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| Art by: Jeffrey Thomas, via http://jeftoonportfolio.blogspot.de/search?updated-max=2011-04-04T19:56:00-07:00&max-results=100 |
Disney, America's number one company for family entertainment; best known for creating cartoon legends and pioneers such as, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, just to name a few. Among Disney's major accomplishments are a number of memorable animated feature films that have been regarded as animated masterpieces, with the last of them having been completed in what is known as, the Disney renaissance era. Some of the most famous movies produced by Disney have been their "princess" themed titles, which include; Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Princess and The Frog, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and of course, Mulan. These movies have dazzled us with it's beautiful artwork, outstanding voice overs from colorful cast, as well as filling youngsters hearts with laughter, pain, and joy, as the films music sets an incredible tone befitting of the impact made, scene by scene; not to mention a tasteful amount of passion is stirred in their recipe for cinematic gold. (Excuse my over exaggerated display of a filmgasm) But the question we should all truly be asking is this; what is the true message behind all of these movies? What is it really teaching our children, more importantly young girls? Many adults my age and older (I'm 25 this year, turned in september) view a majority of these movies to be pretty much a coming of age story, fiction for youth with drama and a dash of romance; fairy tales; positive, light hearted films. Despite what is presented on the surface, I have discovered evidence contrary to popular belief.
Evidence#1: Snow White and her innocent nature
Snow White has been known as being the first Disney princess as well as being the youngest. After the death of her parents, Snow White's step mother, queen Grimhilde, takes over the entire kingdom. Because of her wicked step mother's fear of Snow White's beauty surpassing her own, she is forced to work as a scullery maid. After years of her magic mirror stating; she is the fairest of the land, Grimhilde is eventually told that Snow white, who is now fourteen years of age; is the fairest. Raging with jealousy for her step-daughter, Grimhilde orders a huntsman to kill her in the woods. (sounds more like envy if you ask me.) Instead of doing his job, he ends up telling Snow white to run, which is how she met seven dwarfs and became good friends with them. At first glance it seems cute, maybe even goofy, but if you look deeper, you see the truth of what is really going on. Our main protagonist in all actuality, exhibits an all too trusting nature, having befriended not one, but seven strange men who live with each other deep within a forest; she even goes so far to sleep in the same house as them, ignoring potential risks of, being raped, beaten, or killed. Despite any form of naivetés we can and most likely will place on her based on youth, to a certain degree, you would expect Snow white to have already been taught about strangers, especially in such a situation she was in by her parents. Eventually, Snow white's far too trusting nature catches up with her near the end of the movie when she accepts an apple from an old lady (her stepmother in disguise) which turns out to be poisoned. In a way you could make an argument that this moment in particular may actually teach kids why they shouldn't be too trusting of strangers; which can be considered admirable, but of course two things leave a gigantic hole in that argument; 1. the fact she met and slept in a house with seven men who she does not know. And 2. The inclusion of the prince kissing her to bring her back from a coma, leaving kids with a false perception of both poisons and coma's.
Evidence#2: Ariel's desperation
Ariel is a sixteen year old mermaid princess, daughter of king Triton. Even though she is not the first Disney princess, she is however the first Disney princess to appear during the Disney renaissance, with her film being the start of the renaissance it's self. In her movie, The Little Mermaid, Ariel expresses a since for adventure, aspiring to explore the surface world and to be a human. At the beginning of her movie, Ariel is met by her friend, Scuttle the seagull who brings items to the princess from the surface world. Ariel becomes even more infatuated by life on land when she spots Prince Eric who is celebrating his eighteenth birthday. After admiring the prince from afar, Ariel saves him from a storm that wrecked his ship. As he laid unconscious, Ariel sung a song to him. Once he gained consciousness, remembering Ariel's voice, prince Eric vowed to find her; likewise Ariel vowed to be a part of his world. At the suggestion of two suspicious Eels, Ariel meets Ursula who makes a deal to make her human for three days, but in return Ariel would have to give up her voice. Making a very bold move, she chooses to accept Ursula's deal to be with the man of her dreams and live happily ever after. Despite how lovely things turn out in the movie, we find two red flags already that are continually overlooked;
1. Ariel is willing to sacrifice her ability to speak and change her entire species in order to be with a man who she does not know.
2. Lacking a firm understanding of how things work on the surface, Ariel frequently takes advice from a seagull who brings her souvenirs from the surface, but has no actual knowledge of what they are used for, feeding her with misinformation pertaining to every day customs of humans.
Even though it appears her acceptance of Ursula's terms can be contributed to the obvious naiveté of her age, but a closer look reveals something much deeper, a subliminal message hidden in plain sight; "in order to keep or obtain a man, you must surrender your voice". By sacrificing her voice, not only does she lose her ability to speak, she also forfeits her opinion in every aspect of her life, which results in Ariel becoming a doormat.
Evidence#3: Belle's Affection for Beast and her mental health
In the movie Beauty And the Beast, Belle, the film's leading lady, is an eccentric woman and arguably the strongest of all Disney princess in terms of personality and being somewhat ahead of her time showing signs of non-conformity as well as being a bookworm who unlike most of her predecessor's, did not run from home in order to be with a man who she does not know; instead she longed to see life beyond the dullness of her village, lacking interest in many men who found themselves attracted to her beauty and indifference. Over the course of the movie, Belle's father; Maurice; an eccentric inventor, is chased by a pack of wolves after being lost in the woods. Maurice eventually stumbles upon the Beast's castle and is apparently met with a talking candle (Lumiere), a talking clock (Cogsworth), a talking teapot (Mrs. Potts), as well as a teacup (Chip, Mrs. Potts' son); all of which were servants of the Beast before his transformation that was also the cause of their own. Before long, Beast, captures, Maurice; imprisoning him in the castle's dungeon. Once Belle is led to Beast's castle by Maurice's horse (who was no help whatsoever to him) , she does what neither of her predecessors have done; she gave up her freedom in exchange for her fathers. For all Belle's selflessness, indifference to her society as well as differing from women of her time, she develops one huge flaw; Stockholm syndrome. People who suffer from Stockholm syndrome develop empathy for those who have captured them, as well as sympathetic feelings and even positive feelings that can sometimes lead up to defending the person who held them captive. Belle, clearly exhibits all the characteristic signs of a person who suffers from Stockholm and then some, even going so far to have fallen in love with the guy. Also worth noting; is the fact her psychosis was so deep she was able to over look just how hideous her captor was; not to mention the fact he at the time was of another species entirely; which makes her relationship to him lean towards bestiality.
In closing, a majority of these princess themed movies are based on fairy tales created by the brother's Grimm (with the exception of the little Mermaid who was created by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen) but tend to be reinterpreted as a watered down version where some were made in a time where stereotypes of women were often associated with commonly accepted gender norms of the era. Hints of male chauvinism along with traces of misogyny, were always present. Granted at least two of the movies listed do not fall under said era, yet still carry elements contributing to what is associated with the era itself. After examining each of the ladies above along with their situations, I have found the messages contained within each story are suggestions of how a woman should act and be in order to obtain the man of their dreams. For example: Snow White = blind trust among strangers with a love for cooking and cleaning, Ariel= obliviousness to the world as well as sacrificing ones voice in favor of being completely submissive to a man, Belle= loving a man who keeps her imprisoned. All of these messages are simply expressions of a males preference, his expectations of a woman and what he may associate with one in general or as a fantasy, but over all what it boils down to is mostly control. male dominance over females in relationships rather than an actual partnership. To top it off all three movies were based in time periods where this was the natural order of things with Snow White's fairy tale originally being published in 1812, The Little Mermaid's in 1837, lastly, we have Beauty and the Beast's first recorded adaption, which had been written in 1740. Having said that, we can see neither of these girls are role models; they are nothing more than misguided young women who found love in the wrong places, wanting someone for all the wrong reasons.
Side note: Since movies Pocahontas and Mulan were exempt from being included as evidence on the grounds both of which were based on real life historical figures, so technically they cannot be considered as Disney princesses, nor can there movies be considered as princess themed entirely based on the nature of said films. Also, for those of you who have wondered why I did not include princesses Jasmine, Tiana, and Aurora, allow me to enlighten you.
1. Given the fact Jasmine is not the main character of the film she is often linked in connection with, the movie Aladdin is exempt for having minor relevance since the movie itself cannot be considered princess themed; it only uses the theme itself as an element.
2. Despite her story's inclusion holding multiple elements of the princess theme, Tiana's movie itself is more of a remake of an already pre-existing movie created by Disney years earlier with vastly different movie entirely, as it stars the first ever African American female to be presented as a princess. Also worth noting is the fact she is not of the original set of princesses to appear during or before the Disney renaissance which also makes her exempt from being used as evidence.
3. Considering Aurora was "asleep" for a great deal of her movie, not much could be covered here given a limited amount of space with a plot that is far too obvious to be considered.
4. Due to time and space, Cinderella could not be added, but may be featured in her own theory or possibly mentioned in another theory pertaining to Disney princesses.
Any other princesses who were not included were exempt because they are new additions to the roster therefor not a part of the original line of Disney princesses.
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