On November 18, 2009, I went to a seminar within my own building that I was very interested in. The event sparked my interest because it was Analyzing Disney and analyzing the prejudices that the creators of the movies had when they made them. The entire event was based off of the upcoming Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog, and how that movie portrays African American people. Being that Disney has always taken the route of the “fairytale” story of a woman who faces a problem and is saved by a man. In this case, the princess (the first African American Disney Princess), is instead turned into a frog.
After exploring the racial aspects of The Princess and the Frog, we took the opportunity analyzed several Disney movies including: Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and Aladin. Each of these movies, while they appear on the surface as being innocent and like a fairytale, their actual messages are not innocent. The appearance of the princesses in these movies are like Barbie, not having realistic proportions and giving children, even at very young ages, the idea of the perfect woman. Similarly, in Beauty and the Beast, Bell, the princess, becomes a submissive woman, and excuses the Beast’s violence and verbal cruelty. Also, in Aladin, Jasmine, the princess, seduces the evil Jaffar, exploring the idea that women can get what they want by using their sexuality. Finally, in Beauty and the Beast, the princess is at the mercy of a prince to kiss her and save her life, which could give the idea a woman, needs a man to save her.
After watching several parts of each of the movies, the discussion about each movie combined into a big discussion at the end of the event to discuss the media as a whole. One of the major discussion points in this larger discussion moved into whether or not parents should be responsible for discussing with their children what they watch, including Disney movies. Many of the people felt that parents should be obligated to discuss with their children what they see on TV and in movies. However, I intervened and brought up the idea that a guardian can love the child, but may not have the economic means to have a babysitter and possibly not have the privilege to have an education that would teach them to address and combat the ideas that their children are exposed to on TV and in movies. This stirred up a heated discussion about the amount of responsibility that parents should have in concern for what they are exposing their children to.
Bringing up the realistic fact that not all parents have the means to discuss with their children what they watch made me think about this in a school setting. Not all children in the classroom will have the opportunity to receive help with their homework at home and not all children will learn the lessons about how to analyze what they see and hear. Without the skills and practice of analyzing what they take in, students are hearing and seeing other people’s prejudices and may not be able to combat them. As a teacher, I want to teach my students to analyze and combat the prejudices they encounter. In order to teach students these skills, exposing students to a social justice education is vital.
when you brought up the fact that not all children in the classroom will have the opportunity to receive help with their homework at home and not all children will learn the lessons about how to analyze what they see and hear, it ties into what I learned at my conference about the Literacy Achievement Gap and how children of poor minority families lag behind in literacy development because they do not have access to the same resources as their white counterparts. As future educators it is our responsibility to try to provide the supports and intellectual tools for students to be able to reach their true human potential and become critical thinkers.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a pretty educated person, even as a child I felt that I understood things that others might not have. It really disheartens me when I reflect on the fact that I did not see any of these prejudices in the Disney movies until I was at least in 10th grade. I remember specifically being at a friend's Christmas party and a discussion beginning about the negatives around the Disney movies. I saw the subliminal ideas when my friend popped in The Lion King and showed me the word 'sex' spelled out in the clouds. I was in shock, but instantly I believed that it was a coincidence. Starting then I began learning about more and more of the prejudices in all of the movies.
ReplyDeleteResponding to Serena's event, I would think the best thing to do is to keep the movies away from children altogether. But from a personal point of view, I don't know if I would be able to do that. It would be great to watch and discuss every aspect of the movie with your child. But what are the children getting out of it, and are you ruining their fairytale childhood because of it?
This event sounds very interesting, especially the discussion after. The point that you brought up is very interesting, about some parents not having the resources that would enable them to discuss the ideas in this movie with their children.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this to my roommate (a communications major)and she said that in one of her classes they were talking about the fact that all of the Disney princesses who aren't white (Pocahontas, Mulan, Jasmine, and Tiana from the Princess and the Frog) have stories that take place in very specific settings. The other princesses have stories that can take place anywhere, and she said that they were mentioning this because Disney is catering to a white audience, and the children can relate to the white princesses better when they aren't from a specific location.
Although I agree that Disney movies aren't creating a wonderful role model or sending out a great message for the children who watch them, is keeping children away from these movies the best idea? I grew up watching tons of Disney movies and I still enjoy them. However, I also grew up with some very strong, positive female influences in my life and I believe that those role models impacted me far more than a movie ever could.
This is one of my FAVORITE topics to discuss ever. I am so happy that your residents were thinking about this. I have a laundry list of problems with the Frog and the Princess movie. That being said I think a great way to do this might be that in younger grades we have children bring in current events they find in the newspapers. (I do this with a teacher now, and often kids bring in movie premiers) you can then have the students engage in a discussion about the movie in a way that honors their knowledge and understanding of other social justice issues. You certainly wouldn't want to inject your opinion too much, but just give your kids a space to talk about it, and spark the converstaiton by adding some of hte knowledge you have as an adult.
ReplyDeleteAddressing the notion that this might rob children of their fairy-tales- I think that first of all we teach fairy-tale as a genre in the Teacher's College curriculum, so that's covered already. Second and more important there are children in the world who go to bed hungry, who are trafficked for sexual acts, who are living with HIV, who are orphans, who are child laborers... I could go on and on but I think you get where I'm going with this.
Oh Disney Movies!!
ReplyDeleteIt really has become a love-hate relationship. I wrote an extensive paper on this in high school “The Fallacy of Fairy Tales”. The subliminal messages that they portray are so offensive yet they have become a classic and a big part of many people’s childhood upbringing. Quite frankly I was not excited when they came out with Mulan, as much as I love the song “Be A Man”, I have never convinced myself to sit and watch the whole movie. Somehow I felt like this one Disney princess would now be reflective of my race, Asian, even though she really wasn’t. Disney still has far way to go with respect to providing a more multicultural perspective.
This was such a great event to go to! This whole situation about "The Princess and The Frog" became really interesting to me after I went Halloween costume shopping with Sam. I saw a costume of the princess for children and I was so happy that Disney was finally releasing a movie that portrayed African Americans; I was quickly told that this movie wasn't your typical Disney movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, sometimes parents aren't home enough to have discussions about what their children are watching or help with homework either. However, I feel that being able to analyze these movies requires a background of education which some of the parents don't have. We can analyze the movies because we have prior knowledge of the matter and have strategies to figure them out. Another problem is that Disney presents a surface fairy tale with subliminal messages, it's not that these parents are choosing not to talk about the messages in Disney but instead they don't even see them or realize.
I think you’re confusing Beauty and the Beast with The Little Mermaid because at the end of B& B, the woman saves the man at the end. Also, Beauty only decides to help Beast after he stops the violence and starts to control his temper. I still feel that there are subliminal messages of racism, sexuality, gender roles, etc. in Disney but it goes to show how difficult it can be to analyze these movies and it makes it even harder to discuss them with children when you don't understand or see the messages yourself.
Thanks for sharing this experience, Serena! Growing up, I was informed about the subtle sexual innuendos in Disney movies. However, I never really noticed the clear prejudice existing in each movie. This workshop could definitely be incorporated into the classrooms. For myself, I would probably create some sort of unit around stereotypes. The class would choose a Disney film they would like to explore and we would watch it as a class. Each day, the students would jot down issues that are present in the movie and we would go through these issues.
ReplyDeleteSerena, so proud that you created a little debate! I think that it shows the importance of perspectives and individual situations. I have read several articles regarding how girls are depicted in forms of media particularly explored by our youngest generation, elementary aged children. It is particularly interesting that issues of sexuality and abuse come up in Disney movies. What message is it sending to our young girls? I think it is difficult to break down the long-standing generalizations that girls are perceived as weaker or dependent but it is our job as teachers to empower all of our students, regardless of gender, so that they can move on to the next stage in life as independent and self-sufficient members of the community. Lastly, I believe that says a lot about our country that the only African-American princess in Disney history turns into a frog within the first 30 minutes of the movie. I thought we would be above that by now.
ReplyDeleteI wish that I could have been part of that discussion! Honestly, it wasn't until very late in my life that I noticed the subliminal messages present in Disney movies, and even then, I'll admit that I didn't pick up on the messages on my own. Instead, I learned of the subliminal messages present in Disney movies - as well as many other aspects of popular media - by talking to my friends and teachers.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first learned of the messages "hidden" in Disney movies, I'll admit that I was a little angry that the magic of the Disney movies I loved and sang along to as a child was somewhat marred. However, when I thought more deeply about the implications of the messages portrayed in these films, it became clear to me that these are issues that should be talked about and discussed.
The fact that these negative beliefs and stereotypes have survived for this long is, frankly, disappointing. The worst part is that it really isn't anyone's fault - these beliefs and stereotypes continue existing simply because many people are still not completely aware that they even exist. The only way to stop these things from continuing to be spread and lived out is to bring these issues to the light, make people aware of them, and then work together to fight them.
Like Danielle, I wish I would have attended this event so that I could have participated in the discussion as well. It seemed like such a moving topic, probably also having some opinions on all sides.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder if it is appropriate to pick at every little thing that is "wrong" in this world. Given that is what social justice is all about and I know this probably very wrong of me to bring up, but I can't help but think about it. I feel that it's a great idea to "analyze Disney," and teach our kids about how to analyze things they are exposed to.
It reminded me of my own teaching philosophy. I always said that I wasn't accepted to NYU based on how much I know, but that I know how to do what I need to do. It's all about the worth ethic, the strategies, and the skills. It is very important to teach these skills to children, because of course, we won't be able to teach them EVERYTHING in this world. They have their own minds and lives for a reason; they are free to think whatever they want. When it comes to Disney movies, however, although just a form of entertainment for children of all ages, there may be some things that are harmful to these children. If raised with the proper techniques of how to properly analyze and think outside the box, I believe that children will eventually come to the realization that women shouldn't use their sexuality to get something or that women should be submissive. I think that perhaps it's just a matter of growing up and maturing in order to figure these things out.
On this topic of Disney -- maybe we should start combating the media!!!! Disney is just trying to make money after all! ha ha just kidding