Random Reasons Hey Arnold Is Actually About Depression And Economic Struggle (15 items)

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  (#9) Olga Pataki Is Constantly On The Edge Of A Nervous Breakdown

  Olga is the pristine older sister of Helga Pataki. While she lavishes attention on her little sister, Helga is generally kind of a brat to Olga. To be fair, Olga is academically talented, pretty, well-mannered, and popular. She's also clearly her parents favorite. It's easy to see why she'd be anathema to Helga.  

  Olga, however, is clearly has her fair share of issues and neuroses. This is perhaps most clearly illustrated in the episode "Olga Comes Home." See, Helga steals a letter with Olga’s college grades (before her older sister sees it) and secretly changes an A+ to a B+, which sends Olga on a downward spiral of depression. Olga locks herself away in her bedroom, broken, tearful, and miserable.

  Can you imagine the kind of pressure you'd have to be under for one grade to do that to you? Apparently, Olga has a lot going on underneath her glittering exterior. 
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  (#14) Arnold's Guardians Suffer From Varying Degrees Of Senility

  Look, no one is doubting that Arnold has some loving and devoted grandparents caring for him. Their intentions are not the issue here. It's just, honestly, due to their age they both seem to be more than a little senile. While Grandpa Phil appears to be more on the forgetful side (he often forgets things or loses his train of thought) it’s Grandma Gertie who we should really be worried about.

  At most times, Gertie is confused and apparently out of touch with reality. In numerous episodes, she dresses up in silly outfits and changes her demeanor to fit each "role." She often refuses to break character, even in serious or life threatening situations. If anyone from child protective services saw her in real life, they'd probably remand Arnold into protective custody. Although Gertie seems to disassociate with reality more and more as time goes on, her psychotic breaks are mostly played up as "kooky" or "wacky."

  They're really just heartbreaking if you think about them for more than, like, two seconds.  
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  (#10) Rhonda Is An Avatar Of Institutionalized Classism

  In the episode "Rhonda Goes Broke," the show breaks down the cavernous class divide in Arnold's city. Rhonda is a rich kid who loves to flaunt how rich she is. She's actually kind of a brat, but whatever that's not the point. When she learns her family has gone broke, she becomes instantly devastated and perplexed about being poor. The sad thing about this episode isn't necessarily Ronda’s situation, but rather her utter ignorance and disgust at the way other people live.

  See, when her dad's stocks tank, Rhonda and her family move into the Sunset Arms. That's the boarding house that Arnold's grandparents run AKA the place that Arnold lives in even though his life isn't in shambles. Rhonda spends most of the episode bitching non-stop about the terrible quality of life that Arnold lives with every day. Despite living in a massive city, she's clearly had zero exposure to how the other half lives. It's a pretty disheartening look into the culture of the Hey Arnold! universe.  
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  (#5) The Public School System Is Failing The Children

  Arnold and his friends attend P.S. 118, a public school in the city. It's clearly a failing institution, constantly plagued by budget cuts, staff shortages, and an uncaring administration. While there are several episodes that revolve around problems with the school specifically, let's not forget that the students are the real victims here. 

  In "Tutoring Torvald," Arnold is assigned to... well, tutor Torvald. Torvald is a 13-year-old fourth grader who struggles with remedial math. That's right, he's 13. That means he's been held back for three or four years at least, and he's not even the only teenager in the fourth grade! Arnold's classmate Harold becomes a man in "Harold's Bar Mitzvah," meaning that he too is 13 years old. If Torvald and Harold are indicative sample sizes of what's happening in the rest of the school, then a relatively high percentage (around 12.5%, judging by Arnold's class size) of students are being held back with alarming frequency. Clearly, the public education system in Hey Arnold! is in dire need of some assistance.  
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  (#7) Arnold's City Struggles With Violent Crime

  Arnold is generally an all-around nice guy who usually tries his best not to let things get him down. In the episode titled "Mugged," however, Arnold finds himself a victim of a mugging. This prompts him to learn self-defense from his grandmother, which helps him gain confidence and teaches him how to protect himself. However, Arnold starts using his new martial prowess to start harassing other people in turn, perpetuating the cycle of violence.  

  This episode is messed up on a few levels. First, the manner and brutality of Arnold’s mugging is pretty hard to watch, even if it is animated. Seeing a little kid getting beat up by teenage male is pretty disturbing, and it suggests a frightening level of institutionalized violence. He ostensibly kicks Arnold's ass for some change and a bus pass, but he's clearly mostly doing it for the thrill. Secondly, the episode explores the ways in which a violent incident can alter someone's life.

  Often, victims of crimes will, like Arnold, respond by becoming more threatening than the thing that scared them. If Arnold didn't have such a loving support network, he might have just stayed an abusive d*ck for the rest of his life. Frankly, the guy who assaults Arnold was probably a victim himself at one point or another. Violence begets violence.  
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  (#1) Helga’s Mother Is An Alcoholic

  Miriam Pataki is a stay-at-home housewife and the mother of Helga and Olga. Throughout the series, it’s astoundingly clear that Miriam is an alcoholic. Seriously, this one is pretty much right out in the open. She appears in many episodes to be making "smoothies” (see: daiquiris) and mostly shuffles aimlessly around her house, listless and slurring her speech. There are even times she passes out on the couch and is unaware of where she is when she wakes up.

  She also casually talks to her 9-year-old daughter about her depression, so clearly she's not doing so hot. It's easy to believe that she is using alcohol to drown out her sorrows. Also, during an episode titled "The Beeper Queen," there's even a hint dropped that Miriam has had her license suspended. That has to be the result of a DUI, right? 

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