Not That I Have Kids, But...

If I did, I don't know that I could feel comfortable showing Disney movies to them. After our class on Wednesday, my first reaction was to think, "I watched - and loved - Disney films as a little girl, and I turned out perfectly fine." 

But what if I didn't? I'm lucky to have parents who exposed me to all different types of culture, but what if my main source of entertainment had been Disney movies? Briana makes a good point, that as children we didn't grasp that these movies were full of race and gender stereotyping. But I think that actually makes it into more of a problem. If kids don't know that a hyena character is actually perpetuating negative black stereotypes, or that the portrayal of the bad guys in Aladdin plays into unenlightened conceptions of Middle Eastern culture, then it's all the more easy for them to accept these messages as true. Disney's done a great job of creating a world that seems perfect and whole, and kids don't know to question it. Neither do most adults (check out the fairly creepy i-love-disney.com). 

Another thing that really gets me is the Disney princesses. Listen, I loved Belle as much as the next girl. But now that I'm older and more culturally aware, it bothers me that Disney isn't coming up with realistic role models to present to little girls. It's irresponsible. I mean, look at them. Their waists are impossibly small, they have perfect hourglass figures and they all look pretty much the same, even if they're supposed to be Chinese or Middle Eastern or what have you. They're as feminine as it gets, but it's an outdated and even degrading notion of femininity that they're fulfilling. The plots of these movies always, always involve these characters' dependence on or subservience to a man. It just saddens me that the expectations on women to be perfect, to be thin, and to find a man are present in films meant for very young girls. Why does it have to start so early?

Anyway, I think I'll probably let my future kids watch Disney movies, even though I have deep reservations about them. I believe in my parents' approach, which is to expose your kids to all kinds of cultural influences (within reason). But I'm going to make sure I talk to them about what they're seeing, and make sure they understand that it's okay to question even Disney.