Written by Dominic Wright, May 23rd, 2017, at 12:17 p.m. Tweet to @Groovycap
The Nickelodeon series, Hey Arnold!, shows us important issues through every episode. Mainly what makes it iconic is that it doesn’t shy away from real life situations and social issues. Although, this was a children series and the rating was Y-7, we see issues that hold relevance in today’s society. Today, we look at the issue of addiction.
Within the Nickelodeon series Hey Arnold! We focus primarily on our main character Arnold who is the most level-headed character in the series. One of the best thing about the series is that it takes place in Hillwood City, which is a fictional city. In fact, it’s a combination of Seattle, Portland, and Brooklyn. When you look into urban communities and the series Hey Arnold, there are numerous issues that are clear. While comparing both you see, failing public schools, crime, addiction, etc. One of the most common misconceptions is that addiction only affects adults but, in Hey Arnold, it’s found within the character Chocolate Boy.
Although, the Chocolate boy is only a child he suffers from addiction. We know he has an addiction in many ways. One is by seeing the many things he would do for chocolate. Things such as dive in dumpsters, and make a fool out of himself.
A few times within the show we saw characters give him chocolate whenever he made a good use of himself. Specifically, in Season 2 episode 6 titled Ransom, we saw Arnold and Gerald interrogate him and throw malt balls on the floor after they got what they needed. We see parts of his addiction throughout the series when he goes through a chocolate withdrawal stage. This withdrawal was where he craved it and even had hallucinations. Similar to an addict of any hard drug. 
The Chocolate boy’s addiction came from when he was younger and his parents didn’t allow him to eat it. When his parents were not around, his nanny allowed him to eat it. Mainly because it made him happy. Within the episode Chocolate Boy, we saw the school bully, Wolfgang, make a bet with him. The bet is, he can’t eat chocolate for 2 weeks and if he wins then Wolfgang will give him 10 pounds of chocolate. Arnold proceeds to go over to Chocolate boy’s house and help him get rid of all the chocolate he has. Ultimately, this can be symbolic for him going through a rehabilitation stage. The Chocolate Boy’s withdrawal stage begins to kick in as well. starts to lick ants from off of the ground and says they taste like chocolate. Eventually, Wolfgang together with the other fifth graders makes him do a dance as well.
Arnold did what our school system used to do to us when it came to drugs, showed a PowerPoint slideshow on the negative effects of it. Being that it is a kid show it wasn’t drugs, it was chocolate. Honestly, this part of the episode is the most interesting. Mainly because we see where his addiction comes from. Now, the chocolate boy is using it as a coping mechanism because the nanny isn’t around anymore. This episode, in particular, showed the effects of addiction and how using a drug/chocolate can be a coping mechanism for something deeper than what the eye can see.
