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The impact of Disney films on children
How does Disney impact society
The influence of disney on the society
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Recommended: The impact of Disney films on children
What Growing up in a Disney-Flavored World has done to Society: A Research Paper
Young girls sit in front of the television watching Disney movies portraying picture perfect girls who are rescued and swept off their feet by a handsome knight in shining armor. While some believe these movies are perfectly harmless, research proves differently. Disney culture has negatively affected society by causing self-esteem issues, establishing gender norms in movies like Sleeping Beauty, and by setting unrealistic expectations, such as those seen in the similar “fairy tale” endings of The Little Mermaid and the movie version of Pride and Prejudice. If one has a bit of background information on this topic, he or she can make up his or her mind on the issue.
The definition of a fairy tale is “a made-up story usually designed to mislead” (Merriam Webster 2015). This is exactly what Disney has done; they have shown separation anxiety, depression, and unrealistic weight expectations in their movies (Waltson 2015). Scholars have created a new diagnosis known as Princess Syndrome, that makes the child show conceited behavior and imitate princesses (Waltson 2015). This shows that Disney has gone too far with unrealistic
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expectations. Disney’s sales have skyrocketed from three hundred million dollars in 2001to three-billion dollars this year ; twenty-five thousand princess items are now being sold (Orenstein 2006). The high amount of sales indicate that many children are getting introduced to Disney products every day which may not be good for their self-esteem. Disney has established self-esteem issues in children throughout all of their movies by specifying how a princess is suppose to act. Peggy Orenstein states that Disney is diminishing her daughter’s “mental and physical health” (2006). In a recent study done to test Disney’s influence on body image, Dr. Tanawan Asawarachan assessed that the girls in both of the groups grew distressed about their body image after being exposed to a Disney movie (2013). The findings helped show that “Disney movies influence young girls’ perceptions of their body image, and they have an awareness of their body size” (Asawarachan 2013). Not only does Disney affect how children feel about their body and how they should look, but it also shows huge amounts of sexism. Disney shows more sexism than some may realize. In Sleeping Beauty, Prince Phillip is shown as an entirely dull person, and he is very forgettable; he is silent and withdrawn throughout the whole movie (Castillo 2006). This teaches young boys that they need to be strong, but quiet and reserved, to prosper. Sleeping Beauty is also only talking in her own movie for about 15 minutes, and she is “depicted as extremely demure” and “rarely taking a proactive stance” (Castillo 2006). This also teaches girls that they are supposed to wait for their knight in shining armor to save the day, like Aurora waited for Prince Phillip to kiss her to wake her up (Sleeping Beauty 1959). Even when they are proactive, they are some type of evil witch or being; for example, Ursula in The Little Mermaid, she is the only woman to do something about a situation. Even though sexism is a big part of how Disney have negatively affected society, unrealistic expectations are an even bigger part. Disney has given unrealistic expectations to children everywhere for generations.
Disney has shown us that there is supposedly a prince charming waiting for each person in the world, but this is not true. Nearly fifty perecent of first marriages in the United States end in divorce, two-thirds of second marriages, and seventy-five percent of third marriages (Epstein 2014). This is because of unrealistic expectations given by Disney. Disney has caused failed marriages all over the world by telling girls how successful romantic relationships are made and maintained. For example in The Little Mermaid, Ariel finds Eric and they get married, but that is not how it really happens in life. Disney continues giving children unrealistic expectations in The Little
Mermaid. Compared to the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the movie The Little Mermaid is not harsh; it makes the reader believe that these endings really do happen. In the movie, Ariel lives happily ever after and marries Eric (The Little Mermaid 1989). Some complications are present, but it ends in a happily ever after. This is not good for children and how they grow up, because they need to know how things really end in real life, not just everyone lives happily ever after. In the end, she marries Eric and the reader sees a big castle behind them, just like in Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice ends just like The Little Mermaid, with a castle in the end, which is the setting archetype of enchantment (2005). Elizabeth lives happily ever after with Darcy, and their are some complications throughout the story but it all ends well, just like in Disney movies (Pride and Prejudice 2005). This ending is not good for children, because not everyone finds their prince charming with a castle. Elizabeth and Jane both end happy, because they get the guys (Pride and Prejudice 2005). The endings of both movies show how Disney has negatively affected society. Disney has negatively affected society, because he has obliterated original messages in fairy tales like “The Little Mermaid,” that are supposed to help children grow and not believe that there are perfect relationships out there for everyone (Epstein 2014). For example, in the original fairy tale, Ariel gets her tongue cut off, Eric never falls in love with her, and she commits suicide (Andersen 2007). From this, the reader can take that Disney is not something that children should watch growing up, and if they do not, then they will be happier in their own lives and relationships.
Since Disney’s Snow White appeared in 1937, Disney princesses have been a present in pop culture. With the release of new movies frequent and re-release of decades old movies inevitable, a continuous stream keeps Disney princesses in the foreground of adolescent society. It is with the value of entertainment they have been created and as entertainment they should be viewed.
Presently, many books and fairytales are converted movies and often, producers alters the original tales to grasp the attention of a large audience. However, some of these interpretations hide the primary interpretation. The original interpretations of the Disney classics Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are greatly reinvented from the original fairytales Sun, Moon, and Talia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of the brutal nature of the treatment women in these original forms. Although there are differences in certain aspects from the original tales to the movies, there are many issues that are influential to the young girls who are still watching the Disney version. I realize this when my youngest niece, Anella asks me, “Why can’t I be beautiful and fall asleep and suddenly wake up to finally find my prince?” This is true in all cases of the four different translations of the fairytales. Every single girl in these stories are in a “beautiful” state of half-death who wake to find a prince who if eager to carry them off. This can lead to negative psychological effects on young girls as they are growing up, creating a large amount of pressure and low self-esteem due to the beauty that these stories portray and maintaining restrictions that these women experience in the stories. While it is true that Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are considered Disney classics that entertain children and provide meaningful role models, it is evident that the true, vulgar nature of these tales are hidden; these stories are about women who are thrown away.
Disney promotes sexisim by forcing young girls to live in a patriarchal world. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White are all examples of popular Disney movies that encourage young viewers that they need a man to save the day. Yes, it’s true that there are recent movies such as Moana and Frozen that prove otherwise, but how long will it take to completely get over the fact that women are mainly viewed as secondary citizens compared to the men? There are countless examples of how Disney movies influence this theme, and how much the female characters’ actions, ideas and thoughts are not included in a Disney movie.
A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes. Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these accomplishments with stereotypes of women present in Walt Disney movies. These unrealistic stereotypes may be detrimental to children because they grow up with a distorted view of how men and women interact. Disney animated films assign gender roles to characters, and young children should not be exposed to inequality between genders because its effect on their view of what is right and wrong in society is harmful to their future.
Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite their mask of progression, Disney princesses still have the potential to corrupt the minds of young children through sexism and racism.
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
Princess films are centered around a female character who meets the love of her life and, like in other fairy tales, ends with their wedding (Ross 4). Initially, the Disney princesses’ have portrayed a typical female role in the film, showing the expected gender roles in American society (England Descartes Collier-Meek 563). These gender-based stereotypes are influenced by the time period they were made in, but also originating from old fairytales made centuries ago. “Society’s increasing reliance on the use of television and videos to occupy children warrants continued investigation of how exposure to media may affect children. Given that media portrayals like those in the animated movies of Walt Disney often reinforce societal stereotypes related to gender, ethnicity, and culture, parents may consider a more thoughtful approach to the use of television and videos” (Disney Movies 1).
Disney has portrayed women in movies by the use of animation characters for over a century since the 1900s. There has been a very big change since the early 1900’s to modern day in Disney’s depiction of the personalities of the women, their attitudes and ideologies towards men, and the way they are portrayed in the movies. This progression has had a distinct development, from passive damsels in distress in need of the help of men, to being superheroes. Therefore, the evolution of women in Disney movies will be analyzed through the use of university level feminist essays, as well as a research paper written about gender roles in Disney animation. The evolution will also be analyzed through examination of the clips of the movies themselves.
of influence in both the characters and gender roles of people in our society. The films have brought about the shaping of morals, behaviors and characters of not only children, but also adults in todays society, through engaging them in a constant series of unthinking consumption. In addition, most of the films in Disney bring out many different gender roles and people who grew up watching them have been influenced greatly by the content in the films (Blum 13). This paper will involve the various roles played by the characters in the films and how their roles have influenced the society at large.
We all grew up hoping that we were the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairytale.People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Melissa Taylor the author of the piece ‘10 reasons why kids need to read non disney fairy tales’, I am against disneyfied fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not only watch disney fairytales but also the real versions.
The tales, more often than not, were always about the life of a princess in search of her prince charming. In line with the stories, one can never deny the fact that there would always be a villain or an antagonist. Those were the characters that would do anything to destroy the lives of the princesses or protagonists. Walt Disney films are known as one of the most prominent developers of fantasy stories and characters, and most of these made use of films as a tool to expose such movies. Evidently, children have always been exposed to this kind of films, films that have the “never-ending-tale-of-love-story” concept.
Garcia, Nadia. "Disney Princesses Are Still a Favorite, Reaserchers Discuss Negative Influence." The Prospector :. The Prospector, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Over the years, fairytales have been distorted in order to make them more family friendly. Once these changes occur, the moral and purpose of the stories begin to disappear. The tales featured in the many Disney movies - beloved by so many - have much more malignant and meaningful origins that often served to scare children into obeying their parents or learning valuable life lessons.
The Main Street station, is the curtains to a large production as if the Magic Kingdom was a theater. As I wander beneath the archway, I notice that above the arch is a plaque that reads: “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy”. As I continue to stroll through the passage on the way to Main Street, there are posters of “upcoming attractions” that line the walls on both sides. I then step into Main Street U.S.A. and begin to hear the Victorian style orchestra playing over the speakers. I notice some Disney pals in Town Square greeting guests as if they were old friends. Then I begin to travel further down the street, and the smell of the caramel apples, chocolate chip cookies, and other sweets walk out of the open doors of the bakery and into the street. At the end of this turn of the century town, sits the one hundred eightyninefoottall, Cinderella Castle. This moment is a pivotal moment in any Disney vacation, because the castle is well known to millions. I get
Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for