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

• 

  (#11) Harold Is A Frequent Victim Of Fat Shaming

  Okay, to get this right out of the way, Harold is kind of a bully. He's loud, he's obnoxious, and he picks on kids smaller than he is. However, like a lot of bullies, he's actually desperately insecure. In "Weighing Harold," we see Harold as a vulnerable and self-conscious little boy. In the episode, Harold is bombarded by people disparaging him about his weight.

  In fact, it’s not only his peers that insult him, but full-grown adults as well. Seriously, random adult strangers just totally sh*t on young Harold. The constant taunting sends Harold into a series of desperate attempts to lose weight, but he is continuously met with disappointment. His confidence shaken, he becomes utterly depressed. In a moment of weakness, he breaks down and calls himself a dumb fat freak.

  Overall, the episode closely mimics the sad truth about what people go through when they are fat-shamed in real life.
• 

  (#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. 
• 

  (#4) Chocolate Boy Is Basically A Drug Addict, And No One Can Help

  "Chocolate Boy" is one of the series' darkest episodes. It's seriously jacked up. See, Chocolate Boy is a young child who... loves chocolate. He's not very creatively named. In his eponymous episode, Chocolate Boy asks Arnold for help breaking his chocolate addiction (first because of a bet, but then for real). Throughout the episode, it's pretty strongly implied that Chocolate Boy is addicted to chocolate in the same way some people are addicted to crack cocaine.

  Chocolate Boy humiliates and degrades himself for chocolate, dancing for the ol' sweet bad brown when cajoled by some fifth graders. At one point, he even goes rooting through a dumpster looking for more chocolate.

  After he goes cold turkey, he starts going through heroin-like withdrawal. He sweats, he gets the shakes, and all he can think about is chocolate. Arnold even tries to get him on carob (basically methadone for chocolate), but Chocolate Boy has a severe allergic reaction.

  While he eventually kicks his addiction to chocolate, he then seems to get hooked on radishes. Kind of like giving up heroin and picking up smoking cigarettes. By the time of Hey Arnold! The Movie, he's suffered a complete relapse. Chocolate Boy is clearly an allegory for drug addicts in our own society and the terrifying and stark realities of their existence.    
• 

  (#6) Arnold Lost His Parents And He Hasn't Gotten Over It

  Everyone loved Arnold's affectionate and kooky grandparents, but do you remember why he lived with them in the first place?  His parents left him when he was an infant. In fact, Arnold is constantly daydreaming about them and their adventures. He never got conclusive proof of their deaths, so he's forced to spend his life speculating.

  Clearly, he has a lot of unresolved feelings wrapped up in his parents' disappearance. This can be seen in the episode titled "Arnold’s Hat," where Arnold becomes depressed after losing his signature tiny hat. It is later revealed that the hat was given to him by his parents as a baby. Really stop and think about that. He's been wearing the same hat every single day since he was a baby. If you saw a 10-year-old doing that in real life, you'd probably suggest some sort of psychiatric counseling. 
• 

  (#3) Mr. Hyunh Gives Up His Infant Daughter During The Vietnam War

  In "Arnold’s Christmas," Arnold is faced with the task of getting a gift for Mr. Hyunh, a Vietnamese tenant in his grandparent's boarding house/amazing country singer. When he confronts Mr. Hyunh about his lack of enthusiasm for the holiday, he's exposed to a pretty staggering truth.

  As it turns out, in the past, Hyunh was caught in the middle of what it pretty clearly the Vietnam War. He was forced to give up his infant daughter to the U.S. military so that she could have a better life. Bruh.

  Although the thought of Hyunh losing his daughter is sad, the entire war scene depicted in the episode is even more depressing. The scene shows the darkness of warfare and the destruction, fear, and sorrow that plague the parties involved. The episode is a stern reminder of the brutality and pain caused by war. And it probably aired next to, like, a commercial for Sketchers or cereal or whatever. 
• 

  (#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.  

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking