Disney's Damaging Ideals: An Illustration

I stumbled across a very interesting article lately, in which a New Zealand-based illustrator re-imagines five Disney princesses in the context of some of the gender stereotypes and negative messages found in Disney movies. This kind of thing is not new, but what interested me more was one of the comments found at the bottom of the article, which said:

"we must keep in mind this is not anti disney. this is anti-fairy tales, on which the disney movies, etc are all based. so does this mean fairytales are now bad? are we overthinking this whole thing or is this really damaging to kids' self esteem, etc?"

I will have to disagree with the commenter and say that this article is very much anti-Disney, or at least, very anti-Disney portrayal of the original fairy tales. I will also have to disagree with the fact that the illustrator/writer seems to be "overthinking the whole thing." This is also a comment I get a lot when I criticize Disney movies for their happy-go-lucky portrayal of boy-meets-girl, boy-saves-girl, boy-and-girl-live-happily-ever-after. That, or "You're such a feminist," which annoys me to no end. Not because I'm not a feminist, but one is not a feminist simply because she engages in the act of critical thinking. This is not feminism, but rather, education - something that defies gender roles.

One of the reasons why this comment bothers me so much is that the commenter obviously does not know much about the history regarding the fairy tales on which many Disney movies are based. As a kid, you tend to just go with the mainstream stuff and not bother to research historical influences behind the bigger story, but as an adult, you have a whole library - literal and otherwise - at your disposal. There's no reason not to do some research before blurting out blanket statements, especially if you're trying to argue a point.

The "fairy tales" that the commenter brings up, many of them stories taken from the Grimm Brothers, were often very different from their on-screen Disney interpretations. I won't get into all the nitty-gritty stuff (although I find it all rather fascinating), but suffice to say, these stories were often much darker and more nuanced than their Disney counterparts. This article touches on some of these major differences. One of the more revealing points:

"Many American children have grown up completely unaware that the concept of a prince saving a princess is a distinctly Disney idea. The classic fairy tales often involve feminine strength and an urging of women to be able to outsmart her predators. If a girl is not able to outsmart her attacker, she is simply killed. This is evidenced quite well in Perrault's Little Red Riding Hood and the Brothers Grimm tale of Little Red Cap. A comparison of the two stories will bring to light the idea that if a young girl is smart enough, she can outwit any predator - even a hungry wolf. The girl in Little Red Cap is able to do just that, and escapes with her life. Contrarily, the heroine of Little Red Riding Hood is not quite clever enough, and she is "gobbled up" (Perrault 13)."

The original point that the commenter tries to make, "This [article] is anti-fairy-tales..." is therefore factually incorrect. The illustrator is not attacking the original fairy tales at all. The article very much focuses specifically on Disney's portrayal of those fairy tales, and how such portrayals limit the perspectives that viewers - particularly young viewers, which are Disney's target audience - receive upon watching them.

I know plenty of people, friends included, who believe I'm taking the whole Disney-is-misogynistic stream-of-thought way too seriously, and personally, they couldn't care less about gender roles or cheesy endings so long as the songs are good and they are entertained. Which is perfectly fine with me. I understand that everyone has different tastes, and mine tend to be a little extreme. The difference is, all of these people are adults who are old enough to at least be aware that there are different interpretations out there. They can choose to like and enjoy Disney movies in spite of these interpretations, and that's perfectly within their prerogative.

Kids, on the other hand, don't have this choice - most of them can't make the distinction between Disney interpretations of the fairy tales and other interpretations, simply because they have not been alive long enough to realize that such a distinction exists. They don't realize that the typical 'Disney fairytale' is not the only story out there; it wasn't even the prevailing story out there at one point in time. As a result, I believe many kids who grow upwatching Disney movies (and I'll have to give Disney marketing a lot of credit; this category includes most kids) grow up believing in the validity and relevance of these stories to their modern day lives. Which, when taking into account the incredibly limited gender roles and black-and-white storylines present in the films, particularly the famous Disney Princesses films, can be problematic.

I'm imagining a little girl who has just finished watching Aladdin sadly asking her mom, "Mom, why aren't I pretty like Jasmine? How come no boy likes me?" Or, another little girl, after watching Sleeping Beauty, wondering, "Mom, how do I find my Prince Charming?" Or even perhaps a conflicted little boy wondering why he isn't macho and well-built like all those princes that his female classmates admire. And this is just surface-level stuff. Believe me, there are a lot more emotionally unsettling questions I could ask. Kids have strong imaginations and they usually aren't afraid to say what they're thinking. 

In these instances, there is of course room for parents to give carefully thought-out, politically correct answers: "Honey, it doesn't matter what you look like, it's what's on the inside that counts" or "Love will happen when you least expect it, dear. Don't you worry." I'm sure parents can and do respond to such inquiries in loving and thoughtful ways, probably more so than the few sugary responses I dreamed up. (Unless of course the parents are also those who never questioned the distinction in the first place - little girls and boys who grew up believing that they, too, would always find their happily-ever-after, if they fit the right formula.)

But the truth is, when it comes down to it, these ARE the messages that society is giving to little girls and little boys - in particular, these are the very messages that Disney is passing on with their incredibly limited versions of the original fairy tales. You will be loved only if you are beautiful, young, and kind. If you are beautiful, young, and kind, an equally handsome, young, and kind man will sweep you off your feet and save you in a moment of great turmoil. You will live happily ever after. And usually all of this will only happen if you are white (or a person of color in love with a white person). 

On the other hand, if you are fat, ugly, not heterosexual, or deviate from the gender/social/ethnic norm in a significant way, you are relegated to the role of the villain. You will be cruel to animals and wear their skins as coats. You will be defeated by the good guy and be forever confined to a lonely life of misery. If you are an ugly girl who has a more beautiful girl for a sister, you will forever be banished to life as a spinster living in squalor. Spinsters are evil and unwanted and a girl's worst nightmare!

Obviously these are slight exaggerations, but the echo of truth is there. Kids are highly impressionable creatures, and Disney movies, even today, when they are not at their prime, have a lot of influence. How many of us still remember the movies we watched as kids? I'm confident in saying that there are many of us out there, and many more to come. Entertainment plays a large role in American society; movies in particular will forever occupy a special place of nostalgia during childhood and adolescence. Our beliefs and perspectives are formed by what we experience around us on a regular basis; the stories that are shared with us by adults are stories that we in turn give our kids, and so on. Disney's legacy is limitless - and yet, I don't see this as a positive thing. If anything, it's the very opposite.

There is nothing wrong with liking Disney movies and encouraging others to watch them. But, it is problematic to assume that doing so, without any additional discussion or questioning of the themes, will not result in mainstream thinking that mirrors the messages found in the movies. Obviously Disney is not the only culprit in perpetuating limiting gender roles and black-and-white ideas (look at a lot of TV these days), but it also can't be denied that they play a large role in how many young people come to see the world. Sure, Disney may not be trying to get some big political message across with their films (maybe I'm giving them too much credit in that arena); but the fact of the matter is, because of their high visibility and popularity, they have that potential. With great power comes great responsibility, right? Parents often get hung up (and rightfully so) on the fact that there is an incredible amount of violence and sex in movies these days - both which are seen as damaging influences on developing minds. What about damaging ideas? Aren't they just as, if not more, dangerous? Who will regulate those?