digs into the fact that Zoey Is the innocent white girl whilst dijonay is the bratty dark-skin. Dijonay tried to explain why everyone was upset but Zoey was being really brash about it and not understanding why they would be upset. The one I rlly can't stand is Micheal, I liked him so much in the old series but now he's so fucking annoying 😭 litterally everytime he talks he's instigating, being shady, or just having negative things to say.
I also hated the scene from the episode where zoey gets asked out to the dance by some guy that apparently only dates white girls. But I don’t think she knew this and also, the only thing the friend group was going off with believing this was a rumour from Mayas cousin. Later on they start excluding zoey. They have an argument and all say some hurtful things to eachother. But the scene i thought was bad was how at the dance they IMMEDIATELY start talking shit about zoey after ONE single argument. Zoey was their friend and now because of one argument they’re totally happy to treat her like crap? We then find out that the rumour was true about the guy, zoey dumps him goes back to her friends and SHE apologises??? They apologise too only seconds after talking shit abt her. Idk that scene just reeked of shitty friends and a toxic friend group
LaCienega was never Penny’s friend tho. Honestly penny having fake friends was the realest aspect of this show cause that’s what happens in real life, but the other side to that is it’s a bold choice to put that in a kids show. I can’t think of any another cartoon where the friend groups aren’t genuine. Maybe one day the writers will give penny real friends.
When I first watched this show as a kid… i had friends like these. I left them after a while and after some heartbreak. (Some were good tho and stuck around) But I guess at the time I had no one else and the toxicity was all I knew. Glad I know better now :) but.. definitely hope penny gets some new friends too :c
I was honestly expecting this sequel series to address this as a way to show penny is growing up. Either she starts to realise they don't care and make friends with the other kids to understand them better (like the gross sisters), or another direction is her friends maturing themselves and becoming better people as the show goes on. Or maybe both? Maybe I was blind on the original series but this new series put me off it in those first few episodes. It felt like it wasn't a series of the girls learning and growing as people but just a bully session for penny and a good example of bad friends. Every episode I expect penny to just leave them and the rest of the episode would be the girls struggling to come to terms with their actions; while penny is having a good time with her family.
I've actually had experience with a toxic friend. There's was this girl at my school that I met pretty much last second before summer, and going into my freshman year, we conveniently had a class together. I forgot her name, so conversations were awkward, but I eventually learned it. She was a good friend at first, but things started to change real quick. She was friends with the most hated girl in the school (no joke, NOBODY liked her), which to me was kind of a red flag. This girl was hated because she lied about everything, she made up stories about terrible things happening to her, and etc. She couldn't be trusted. But I didn't think much of it at the time. But then she started being a jerk to me. Not calling me names or spreading rumors or anything, but she manipulated me, used me, lied to me, all kinds of stuff. But I let it all slide. I don't know what I was thinking, but eventually I got sick of her treating me like that and just stopped talking to her, because I was afraid to say, "I don't want to be your friend anymore". I asked my teacher to move me so she wouldn't bother me. She still acted like we were friends, though, and apparently didn't get the message. Over time, though, she slowly stopped talking to me. If you ever have a friend who's terrible to you, then get away from them as much as possible. Don't interact with them, and let them know you don't want to be friends with them. Having a friendship like that is not healthy, and it really messes with you.
I don't blame Penny for wanting to date a boy who's actually nice and kind. Her father is a spineless wimp who takes his toxic desire to keep his daughter from growing as a person to an extreme length - to the point where he crashes on her date and disrupts a stage show in the process, ruining the show for the whole audience too. Her grandmother clearly shows favoritism towards one of her sons (Uncle Bobby) while treating the other like trash in an antagonist relationship of disrespect with Oscar. And half of her friend group seems to just turn on each other at the drop of a hat. (Zoey's episode dating a famous boy). I don't blame Penny one bit for wanting a relationship with Kareem, a nice, gentle boy who respects her. The girl is surrounded by toxic relationships.
I wish teen freindships were shown as being close and loyal. Many are and you don't get to see that, villians often have closer freinds than the good guys. And Kareem is a very nice name.
I cannot believe I'm saying this, but Dijonay did in some ways get better in the remake. She saved Penny from Al Roker by sending Oscar to help her get out of her deal. And a few other moments here and there as well.
It still doesn’t justify DiJonay’s actions considering how she always throws others under the Bus including Penny, especially when she let the "cat out of the bag" through Social Media on Maya and her brother having two dads resulting in them being bullied and the next day and hasn’t apologized to them by the end of the episode.
