Are Princesses Helpful or Hurtful to Children? Growing up I watched many princess movies. I loved all the pretty dresses and magic throughout them. These princesses all made it look so easy to be happy. With the wave of a wand or the kiss of a prince, all of your wildest dreams could come true. As I grew older, I realized that having the perfect dress and hair, glamorous castle, and all the happiness in the world would be a lot harder to obtain than the princesses made it seem. The princess culture sets a visually unrealistic standard for life with it’s flawless princesses and princes, extravagant castle lifestyles, and easily attainable happy endings. By giving the princes and princesses of these movies the look or perfection, children can …show more content…
The idea of money seems to cease to exist throughout the plot of most princess movies. As a child I had no idea how money even worked. I thought that if you wanted something bad enough, and maybe with the help of a little magic, you could just have it free of charge. It was such a rude awakening to find out that there is a price tag on most of the things I wanted. Children see a princess like Cinderella go from wearing a dress of rags to an extravagant ball gown in a matter of seconds. In the movie it is all fun and magic, but when a little girl wants a ball gown in real life her parents are going to have to pay a significant amount of money to provide that for her. Similarly, a life in a castle seems to be a typical way of life in princess movies. I can barely afford my small apartment today, but as a kid I thought it would be very easy to just move into a huge mansion or castle. The princes and princesses seem to live out their days without a thought in the world of having to pay a mortgage on their castle, providing a paycheck for all of their servants, or having to budget their extravagant life style. I understand that having a scene of a prince and a princess sitting at a table going through their bills wouldn’t be very enjoyable to watch, but it would bring an element of realistic living into the
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.
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.
In the article “Are All Princesses Really Waiting for Princes to Come?” Jack Heckel discusses some of the most common Disney princesses and the stereotypes that come along with them, as well as some of the stereotypes that are seen in the Disney princes. He supports his article by providing a variety of sources not only from Disney movies, but also from various authors and blogs. The analysis of Disney princess stereotypes has been a very common topic for years, and this overall analysis has revealed that a lot of Disney princesses are not good role models. Heckel uses many techniques including using credible, non-Disney sources, discussing other fairytales besides Disney, displaying a timeline of Disney
Most children grow up watching Disney princess movies. Girls want to be extraordinary, beautiful, and similar to the princesses seen in these movies in terms of behavior. These movies teach them that they must be fashionable, beautiful and be rescued by a prince in order to be happy. However, these movies have been shown to have negative impacts on these young girls’ life, often resulting in low self-esteem, disobedience, overdependence, and an unrealistic expectation of male partners. As a result, young girls should not be encouraged to watch Disney princess movies because they idolize the characters, which are simply fictitious and just meant for entertainment, and these movies also cause disobedience, low self-esteem and lack of confidence.
Movies produced by Disney are some of the highest grossing movies on the planet, and for a good reason. The characters are well developed, musical numbers are choreographed to a tee, and the animations (when there are any) are vibrant and realistic. Enchanted, released in 2007 (The Internet Movie Database), is no exception. What sets Enchanted apart from other princess movies of the genre, though, is the juxtaposition between Giselle, the fair maiden, and the “real world” she becomes immersed in, courtesy of the Evil Stepmother. Enchanted defies the “Disney princess” norms set by the industry by setting the film in the very-real New York City as opposed to a fictitious fairy-tale land.
A princess image is very specific and made clear through the descriptions of each princess. Every princess had long hair and all ware extravagant dresses. The princesses wore make-up, jewelry, and some type of head piece. They made sure the princess image was always clean and fashionable. The majority of the time for the princesses was spent interacting with animals, singing, or dancing and cooking, cleaning, serving, and grooming. I never saw a princess working or fighting. These unreal expectations to fulfill were unattainable. Growing up I thought that these princesses represent the social norm, but found out how unrealistic they were when I got older. Most princess stories follow the pattern of marrying her prince charming and then they have it all. Jasmine, Ariel, and Snow White were already princesses at the start of the movies. They really didn 't have anywhere to go, but they were able to achieve even more happiness by marrying the man of their dreams. Aurora and Rapunzel were also princesses from the start of the movie, but they didn 't know it. So, they lived modest lives and received their true inheritance at the end of the stories. Belle and Tiana were also able to find happiness by marrying the man of their dreams. In snow white she sings my prince will come written Barbra Streisandby and highlights gender roles. It begins “Someday my prince will come. Someday I 'll find my love and how thrilling that moment will be when the prince of my dreams comes to me”, this shows she is waiting for a man instead of facing her own problems. These princesses end up winning their man at the end due to the fact that they are so sweet, simple, and
Feminism in today’s society holds true that women are strong individuals who are capable of achieving their dreams. A significant problem with the Disney Princesses is that even surrounded by the notion that females have the same inherent dignity as men, they continue to be portrayed as passive women with limited aspirations. For example, in Snow White, the character of Snow White is glorified by her ability to sing beautifully and cook for the seven dwarves (Hynes). In Beauty and the Beast, Belle is ignored when she tries to make conversation about a book she is reading, which suggests that a well-read woman is not worthy of attention (Hynes). And, in The Little Mermaid, Ariel sings about all of the wonderful treasures that she possesses, which encourages the valuing of material goods (Hynes). These films give rise to the belief that a woman’s worth is dependent on her ability to maintain a household,...
Many of us have seen a Disney movie when we were younger. Disney movies captured our attention with their good morals and successful conclusions of finding their true love. The animations and music transform us into a land of magic where anything is possible if we just believe. Disney movies wrapped us in the idea that good always triumphs evil, that happy ever after exists. We have become the generation of Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Dumbo and Snow White as children now have not heard of these or have watched them. Some of these movies have been recreated and released in high definition and on DVDs in the past few years, but the structure and themes of the movies stays the same. However, we never stop and think about the undertones in Disney movies. They contain abuse, violence, dysfunctional relationships, and gender stereotypes, which is not appropriate for children. They may not understand what abuse, violence, dysfunctional relationships, alcohol or gender stereotypes are at their ages but do we want them to think that it’s normal. When we think that little girls watch these movies where the female characters are controlled by man or need a man to watch over them, they are not creating good role models for them. Would we not want them to have a better understanding that women do not have to have a prince charming to be happy, women can be independent and have careers and yes find love but not give everything up so their prince charming has the control.
Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White are all white, slender, skinny princesses, lacking diversity in physical appearance. They are overtly thin as their waists are freakishly tiny, as are their wrists, in contrast to their eyes which are huge. Disney did not create an animated women of colour lead until Aladdin’s Jasmine in 1992, so it is clear that the norm was white princesses back then. None the less, the stereotypical way the women are physically presented shows a clear distinction of what is considered to be beautiful - which is an unattainable idea. Cinderella’s step-sisters are drawn to be much larger than her, along with bigger noses and butts. The same is done in Sleeping Beauty as the three fairies are more plump, emphasising that they are not beautiful, but rather dimwitted. Good traits are often associated with skinny people whereas negative ones correlate with those who do not fit the standards. These values from as early as 1937 have not changed as in today’s society - photoshop culture is still prevalent, and the idea of needing to be skinny and airbrushed perfect is still maintained. Though the images from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty reflect the standards of their time, it does not mean that we have overcome these obstacles. These films point out that beauty is only limited to Europeans and that it is very eurocentric - an idea that is still present in today's society, as white-washing is extremely common. It teaches young girls - especially girls of colour, and overweight girls - that there is only one way of being beautiful, and if you do not fit these requirements, you are no longer pretty. It can tremendously harm the self-esteem of these impressionable girls because of the lack of representation in media, especially since these films are marketed for young
Disney is a brand synonymous with magic and fairytales – their princesses play a huge role in that mysticism. In the debate considering which one is the best, we can examine the message of the corresponding film, the princess’s aesthetic, and the audience’s reception to their film. In comparing the princesses: Belle, Moana, Elsa, and Mulan, all post-modern Disney princesses – Moana is the best.
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.
Each Disney princess has different positive attributes that make her unique, the most recent Disney princesses are especially fitting in today’s society. In Jena Stephens’ analysis of the three most recent princesses, excluding Anna and Elsa, she describes Rapunzel by saying, “Her forward thinking, desire to prove she is just as capable as a man, and realistic dreaming make her a great role model for young girls”. Whether it is to become a princess and marry her true love like Cinderella or open a restaurant like Princess Tiana, all of the Disney princesses have aspirations. Jena Stephens says, “The words that Tiana sings about the necessary hard work it will take for her to reach her dream stand out as a message to young viewersone that does not covey that love is the only thing that will make girls happy”. Not only do Disney princesses have dreams but they make their dreams come true with hard work. As Liz Gumbinner described her trip to Disney World with her daughters, “The princess luncheon led to a great discussion later in our hotel room, in which we told our girls that it is okay to be strong, smart, hardworking and still dream of marrying a prince”. Disney princesses carry themselves in a humble and confident manner. The princesses are beautiful but they are not conceited. Lastly, they are never stuck up but rather loving and independent which makes their character so
In classic Disney movies. Such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, the princesses’ lives depend on the prince’s decision whether or not to give them a kiss. That being said makes it no surprise that Disney constantly gets an anti-feminist label on all of their creations. The theme of the princesses’ perfect appearance being necessary to get them the prince often reoccurs. This idea is also backed up by Kathi Maio who states, “The movie says if a young woman is pretty and sweet-natured, she can change an abusive man into a kind and gentle man. In other words it is a woman’s fault if her man abuses her” (Disney’s Dolls)....
Do Rozario, R.,C. (2004). The princess and the magic kingdom: Beyond nostalgia, the function of the disney princess. Women's Studies in Communication, 27(1), 34-59. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198270180?accountid=32521
In society today, there is pressure from all sides to conform to a certain ideal of beauty. People are overwhelmed with the different types of images and media forms that are telling people how to act and what to look like. Media is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It has the power to educate, affect social change, and much more, but if taken incorrectly people will take drastic lengths to change something about themselves. There have been many attempts to empower women through different types of media, but many have failed miserably. Over the last couple of years, Disney has struggled greatly with the representation of women throughout Princess movies because young girls are hounded with images of princesses,