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Boron10
Religion Moderator
USA
1266 Posts |
 Posted - 06/11/2014 : 10:26:29
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So I posted this on Facebook yesterday. I have a 4-year-old daughter; so I've now been exposed to lots of Disney, and I can't say I'm impressed.
Mulan is the only Disney Princess movie with both a good message and a good role model. Consider:
1) Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty): All were victims, incapable of independent thought or action, defined by their servitude and by their respective princes. Some examples:
a. Snow White is taken out to the forest to be killed by The Huntsman on the order of her Evil Stepmother. When he (the Huntsman) chickens out, he has her run away. She finds a small cottage. First thing she does there: clean it, and cook dinner.
b. Cinderella happily does all her chores; and doesn't begrudge the unequal treatment her stepsisters get. She doesn't even try to better her lot in life until after her chores are complete. Then, when that attempt fails, she just cries and requires rescuing by a Fairy Godmother.
c. This brings us to Aurora. What was her defining characteristic? Sleeping. And physical appearance. The real action didn't happen until Prince Philip shows up, slays a dragon, and wakes up the kingdom.
d. All three of these princesses allowed themselves to get put into a position where their only hope was rescue by some random dude (Prince) they didn't know.
i. Role Model: poor. Moral: poor.
2) Ariel (Little Mermaid): Runs away at 16 and makes a deal with a shady character that nearly costs her father his kingdom and both of them their freedom. For what? A fling with some dude she's never even met. I am not sure which of these 4 princesses is the worst.
i. Role Model: poor. Moral: poor.
3) Belle (Beauty and the Beast) is the first princess who might be considered a decent role model for my daughter: smart, good-hearted, and decisive; however, she is a clear case of Stockholm Syndrome.
a. She falls in love with the man who imprisoned her father, who was perfectly willing to allow her father to die, for the capital crime of trespassing. The Beast only released Belle's father in exchange for her.
b. Even worse than this, though, is the movie's overall theme. Once Belle loved the Beast enough, he turned back into the Good Looking Prince. Moral: if you love somebody enough you can change him. Your love can turn an evil beast into a good human being. I sincerely hope my daughter never accepts this tripe.
i. Role Model: good. Moral: poor.
4) Jasmine (Aladdin) is just a vacuous non-entity who serves only as Aladdin's trophy.
i. Role Model: poor. Moral: poor.
5) Pocahontas is largely unknown to me. I have fallen asleep every time I tried to watch it with my daughter. Historically, though, Pocahontas was a strong-willed independent woman, who definitely shouldn't have been nice to John Smith and the Jamestown colonists. Her eventual marriage to John Rolfe in 1614 helped create a peace between her tribe and the colonists, which in the grand scheme of things only helped the colonists' further exploitation of the Native Americans.
i. Role Model: good. Moral: poor.
6) Mulan is the first one whose character and message I can agree with. Through determination and creative thinking, she saves China. Pretty awesome.
i. Role Model: good. Moral: good.
7) Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) is another one I am ok with. Through hard work and determination she starts her own restaurant. Oh yeah, there's also this side story of a douchebag prince. Another movie in which love turns a douchebag into a good person. "If I love him enough, I can change him!"
i. Role Model: good. Moral: neutral.
8) Rapunzel is another victim, though she at lest attempts to take charge of her own life. Sadly, though, this one is also a movie in which love turns a douchebag into a good person. "If I love him enough, I can change him!"
i. Role Model: neutral. Moral: poor.
9) Merida (Brave) commissions a shady character to drug/poison her mother. It is only after this horrible act that she realizes she really should have just tried to communicate, rather than fight, with her mother.
i. Role Model: poor. Moral: good.
10) And then there's Frozen. The highest grossing animated film ever.
a. Anna gets engaged to the first dude who shows an interest in her, and claims it's "true love." Those who have seen the movie knows how that works out for her.
b. Elsa, rather than confront her problems, just runs away from them. She tries to avoid the world and abandon her kingdom rather than face her troubles.
c. The overall morals of the movie, however, are decent: you can overcome your challenges if you just have the courage to face them, and love for your family is the most important.
i. Role Models: poor. Moral: good.
Tally: 4 of 13 princesses can even remotely be considered good role models: Belle, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tiana; and 3 of 12 movies seem to have good messages: Mulan, Brave, and Frozen. Sadly, this shows only one winner: Mulan. And for some reason she's not one of the Disney Princesses people tend to think of.
Edited for formatting -- B10
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Edited by - Boron10 on 06/11/2014 14:22:42
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2014 : 12:00:55 [Permalink]
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| Looks like an excellent summary. I haven't seen all of the movies above though I'm familiar with the stories. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2014 : 12:13:34 [Permalink]
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Boron10:
So I posted this on Facebook yesterday. I have a 4-year-old daughter; so I've now been exposed to lots of Disney, and I can't say I'm impressed. |
I shared your post on my fb timeline. You might want to take a look at the responses. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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ThorGoLucky
Snuggle Wolf
USA
1486 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2014 : 12:48:36 [Permalink]
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic > Disney
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tw101356
Skeptic Friend
USA
333 Posts |
 Posted - 06/20/2014 : 21:05:53 [Permalink]
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I think that Anna and Elsa in Frozen are good examples when they are not being good role models. Each of them makes a big mistake that the other recognizes, yet fails to talk them out of. They each, eventually, recognize their mistake and recover from it.
This is a different kind of lesson, about making a mistake in life and recovering from the mistake. Most people will stumble at some point in life. You can't avoid every mistake.
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- TW
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Boron10
Religion Moderator
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2014 : 09:34:46 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by tw101356
I think that Anna and Elsa in Frozen are good examples when they are not being good role models. Each of them makes a big mistake that the other recognizes, yet fails to talk them out of. They each, eventually, recognize their mistake and recover from it.
This is a different kind of lesson, about making a mistake in life and recovering from the mistake. Most people will stumble at some point in life. You can't avoid every mistake. |
tw, that is an excellent point that I hadn't considered.
Thanks! |
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the_ignored
SFN Addict
2562 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2014 : 17:22:42 [Permalink]
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| Aren't the characters more fleshed out the the "Aladdin" tv series and in the other movies? |
>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.
What brought that on? this. Original posting here.
Another example of this guy's lunacy here. |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2014 : 05:36:17 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by the_ignored
Aren't the characters more fleshed out the the "Aladdin" tv series and in the other movies?
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Yes. But she still is fairly one dimentional. A semi-clever little bint who is dependent upon males for her rescue.
Boron's analysis holds true for this one even through the series. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Minta Rooks
Spammer
17 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2014 : 21:15:33 [Permalink]
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| I must say you really have a point, you explained it well. |
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Mulan is the only good Disney Princess movie.
