When discussing the definition of beauty in today’s society, thin, fair-skinned, and long-haired are all words that are agreeably in the top five adjectives used. These standards of beauty tend to be engraved in brains of children, teens, adults, Americans, Asians, Europeans, men, women, and etc. all day every day. These ideals are portrayed through television commercials, billboards, newspaper ads and all other forms of media, such as Disney channel programs. Behavioral norms are also a major topic depicted in Disney channel programs; these programs depict that certain races, social classes and genders behave in certain ways, some which are sometimes stereotypical. These ideals are targeted to children who are “reaching an age where they are developing an awareness of self and comparing that self to the ideals presented in the media” (Northup and Liebler 268). At what point do we question by whose standard is this normal? Are we supposed to continuously live in this box of subjectivity and suffer while trying to reach this “standard?” Is this standard really a standard or cultural norm? It is said that these depictions shape the behaviors and actions of children and affect their self-esteem and self-image, but that is not always true. Most children in today’s society are mature enough to differentiate between television and reality. At a young age, I can recall watching Disney Channel regularly; I remember the countless movies from The Little Mermaid to Zenon. As a child, I saw the ideals being presented, but I did not recognize or understand the message that was being sent through the characters in these movies. I did not understand why I questioned my darker skin tone or four-foot frame or tomboyish ways until I was in my late... ... middle of paper ... ...gro Education 75.3 (2005): 221-29. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. Nealon, Jeffrey T., and Susan Searls Giroux. "Culture." The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. 51-88. Print Nealon, Jeffrey T., and Susan Searls Giroux. "Subjectivity." The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. 35-50. Print Northup, Temple, and Carol M. Liebler. "The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful." Journal of Children and Media 4.3 (2010): 265-82. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. Robinson, T., M. Callister, and T. Jankoski. "Portrayal of Body Weight on Children's Television Sitcoms: A Content Analysis." Body Image 5.2 (2008): 141-51. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. The Proud Family. Creator Bruce W smith. Disney Channel. DIS, Atlanta. 2001. Television.
...re & values, volume II: A survey of the humanities. (7th ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Kristeva, Julia. "A Question of Subjectivity--an Interview." Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. Ed. Philip Rice and Patricia Waugh. New York: Routledge, Chapman, and Hall, 1989.
Cunningham, Lawrence, and John J. Reich. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. With Readings.
Through Disney Princess Play." Reading Research Quarterly 44.1 (2009): 57-83. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Mar. 2009.
As children, many of us grew up watching Disney's films idolizing many of the characters as it was the biggest not to mention still is the most popular form of family entertainment. But by taking a closer look into these films we begin to realize that the Disney princess line, through their story lines and characters are setting up gender roles for children, essentially educating them on what society deems appropriate for their gender. Many of their movies often portray some stereotypical representation of gender, consistently depicting the heroine as the victim who needs help saving, playing the typical damsel in distress. For many years, the Disney Corporation has created a gold-mined with their princesses franchise by relying on gender stereotypes for many of their female heroines.
The media plays a vital role in displaying to society the roles and values that individuals should hold. The media is also a very powerful agent in demonstrating racial and gender stereotypes (Matyas 3). Disney plays a major role in displaying stereotypical things to young children. Some figures that have been very important and influential to young children for a long time are the Disney Princesses. There are many features about these characters that make children love them. However, after researching the topic, it becomes obvious that these are not the kinds of characters children should idolize. Many young girls spend much of their childhood wanting to be a princess. Disney’s portrayal of princesses makes this seem not so desirable. A princess is usually a young and beautiful girl who has an unnaturally thin body. She also falls in love very quickly and her only goal in life is to get married.
...ange of personality characteristics in Disney Princesses has produced a disparity of self-identities formed by children after watching the films. The self-identity depicted in early Princess films is that princesses or heroines are obedient and gentle; they always follow the orders given. In contrast, Pocahontas shows a princess with strong will and it represents one’s accomplishment by displaying the characteristics of independence and bravery to stand up for her beliefs. The diverse characteristics shown in the films exert great influence in the development of children’s self-identities. This is because different traits of the princesses depicted may result in different experiences of having certain characteristics in children. Hence, the classic and recent Princess films give children their own illustration of princesses characteristics and beauty respectively.
To begin, social media has created unrealistic standards for young people, especially females. Being bombarded by pictures of females wearing bikinis or minimal clothing that exemplifies their “perfect” bodies, squatting an unimaginable amount of weight at a gym while being gawked at by the opposite sex or of supermodels posing with some of life’s most desirable things has created a standard that many young people feel they need to live up to. If this standard isn’t reached, then it is assumed that they themselves are not living up to the norms or the “standards” and then therefore, they are not beautiful. The article Culture, Beauty and Therapeutic Alliance discusses the way in which females are bombarded with media messages star...
I. Introduction Disney is one of the biggest powerhouses in the media world through its control of many television stations, motion picture studios, and ABC, which has influenced much of the cultural learning that goes on today (Giroux & Pollock, 2010, p.156). This control gives the Disney corporation a very influential position and has allowed them to develop an ideological hegemony by selling “Disney Magic” to children. Parents are coerced into letting their children watch Disney films due to the prominence of the films in our culture, but also because of how this corporation has become ingrained into the socialization of children. In particular, Walt Disney movies are one of the main ways that children are unknowingly taught the values, attitudes, and actions that are gender appropriate in the United States. Children are easily shaped by attitudes and impressions of their surroundings, thus making them especially vulnerable to discriminating or unrealistic messages.
Barbie is today’s beauty ideals packaged up into a cardboard box to be sold to millions of young girls around the world. Barbie has long blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin and a slim, shapely body. When girls become teenagers and grow out of playing with dolls, Barbie passes the responsibility of defining contemporary beauty standards to the media. The media ensues by placing this image throughout north american magazines, runways, and film. With such prevalent broadcasting adolescent girls have begun to describe “the “ideal girl” as being 5’7”, 100 pounds, size 5, with long blonde hair and blue eyes...” (Strasburger 400). This quote provides powerful evidence of how impossibly specific and eerily similar to a Barbie doll the standard is within
Lawrence S. Cunningham, John J. Reich. Culture and values: a survey of the humanities. USA:Wadsworth Publishing. 2009. PRINT.
Socialization begins at a very young age; socialization is defined as “the social processes through which we develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self (Giddens).” The media plays a huge role in shaping a child identity on how he or she should behave in the society (Giddens 72). Children are the most to be effected by the content they view on the mass media such as television shows, advertisements, movies, music and everything else shown on the media. Disney movies are seen to be safe for children because it teaches, morals, values of sharing, believing in yourself and the importance of hard work and success. But many fail to see the ways Disney movies reinforces wrong messages to children. Many popular Disney movies show stereotypical gender roles, the false representation of other groups and cultures, which may affect children negatively in the feature.
I can understand how many parents are blinded to the negative effects of Disney movies, and their princesses. When they get a movie for their kid they probably say to themselves, “They’re made for children, so they must be okay, right?” Wrong. Just as Henry Giroux, the writer of the book, “The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence” believes that Disney movies have a negative impact on the children that watch them, I believe that as well. Disney movies can teach young girls stereotypes of the ideal body image, how they should act, and unrealistic expectations of love.
Today’s public is bombarded on a daily basis with advertisement upon advertisement, image upon image aimed at making us think a certain way, making us want to buy a certain thing, making us feel a certain way about ourselves. The most susceptible to these images is arguably the teenaged girl. Adolescence, an already harrowing time for anyone, is compounded with the impending pressure of adhering to societal standards set forth by both historical and modern outlets. Young girls cannot grow up within their own minds anymore, and their circle of comparison is no longer limited to what they see directly around them. Just by turning on the television or attempting to watch a video or read an article on almost any website, girls are shown endless
The importance and developmental in the areas of love, marriage, and beauty has a significant role in the lives of young girls. It is important for Disney to be aware of the messages it portrays as it the most popular media source promoting a certain lifestyle to young girls. “Viewers, especially children, imitate the behavior of television characters in much the same way that they learn social and cognitive skills by imitating their parents, siblings, and peers (Lefkowitz & Huesmann, 1980)”. Because it is common for children to imitate the people they admire and idolize, young girls hold princess character values as a high priority. This is the perfect opportunity for The Walt Disney Company to create films that will empower young girls by making their “princesses “of all shapes, sizes and ethnicity, create story lines where women can be strong and independent, and how beauty is more than skin deep. This will help shape young girls mind to believe that happiness can be achieved through hard work and dedication and boost their self-esteem, which is such a common problem at young girls’ age, as they begin to find out who they are and who they want to