Disney+’s DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT Is Not Suitable for Young Children
By Jenny Frye, Contributing Writer
DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT is a Disney+ original about a young Cuban American girl named Elena who takes on the challenges of middle school. The show stars Tess Romero, Gina Rodriguez, Selenis Leyva, Charles Bushnell, and Jessica Marie Garcia.
Elena’s family is comprised of her mother Gabrielle and her brother Bobby. Her father passed away, and her family learns how to cope and live a new life without him. Elena and Bobby both attend middle school and are opposites of each other. Bobby is into sports and friends, while Elena is a Brainiac who loves school and has only one close friend. However, both siblings deal with middle school problems such as puberty, sports, friendships, and crushes. In addition to following the lives of Bobby and Elena, the show highlights Gabrielle’s journey as she learns to be a single mother while balancing her personal life.
DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT is entertaining and includes a variety of storylines. The show is advertised as coming of age comedy, or family genre. Moreover, the show has a PG rating, but some of the content would not fall under the PG guidelines. For example, there are light obscenities where a student says A**, and OMG profanities. Additionally, there is a lesbian couple on the show, and a boy questions his sexuality in the last few episodes. Many episodes revolve around puberty when girls talk about periods, tampons, and pads. Also, two young girls go bra shopping against their parents’ wishes. Lastly, a group of boys talk about doing “Miami second base” with a girl and use a pillow with a bra on it as demonstration.
Although the show doesn’t include anything that is overly offensive, the rating PG is misleading to viewers. Disney is a company known for its family-friendly content that children of almost all ages can watch. It seems that Disney is experimenting with their content. DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT would be more fitting with a rating of TV-14 as it delves into topics of puberty, sexuality, and uses suggestive and foul dialogue.
DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT has some redeeming qualities with elements of friendship, family, love, and forgiveness. The positive bond that Elena’s family has after her father’s passing is extremely heartwarming. She is also enthusiastic about school and her future which is a good example to set for viewers. Even with these strong moral elements, the show would be better if it included a more appropriate rating for viewers to gauge the content. Hopefully, Disney will take the rating system into more consideration as it continues to make other original series.
Movieguide® does not recommend this show for children younger than 14.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
