I love Disney movies. I always go to see the new ones in the theater and I have a huge collection of movies. I think the music in the old Walt Disney movies is spectacular and there always fun to watch. Although I love all the movies and will never stop watching them, I hate some Disney princesses, including snow white, Aurora and Cinderella. I don't like how women are seen as not able to protect themselves, and the only way the will be happy is if they marry a prince. This blog gives good examples how this happens in Disney movies. "
The entire story is centered around her beauty. Her stepmother, of the evil variety, of course, cares about nothing more than being beautiful. Since Snow White is her beauty rival, naturally, Snow White must die. She escapes and finds a messy cottage and gets right to cleaning it up. It makes sense. She’s a woman." or "Ursula wants her voice in return for legs and tells her that men don’t like women that talk too much and the girl who holds her tongue will get her man and that she just needs to use her sexuality." Don't get me wrong, The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies, but like in so many others females are shown as people who are not able to do anything but clean and get married. This is one of the reasons I love the new Disney princesses. Yes, in the end of tangled Rapunzel and Flinn get married, but it was only after they had spend some times together. It was not love at first sight like so many others. There is no love interest in Brave. Merida does not want to get married and is a strong female character who is able to think for herself. I think this is an important images for young girls. As the articles says people always say that young children don't understand and its just a movie. But the fact is they do understand. I was trying to help my three year old niece learn to draw circles. When she had done one, or was close I told her she was smart. Then she said she doesn't need to be smart as long as shes pretty like Cinderella. I'm happy to see Disney slowly moving in a better direction. I grew up with Disney movies and I used to love the princess ones, so i'm not saying that its bad to watch, all i'm pointing out is the message it can convey to young girls and its important to teach them that looks are not everything.
This blog http://viewsfromthecouch.com/2012/04/18/my-rant-on-disney-princesses/ was not written by an expert on this subject, just a girl with an opinion she would like to share. Her opinion in this subject seems very strong due to the words she uses and the explanation she gives. It seemed like she just wanted to be a voice for all those people who disagree with the portrayal of women in classic Disney movies. I agree with everything she states, but I still love the movies and she didn't point out the fact that Disney is given a better look towards women in there movies, which I believe is a important point to consider.
I love Disney movies. I always go to see the new ones in the theater and I have a huge collection of movies. I think the music in the old Walt Disney movies is spectacular and there always fun to watch. Although I love all the movies and will never stop watching them, I hate some Disney princesses, including snow white, Aurora and Cinderella. I don't like how women are seen as not able to protect themselves, and the only way the will be happy is if they marry a prince. This blog gives good examples how this happens in Disney movies. "The entire story is centered around her beauty. Her stepmother, of the evil variety, of course, cares about nothing more than being beautiful. Since Snow White is her beauty rival, naturally, Snow White must die. She escapes and finds a messy cottage and gets right to cleaning it up. It makes sense. She’s a woman." or "Ursula wants her voice in return for legs and tells her that men don’t like women that talk too much and the girl who holds her tongue will get her man and that she just needs to use her sexuality." Don't get me wrong, The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies, but like in so many others females are shown as people who are not able to do anything but clean and get married. This is one of the reasons I love the new Disney princesses. Yes, in the end of tangled Rapunzel and Flinn get married, but it was only after they had spend some times together. It was not love at first sight like so many others. There is no love interest in Brave. Merida does not want to get married and is a strong female character who is able to think for herself. I think this is an important images for young girls. As the articles says people always say that young children don't understand and its just a movie. But the fact is they do understand. I was trying to help my three year old niece learn to draw circles. When she had done one, or was close I told her she was smart. Then she said she doesn't need to be smart as long as shes pretty like Cinderella. I'm happy to see Disney slowly moving in a better direction. I grew up with Disney movies and I used to love the princess ones, so i'm not saying that its bad to watch, all i'm pointing out is the message it can convey to young girls and its important to teach them that looks are not everything.
I love how movies are able to capture societal roles and values, akin to the time in which they were produced. While some movies age well, I think some aspects of Disney movies do not. I love the images you posted, they were fun to read. Its funny how instilled the "Knight in shining armour will save me" complex is in our society. However the last image you posted I thought, was the most interesting because of the shifting in ideas. Of course, there are more than just Disney movies, that decide gender roles in society, but it does show a shifting in the times, from an archaic "nuclear family generic american housewive role" to a more "independent woman thing." Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI love how movies are able to capture societal roles and values, akin to the time in which they were produced. While some movies age well, I think some aspects of Disney movies do not. I love the images you posted, they were fun to read. Its funny how instilled the "Knight in shining armour will save me" complex is in our society. However the last image you posted I thought, was the most interesting because of the shifting in ideas. Of course, there are more than just Disney movies, that decide gender roles in society, but it does show a shifting in the times, from an archaic "nuclear family generic american housewive role" to a more "independent woman thing." Nice post.
ReplyDeleteAs a Disney lover myself, I really enjoyed your post. The photos you posted really caught my eye. Good use of visuals. Although I may not agree entirely with everything you said, they're still great points. I think that my love for some of those princesses goes so deep that I don't care how pathetic they may be, haha. Great post, and interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteI agree that Disney princesses change the way girls view love and beauty. I agree that it sucks. I think the points made in this blog are somewhat valid, but I think that we as an audience have to remember what time period these movies were made in. Life wasn't always peaches and cream for women. The movies reflect that. The basis of the movies change as society changes, and back in the 50s, what were women? Walking uteri. Of course, that's just how I view the topic. This was a very good topic to pick, because it does provoke thought.
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