The Cinderella Complex
Introduction:
Throughout the years, Disney movies have always been known to teach children beneficial lessons to use in society. Walt Disney once said, “Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood.” Walt Disney was correct because young minds often try to mimic what they see on television. Disney movies seem harmless as a whole. However, when broken down and analyzed, the inspirational lessons prove to be contradicted by the actions and characteristics of the well known characters in the movie. Subconsciously, there are many disturbing lessons. People love Disney and because of this they do not see the wrong in the movies.The big picture in the classic rags to riches Disney movie, Cinderella (1950), teaches little girls the lesson that they to can be a princess and
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Little girls look up to Disney characters so they learn subliminal lessons about being subordinate which is the by product of Disney’s ethos. People are going to blindly go along with these movies because of their popularity and credibility. For that reason, parents and children do not question the lessons in Disney films. As a result, questionably arguable scenes go unnoticed. For example, Cinderella’s fairy godmother only comes around to make her look beautiful. Cinderella has had a terrible life because of her father passing away, and being a slave to her step family. Cinderella needed someone to help her through the hard times, which is the role of a godmother. Of all the things her fairy godmother could have done for her over the years, she only changes Cinderella’s appearance so a man will love her. In times of crisis, her godmother is absent which is not a good way to portray someone who is supposed to take care of a child who has lost their
Walt Disney over the years has impacted the lives of millions of children with his animated films. His Disney movies have evolved in the last years and have moved from the traditional damsel in distress theme. Specifically, the classic movie Cinderella gives the wrong idea about what it is to be a woman for young girls. The movie portrays a young woman facing emotional, mental, and physical abuse by her evil stepmother and later falls in love with a charming prince. However, if viewers take a closer look, Disney’s anti feminist message is firmly emphasized. The story of Cinderella is sexist due to it’s lesson to girls that beauty and submission will award them a rich bachelor. This is seen through Cinderella’s submissive behavior, Prince
A hero is someone admired for their courage, achievements, and/or idealized qualities, however; a movie can also portray an anti-hero. An anti-hero is a central character in which lacks conventional heroic characteristics. In every movie, book, or in reality every hero has their ups and downs. Many people undergo many hardships to become a hero. There are many stages a hero has to overcome such as: Separation, Initiation, and Return.
Disney movies have been the leading outlets for child education and social learning. Due to such power of influence controversies have been raised which include the following, but not limited to, gender roles and stereotypes, issues of independence, and misrepresentation. Many people argue that despite the morals and messages that occur within such films there are still underlying messages that deal with beauty standards and norms. However, others may argue that Disney is evolutionary and evolved the imagery of male/female standards. The controversy then becomes: are Disney films doing more harm than they are good? Due to certain themes brought on by such movies, it has left younger audiences with both positive and
Cinderella (who is a young but yet independent lady ) lives with her father who’s married to a haughty woman with two arrogant daughters, none of who are like Cinderella. She’s then abused and exploited by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters after her father's remarriage, and is forced to live as a servant by doing household work. When the prince announces a ball, Cinderella helps her stepsisters get ready for it, although she’s not allowed to go herself. She is then able to attend the royal ball afterwards with the help of her lovely fairy godmother. Her fairy godmother gave her a dress that is a cloth of gold and silver, all beset with jewels for the two nights of the ball, with the advise that she be gone before midnight, because that's
Over the years, Disney has presented many movies to their audience—most having a Princess as the protagonist. These movies became a babysitter for most parents in the early stages of their child’s life. Most people found these movies as relatively harmless. The obvious assumption about the Disney Princesses is that they only desire true love since almost every movie ends in romance. Parents just viewed these movies as romantic movies on a child’s level. However, these movies were not solely intended for an audience of an age that can be counted on both hands. They were intended to speak to “an intelligent and active audience” (Sumera 40). However, there are many people who disagree with the ways of the Disney Princess movies. The
It is important for The United States to have heroes, especially in the wake difficult times like the Great Depression. The people need someone to look up to in times of despair. It is important that social studies identifies heroes because the youth needs to know the good and the bad that have come from past events. A hero could be an ordinary person. James Braddock was an ordinary person, but was a hero to his family and community.
The effects of the portrayal of the princesses can be positive or negative. Young girls have become more imaginative by watching Disney films. According to Stephanie Hanes (n.p.), “’For 75 years, millions of little girls and their parents around the world have adored and embraced the diverse characters and rich stories featuring our Disney princesses.... [L]ittle girls experience the fantasy and imagination provided by these stories as a normal part of their childhood development’.” Also, children are encouraged to believe and hope. In most Disney movies, the characters convey the message that we can believe in true love (10 DISNEY MOMENTS THAT PROVE LOVE IS ALIVE AND WELL
Two early Cinderella stories, that of the early Egyptian Rhodopis and German Grimm Brothers’ Cinderella, show how two cultures perceive the world through the story of Cinderella. The Egyptian culture focused more on the godly intervention and how human gods are separate from the gods above. While the German story focused on nature and how the dead that were good hearted are in nature (the mother), which in turn helps out those like Cinderella. The two cultures show how they believe that the gods and nature rule the earth. Even though others don’t like Cinderella, she can still succeed, her fate isn’t predestined by others actions. This is a compelling idea that intervention made Cinderella a beautiful bride. Her
Cinderella is a fairytale for children that displayed love, loss and miracles; however, when it is further analyzed, it has a deeper meaning. Cinderella is a story about a young girl who became a servant in her own home after her father remarried a malicious woman with two spoiled daughters. She was humiliated and abused yet she remained gentle and kind. She received help from her fairy godmother to go to the prince’s ball after her stepmother rejected her proposal. Cinderella and the Prince fell madly in love but she had to leave at twelve o’clock and forgot to tell him her name but she left her glass slipper behind. He sent his servants to find her and Cinderella was the only maiden in the kingdom to fit into the shoes. She
While growing up, it is safe to say that most children grow up watching Disney movies. A lot of little girls grew up wanting to be princess like Belle, Cinderella, and Ariel. These characters were idols for children because they portrayed every aspect they wanted to be when growing up. As grown ups, when one watches the films again, a sense of discomfort starts to arise. One begins to notice specific ideologies, stereotypical gender roles and racism in the films that were once admired.
For instance, the stepmother and two sisters only abused Cinderella since they were “cold, cruel, and bitterly jealous of Cinderella`s charm and beauty.” Additionally, even Cinderella`s godmother believes a woman`s value is in her appearance. At their first meeting, Cinderella is dressed in her maid clothing, but her fairy godmother transformers her into a captivating and flawlessly dressed bachelorette. Only then does her godmother think she is beautiful to capture the attention of the Prince. At the ball, the prince was “madly in love with her” before sharing any conversation.
Since 1937, Disney has been creating several animation movies for children, as well as adults, to enjoy. From Snow White to Cinderella to Tangled, Disney has produced household names and characters for children to look up to. Without disregarding the happiness Disney has brought to billions of children, it has also enforced multiple societal norms that are otherwise alarming. At first glance the typical Disney fairytale seems entertaining, but when examining closer they have portrayed patriarchy, unrealistic body images and racial stereotypes. For years Disney has portrayed woman as tall, beautiful and thin.
Cramped in a small Los Angeles office, Walt Disney drew a few larger than life cartoons. After Disney’s big hit Alice Comedies and cartoons of Mickey and the gang, he moved his office to Burbank, California. There, Walt and his brother, Roy, came up with their most famous movies such as Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland. Now with two American amusement parks, three international parks, multiple cruise lines, multiple resorts, over five hundred films, and over thirty academy award, it’s hard to not heard of Disney. Every boy or girl has at least seen or heard of Disney movies. It’s such a big part of society today that it becomes influential in a kid’s childhood. This project will look at the underlying effect of the Disney princess phenomenon and how it shapes a young girls’ perspective of herself and how she’s “supposed” to be.
For decades now, Disney Corporation has been providing us with countless films made to delight and amuse children and adults alike. But not all Disney films seem particularly appropriate for their target audience. Many of these films portray violence, gender inequality, and skewed views of leadership roles that seem altogether inappropriate for impressionable young children. Better and more contemporary heroines need to be added to Disney’s wall of princesses in order to counteract years of sexism.
Many young children grow up watching Disney films. Many parents do not think that these movies could have a negative impact on their children. Henry Giroux, who wrote the book, “The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence” is a firm believer that Disney films have a negative impact on the children that watch them. For several generations Disney films have been a huge part of children’s lives, but many parents do not realize how these films can negatively impact their children. Disney films can teach young children stereotypes, how to deal with life events such as death and they can learn negative ideas and values from these films.