"There'll be no more dogs for nursemaids in this house!" George, father of Wendy, John and Michael screams as he drags Nana out the door and down the stairs by her collar. George, in disgust, ties Nana up to the doghouse in the back complaining that his children don't pay any attention to him (for obvious reasons as illustrated).
This is just one dramatic scene from one of my favorite Disney movies, Peter Pan. I've always loved this movie, but at the same time, I think about what I'm learning from watching this simple child's movie.
I can't help it. It all started about a year ago when I took a Media Smarts class on campus. In this class, we analyzed different forms of media and how they could be subliminally affecting us. Although my teacher seemed to have an affinity for hip hop music and horrible rap videos (traumatizing in many, many ways), we did watch a documentary about the effects of watching Disney movies.
In this documentary, many people analyzed different factors of all the movies and concluded that they are indeed sexist, racist, and violent. And that's only the beginning of the story.
Take for example, one of my favorite ladies, Tinkerbell. Not only is her jealousy and hatred for Wendy searing (in fact, searing enough to burn through a green leaf) but she portrays what critics claim as the stereotypical woman. Remember the part when she's standing on top of the mirror and she sees how big her hips are? She holds her hands at her sides then brings them straight out in front of her. Doomsday music blasts in the background as she immediately looks depressed. Are you kidding me? This lady is a fairy and she's probably about the size of a grasshopper! So not only is she jealous and obsessed with killing Wendy, she's also concerned about her 3 grams of total weight.
A lady in the movie cited Princess Jasmine as her bad example of women in Disney movies. According to this lady, not only does Jasmine have a waist the size of my wrist, she tries to seduce Jafar to save Aladdin and the genie. The lady went on to explain that Disney's usual portrayal of women was something with huge doe eyes, long eye lashes, and unbelievably small bodies. They try to persuade men with their bodies. True, to some extent.
When I was watching this in class, I heard several scoffs. I thought, wait a minute...my peers have every right to be upset. Disney movies are just a part of many children's lives. I know they were a part of mine because I was borderline obsessed with Ariel. In fact, I would sit in the bathtub and add piles of salt hoping to somehow grow scales from my legs. (No joke!)
These people were going against millions of children's lives here. So are their points really valid or are they just causing controversy for the sake of it?
Does anyone remember watching Jungle Book? Do you remember hearing the voices of the apes in this video? A lady in the documentary said that it promoted racism, because the voices of all the apes in this movie were voiced by African-American actors. This would make children associate those voices with apes, apparently.
The same lady discusses the chihuahua Tito in the film Oliver & Company. She said that Tito reenforces 
negative stereotype of Hispanic men: they are conniving, small, sassy, deceitful womanizers. Within the story of Peter Pan, the "red men" are portrayed as stupid and horrible speakers. I mean, you are faced with the stumping question of "what makes the red men red?"
negative stereotype of Hispanic men: they are conniving, small, sassy, deceitful womanizers. Within the story of Peter Pan, the "red men" are portrayed as stupid and horrible speakers. I mean, you are faced with the stumping question of "what makes the red men red?" And then we move on to what is perhaps what is the most daunting one of all: violence. I remember seeing Bambi when I was little at my grandma's house and watching in horror as Bambi's mother is killed. I haven't watched it since.
Add to that the image of George dragging the family dog out of the house by the collar as I mention above. If you saw this in real life, wouldn't it be horrible? All of these examples are just one of many.
I could go on and on about this topic, for there are violent scenes in every Disney movie. Granted the word violent is quite the loaded word, but we have to think, "How violent is this to a 5 year old?"
The topic of Disney putting subliminal text and images in their movies is a different post, because that is a huge topic all together. I assume that you've all heard the urban legends. You probably know what word appears from the puff of seeds in The Lion King. You probably know what image is right next to the two mice as they take off in their albatross plane in The Rescuers. You've probably heard of the atrocities in The Little Mermaid.
Do our children notice all these messages, even subliminally? I don't know. One might argue that we can't keep our children sheltered forever by feeding them perfect media (which rightly doesn't exist). I agree. But at the same time, are these messages helping our children? Do Disney movies reflect the ills of society or are they helping to create them?
Those questions are pretty hard to answer. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations, and Sword in the Stone. But perhaps I'll think twice about propping my child in front of one.
What do you think?
4 comments:
Lol Candice... Well, I had no idea that you were so crazy about The Little Mermaid!! Putting salt in your bath!! How come I never heard this story during all of our growing up years? I always knew about the Sword in the Stone obession though... Well, I would leave an opinion, but you know me, I don't ever have one... All I can say is that the old Disney's are a ton better than most other things you can watch any more, including the lasest cartoons! But, we probably won't even be able to afford a decent tv any time soon, so we'll probaby just have to create wholesome plays and olympic activities to pass the time. Do you think you could come over and show my kids how to do the best floor routine? If you do a good job, I might even give you my dried up bunch of weeds! :) Hope we see you at Christmas!!
I was just thinking of Paden's favorite movies right now. He loves Toy Story, Cars, and A Goofy Movie. Toy Story definitely has some violet parts...Syde blowing up toys, which in the movie are just like people. So, I can see a point there, but I also think we need to teach our children what is real, and what is fake. Movies are a part of our society, and they are FAKE! But, I also know that even I have a hard time sometimes remembering that when I get into a movie. I think we should teach our children as we very thoughtfully choose the movies that we feel comfortable with. Also, different things affect different children. Although I think Toy Story more disturbing than Cars, there is a part in cars (the tractor tipping) the literally terrifies him. He actually trembles and asks me to skip it. Toy Story, on the other hand, has never bothered him. I do think we need to be very selective about what we let our children watch, but I think the biggest thing that will affect them, is what WE their parents teach them. It is very interesting to consider all these examples though. We were also discussing the lack of strong families in all Disney movies. Where are the Moms? Goofy... what happened to his wife? He has a son. Bambi's Mom is shot (I think I only watched that one like once too). Nemo's Mom dies. There's always some tragedy, or just no other parent to begin with. I know it shows different kinds of families, so kids understand that even kids without both parents are a family, but don't you think the normal family should be represented too? The only one I can think of is Peter Pan where there is a father and a mother. Okay, this is super long, but I just really like how you make me rethink the thinks I never really consider. Merry Christmas! P.S. this is Kami, not Tyler
Hey Candice, this is Tracy--I'm in Wisconsin now, so I might be one of the strangers you've seen.
Cool post. It seems like some of that is kind of changing with the times though--I mean, Peter Pan is getting oldish, generation-wise. If you look at more current movies, like Mulan and Lilo and Stitch (which are both awfully violent, so I'm not even going to go there) the female characters are a little stronger. Then again, they both sort of act more masculine I think. Interesting stuff.
TRACY! How are you? I was thinking that you had a blog, but your name didn't link to anything, so I guess I'll just talk to you on here.
I'm so glad you found my blog! Thanks for your comment...I think Disney movies are really interesting (obviously). But you do have a good point about the new movies, and the female characters. :)
So do you have your PhD yet? Let me know what's up? If you want, you can drop me an email....
candice.m@aggiemail.usu.edu
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