I absolutely loved the class discussion and video, “Mickey Mouse Monopoly,” this week! Prior to taking this class and prior to seeing this video, I had begun to question the affect of Disney on me as a girl, teenager and now woman. I have always loved Disney movies (“Pocahontas” is my all-time favorite movie). But I wonder if some of the messages portrayed in this films have impacted me in a negative way. For years, these movies taught me things about life like what it meant to be a beautiful female, how to attract a male and how to act in society as a woman. However, I cannot say that Disney’s princess messages are intentionally malevolent. I think (as a sad fact) that Disney movies are like a snapshot of our society at the time.
Look at “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The female protagonist is beautiful (fair skin, dark hair, red lips). She is kind and hard working. She enjoys cooking, cleaning and looking after others. She is young. She is helpless except for the actions of men: First the man who decided to go against the queen’s orders and NOT kill her and then, the prince who “kisses” her and saves the day by bringing her back to life. The female antognist is also beautiful. But beauty isn’t enough. She is selfish, conniving and manipulative of an otherwise good man. She is the older woman and jealous of Snow White’s youth and beauty. The film was made in 1937.
Fast-foward to “The Princess and the Frog.” Now to be fair, the movie doesn’t come out until the end of the week- so much of my opinion is based on the previews. I think in this respect, Disney has come a long way. The definition on beauty now, for the first time, includes the black community. The movie comes out soon. And I’ll have to post an update to this post once I check it out.
