Thursday, February 24, 2011

Disney Princesses

I grew up watching Disney movies. When I was little, I watched the older classics, like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella. I even remember when Aladdin came out, and watching Pocahontas in a movie theater. My childhood was all about rooting for the good guys, waiting for the evil villains to meet their end, being scared at the scary parts, crying at the sad parts, and laughing at the funny parts. Singing along with all of those songs was a favorite pastime of mine as well.

Mostly these movies have great lessons. Beauty and the Beast teaches us not to judge a book by its cover, Cinderella teaches us never to give up hope because magic can happen even to the girl who becomes a maid and is ordered around be all. Even she can find true love and be swept away by a prince. Aladdin has a similar message in the reverse- a poor boy can have his wishes granted and marry a princess, as long as he learns not to lie along the way. The little mermaid teaches us that we can marry someone who is different than we are (though all of my teachers used to say how this movie was bad because it encourages intermarriage.)

Although I enjoyed Disney movies, I never wanted to be a Disney princess. None of them are very intelligent, at least not in the earlier movies, and they do not have much personality. They are weak, passive characters who cry every time something doesn’t go their way instead of facing situations with determination, courage and strength. The only character like this was Mulan, which was made later on, and who I must point out pretended to be a man for half the movie. Not exactly the best female role models.

Despite the good lessons, these fairy tale movies also give us unrealistic views on how life works, such as that everything always ends up happily ever after. They also teach us completely wrong ideas about love and romance, as portrayed by this video I found that is hilarious, yet so scarily true about the messages that Disney sends. Enjoy!

How to Make A Guy Like You- Disney Princess Style




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6 comments:

  1. My favorite disney "princess" was Mulan, bcz she was not weak and unintelligent. She was smart, strong and strong willed. She goes for what she wants and does not let the rules of society stop her from following her heart and doing what she thinks is the right..besides i love the songs!

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  2. Brilliant! Goodness that movie made me laugh. What true and valid points. I'm also a big Mulan fan, however, for some reason my favorite Disney girl was Esmerelda from "The Hunchback of Notredame." Only because she was pretty; I didn't really admire her use-one-guy-then-dump-him-for-the-tall-handsome-one gig. My true favorite Disney girl is Edna Mode. No one sticks to their convictions like she does.

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  3. aminspiration- very true! But a girl shouldn't have to act like a guy in order to have a real, normal, admirable character.

    Coral-glad you enjoyed the video. Edna is a pretty good character. Elastigirl isn't bad either. The more modern the Disney movie, the better the female character.

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  4. Right, agreed, but what we consider admirable strength and character was not allowed in such a society..in order to be her own self she had to be something she wasnt..ironic isnt it?

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  5. I will just point out that at the end of Beauty and the Beast he still turns back into a prince. So what exactly is the message here? Don't judge a book by its cover...but it's sure better to marry someone handsome. :-P

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  6. PNN- and what's wrong with that message? ;) just kidding. That is a very good point! Like I said- Disney movies always end in the classically happily ever after way. As though if he stayed a beast it wouldn't be happy.

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