Growing up, I had a pretty good relationship with Disney. My family would go to Disney World at least every other year. You know, it is said to be the "Happiest Place on Earth". As young children we would stay for a week or more and experience it from top to bottom but as my brothers and I got older, our visits to Disney World got shorter and shorter.
I owned all of the Disney movies, on VHS of course, and can still recite most of the words, especially to all of my favorites. But I would by no means say that I am obsessed with Disney, and believe me, I know people that are OBSESSED with Disney.
I have 2 young girls. My oldest, despite my best efforts, has not really taken to Disney. She has watched some of the movies and has decided that The Little Mermaid is her favorite with Beauty and the Beast a close second. As a toddler she watched The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which, in my opinion is a terrible show from a educator's point of view. I am very disappointed that the writers do not take advantage of their captive audience of young children to properly incorporate skills and concepts, like the correct order of the days of the week, or logical ways to solve the problems they encounter in each episode, but that is for another blog on another day). We have only visited Disney World for 1 day as a family. So anyway, even after frequently watching Disney movies as a child, I never dreamed of being a princess. I didn't hope that Prince Charming was going to come and rescue me. I didn't want to live happily ever after in the fairy tale that was portrayed in the movies that I enjoyed so much. I had different ideas of what happily ever after looked like. Maybe I am not the norm. Maybe most young girls spend days pining for the fancy dress and the horse drawn carriage and the castle and the prince. It just wasn't my thing.
As I was reading Christensen, I could relate to what she was saying.
Of course the media influences us. Isn't that its job? If you take a close look at cartoons, the "secret education" is everywhere. However, I couldn't help wondering, "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" I get that stereotypes are rampant in cartoons, especially in the cartoons that we watched as kids. Stereotypes and bias are everywhere in our culture. They are evident on TV in commercials, cartoons, sitcoms. They are all over magazines and billboards. They are embedded into the songs we listen to on the radio. Everywhere you look, you are hit with the "secret education" of our culture. So it begs the question, "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Is our social culture plastered with subliminal messages because we are trying to reinforce the SCWAAMPiness of our country and influence the masses ... or isour nation so SCWAAMPy because we grow up seeing these stereotypes everywhere we look?And is there a way to combat these stereotypes and bias from manipulating the way that we see others and the world? If according to Christensen, at the age of 3, children already have a set of stereotypes in place; then, how as teachers, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grandmothers, etc do we help children see beyond what the media wants them to see? How do we help them "unlearn the myths"?
I remember seeing Frozen for the first time, a little over 3 years ago. I took Natalie to the movie theater to see it when it was first released. I was an adult of course, and it gave me a new appreciation for Disney characters. The female leads seemed to break the rules of a traditional Disney princess. Anna is real. She is human. She is flawed. She makes mistakes. She is silly and unsure of herself. Anna is strong and brave. She has a love and loyalty to her sister that is not usually found in Disney movies.
I have probably seen Frozen upwards to 10 times (remember, I have a 5 year old at home) and it never fails, I am always surprised by the ending. I consistently find myself assuming that the "act of true love" is going to to be a kiss between Christof and Anna. I find myself smiling when I am reminded that the "act of true love" is between Anna and Elsa. The bond that the sisters share is strong enough to break the spell. Love comes in many forms and I love this little "twist".
I feel the same way you do about never wanting to be "rescued" or needing that prince. I can identify with Natalie! The Little Mermaid was definitely my favorite too. I loved Frozen for the same reason and I loved how they pointed out in the movie how silly it was for Anna to get engaged the day she met someone. That's usually the theme in Fairytales and it's never so explicitly pointed out. I'm so glad that she was able to take care of herself. While the movie has its flaws, I think this is showing that we are headed in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel you on a couple of different points, the question of which came first is an interesting one, so is, is there a way to combat these stereotypes and bias from manipulating the way that we see others and the world? I don't think we'll ever live in a world without stereotypes. The brain functions in a way where it takes in complex information and puts into these simple buckets to help us make sense of the world. Thus stereotypes may be a a result of this brain function. BUT if we offer a variety of role models, in a variety of fields, being successful in a variety of ways, at least then people can make their own decisions. Dope blog post
ReplyDelete"And is there a way to combat these stereotypes and bias from manipulating the way that we see others and the world? If according to Christensen, at the age of 3, children already have a set of stereotypes in place; then, how as teachers, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grandmothers, etc do we help children see beyond what the media wants them to see?"
ReplyDeleteI really resonate with this! I feel the same way about this too. Where is the line of keeping kids away from these stereotypes? How do you avoid keeping your kids from these, but not keeping them from the content? I think the answer is to teach them to be critical of what they see!
I'm embarrassed to admit that I think that I did want to be rescued by a handsome prince and snatched from my 1970 blue collar world...but I grew out of it! I agree with Yovanny that we need to see a variety of role models, something Sesame Street always did and Disney is now doing a better job of. Long way to go.
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