For my indigenous studies class, I was reading excerpts from Beth Brant's Writing As Witness. In the piece of the same title, Brant discusses the use of the word 'vision,' by white people, and what it means for Natives to have the world and the concept misused. It's alienating, and insulting. While I am aware (after reading) of the Native use of 'vision,' and how white people have commodified the concept, my mind wandered to how I am most familiar with the use of the word; Growing up I watched a show on Disney Channel called "That's So Raven," which centers around a teenage girl who has psychic "visions" of the future. Her tag line, before she looks into the camera and we zoom in through her pupil to 'see' what she sees, is "I'm having a vision."

At first, I thought, "Surely, there must be something offensive about this." There must be a cultural custom somewhere in the world that's being Disney-fied by this. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized this show could actually be a good example of othering, and even teaching the audience that othering is wrong, because what we perceive as "other" actually isn't.

Raven is a teenage girl. She has to keep her psychic abilities a secret, but her family and her two best friends know. There is nothing about her that fits the Miss Cleo-stereotype of a psychic, and in one episode I remember they actually do a Miss Cleo spoof, in which Raven is "Madame Talulah," and is the case in children's sitcoms, things go horribly and comedically wrong. Raven can't control her visions, and what she sees is only a tree rather than the whole forest, which is how the plot of each episode unfolds.

"That's So Raven" aired during what I consider, looking back on it, a golden age in Disney Channel programming. The cast was more diverse than other shows on the network, with African-American leading actors. There were also several episodes that dealt with "serious" topics: body image and misrepresentation in the media (in which Raven models one of her own fashion designs and is photoshopped without her consent in a picture to appear skinnier); obesity and fast food consumption; racial profiling and discrimination (in which a manager doesn't hire Raven even though she's more qualified because she's black). The show was funny and interesting and educational, and these episodes have stayed with me even though I haven't seen the show in years.

There were good ideologies there, and "That's So Raven" was a popular show, with high enough ratings to become the first on Disney Channel to be renewed past its 65-episode contract.