Disney Dissent

What's your favorite Disney movie? \nSurely you have one. Finding an American unfamiliar with at least one Disney film is like finding an un-vacuumed carpet near Danny Tanner. (Is it OK that I make "Full House" references?)\nAt any rate, many children are exposed to Disney films as a "positive" or "healthy" medium. But their content, to me -- now enlightened by feminism and more media literate than I was at eight -- only contributes to a limiting dichotomy of gender.\nDon't be scared. I'll unpack that stuffy, overloaded sentence right now.\nConsider "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Little Mermaid" and "Snow White" (among others). Virtually every Disney film featuring a princess involves a plot that makes her helpless, seeking salvation from some Prince Charming. Little girls, then, must relate to these weak, dependant beings. They come to desire an ideal and constructed "romance" that exists only in the media. They align themselves with princesses. With being a victim. With being saved. \nIf the female characters in Disney movies are weak, the male characters are over-the-top masculine and strong. These Prince Charmings must fight off villains and endure dangerous situations. They must never be frightened.\nMoreover, a friend recently pointed out that, out of all the Disney movies she'd recently screened, there was no positive mother figure. Certainly there are exceptions -- but Pocahontas, Jasmine ("Aladdin") and all the princesses in the films mentioned above have no reliable, or mentioned, mother.\nInstead, all of the female Disney protagonists have a strong presence of a loving and/or overprotective father.\nDoes Disney favor men, then? I wouldn't argue that. While little girls must relate to projected extreme passivity, the boys must see their fellow males as unfazed heroes. That's just as constraining.\nI admit, there are few gender representations in popular culture with which I don't have qualms. What's especially disturbing to me here, though, is the impact on children -- whose under-experienced and easily influenced minds consume such portrayals without an explanation about what they mean. Children -- most everyone, really -- who screen media texts, take cues for their own behavior from the characters they see. \nMost people know one person who, at least semi-regularly, quotes movies or songs. And who hasn't thought about a soundtrack for their own lives, or how cool it would be to have a theme song play wherever you go -- just like in the movies. And I can't tell you how many of my female peers have Carrie Bradshaw (from "Sex and the City") quotes in their Facebook.com or instant messenger profiles.\nEnjoying Disney movies, or finding inspiration from characters on television, isn't a "bad" thing. What is always essential, however, with mediated images and messages, is that they are actively considered. They are not real, after all.\nIf I have a child one day who expresses interest in watching "Sleeping Beauty," I'll allow it. But we'll certainly talk about what they watch, what it means -- and doesn't mean. \nI wouldn't want my little girl thinking her ultimate happiness is in the hands of a non-existent prince. And I wouldn't want my little boy to think he needs to save the world.