Credit: Ludo StudioBluey uses its family of cartoon dogs to explain serious and often complex subjects to its young audience. However, that doesn’t mean adults can’t learn a thing or two in the process.
The show from Ludo Studios has been described as a show about parenting that kids can watch too, and that’s not so far from the truth. However, the newly arrived season 3C has not one but two episodes that subtly dive into a subject not generally covered in the medium: men’s mental health.
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Although mental health awareness is currently on the rise, men’s mental health is still pulling up the rear. Studies show that men are less likely to talk about their mental health due to factors like social stigma, downplaying symptoms, and reluctance, but Bluey (of all places) opens the door for a more healthy discussion with the dads and male audience members watching the show.
Bluey and Men’s Mental Health
Bluey has talked about managing emotions in a healthy way before, but in the episode “Stickbird,” something’s going on with the normally outgoing and boisterous Bandit. While Bluey, Bingo, and Chilli enjoy a day at the beach, Bandit keeps giving a 1000-yard stare into the middle distance.
The Daily Mail went into much more detail when the episode first aired, and multiple theories were proposed by parents watching the show as to what’s going on in Bandit’s head. Some even suggested that he was going through a severe case of depression or even something as big as a death in the family.
While the reason behind Bandit’s mood is left entirely ambiguous, the episode ends with Bluey teaching Bingo how to deal with managing her angry and upset feelings by letting go, to which Bandit does the same. However, this isn’t the only episode that looks into the psyche of the Heeler patriarch.
The episode “Dragon” sends the Heelers on a fantasy adventure told through crayon drawings, each character represented by their own art style. Viewers are shown a flashback to Bandit’s childhood that reveals how an incident involving a classmate’s criticism turned him off drawing for years.
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We also see Bandit covering up and compensating for his drawing style at different points in the episode as well. Only when these feelings are brought out into the open is a spark for drawing reignited in the form of a hand-drawn racer.
In this writer’s opinion, these episodes are why Bluey has such a massive adult following. Not only does it help kids understand emotional skills, but it serves as a reminder that parents and grownups shouldn’t ignore their feelings either.
Were you moved by these new episodes? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!