Violence In Disney Movies

I chose this topic primarily because nearly everyone has been exposed to any Disney film, which meant it would be something easily understood. Another reason as to why I chose this topic is because I wanted to address both the positive and negative effects, which come from the themes and messages of the films. I think it is very important to understand what is being produced for the younger audience. I believe that Disney is not doing more harm than good and that they are changing into producing more positivity and self-confidence to younger audiences. I say this because through Coyne’s finding was that many young girls associated with these princesses and try to represent these characters (Cohen, 2013). That means that these young girls have created a role model in whom they hope to become like whether it’s being adventurous like Rapunzel or self-motivated like Tiana. On top of that according to Coyne’s findings there is an increase of social learning going on which helps benefit younger kids into making friends and learning to socialize. Another reason as to why I think Disney has created this positive vibe is because they bring out and address social issues such as Merida being know as the rebellious teen that can’t be normal and find someone to like her. The movie later progress and shows Merida not caring about whom people

Television has a widespread influence on everyone, especially children. Children are impacted so much by the things they have seen and watched on TV. They learn many things from TV, but their social skills and other learning abilities slow down. Watching TV numbs the mind of children and keeps them inactive from daily exercise. Furthermore, speech delays can occur in children who watch excessive amounts of television. Television programming such as MTV, Adult Swim, and Family Guy exposes and promotes negative

Throughout the last few years there has been a discussion on how Disney Princesses have a negative impact on young girls and their expectations on what lies in their future. Many Disney princess classics, although they are entertaining, send bad messages to young girls and often teach that their worth is more about beauty and less about their intelligence. The “ Disney princess effect” has impacted the way young girls grow and how they look upon their future and happy ending.

For my final paper where we had to pick a topic from current popular culture, I decided to write my paper with the focus on Disney movies. More particularly with the focus on the Disney princess movies. When it comes to the Disney movies they have always been and will always be such a huge part of our society. While growing up most children grow up watching these movies and get the idea that that is what they want to be when they grow up. When you ask a young girl what she wants to be when she is older there is a good chance that she will say that she wants to be a princess when she grows up. I have always been such a huge fan of Disney movies and I have a feeling I always will be. I found it very interesting this semester when we spend the short class period talking about the Disney female and male characters. It is rather interesting and something that I can say that I really never noticed before but the fact that the majority of all the female characters all had the same face shape. Whereas the males there were none two that were the same. However for this paper I will be looking into the relationship to cultural meanings about gender and other identity markers, such as race, sexuality, and cultural norms as seen in some of the more classic well known Disney movies.

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

The central objective of the present study was to investigate how the influence of individual’s favorite Disney princess, Cinderella or Mulan, can impact participant’s beliefs on gender role and romance. In this study, participants that favored Cinderella held a more traditional belief on gender roles compared to those who favored the Disney princess Mulan. This finding supported our first hypothesis. This could be because of the traditional female role that Cinderella held throughout the movie in comparison to Mulan. Unlike Cinderella, Mulan was portrayed like a soldier, who had a strong-minded character. Mulan did not fit into the stereotypical model of what its meant to be a female, instead, she transcended the gender binaries. In contrast, Cinderella was portrayed as your stereotypical female character. She was depicted as a loving and nurturing caregiver who was also very submissive and weak. All in all, Cinderella was basically a damsel in distress with her evil witch being her stepmothers and stepsisters. This sharp contrast in characters and their message may influence children in different ways. We as people are more prone to gravitate towards things we resonate with on the terms of our experiences, values, beliefs and even our philosophy on life. Therefore, it was assumed that people who favor Cinderella would have a more traditional view of gender roles.

The completeness of the stories that showed on films covered dissimilarity on reality. It embraced fantasy concept a way far in realism. However, it triggered to produce heartwarming films. The concept of the stories stroked the minds and hearts of young female children which usually convey a love stories. Most protagonists were females or princesses so, evidently young female children were captivated on the stories with used of the unforgettable line “And they live happily ever after”. As a result, young female children when exposed to Walt Disney films tend to identify themselves with those fictional characters. They might as well perceive the stories will happen in life situations.

In “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” Gerard argues that, violent media is not necessarily harmful to kids, rather very essential and of great importance to them and their future lives.

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

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.

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.

Impact on cognitive development: Media promotes depression, anxiety and violent behavior in children. This is because many acts of violence are depicted in prime time shows and in video games. “High levels of television viewing are causally related to aggressive behavior and the acceptance of aggressive attitudes” (as cited in Strasburger & Donnerstein, 1999, p. 132). Furthermore, media affects children’s ability to learn. This is because they get used to learning through “song and dance” on edutainment TV shows, and when such excitement is absent at school, they feel it is boring and tend to lose interest in academics (Clean Cut Media, 2010). More and more children are being diagnosed with attention disorders because they tend to multi-task while using media, by listening to music, chatting online, watching TV etc., at the same time (Clean Cut Media, 2010). An advantage of the internet is that it promotes learning through interactive media and interesting content, but utilizing it depends on the choice of the children.

In a study by Iman Sharif and James D. Sargent, 4508 students participated to find out whether or not certain television content affected the grades of young children. In many analyses they found that,

"Impact of media use on children and youth” explores the good and bad effects that media can have on a young child’s development both mentally and physically. In the beginning of the article, they provided examples of how watching television can expose young children to violence, sexuality, and offensive language. The author made an interesting point that connected an increase in violent behaviors with children who watch violent