As soon as I read the first page of
Christensen I knew what I would discuss.
In my personal experience, my childhood revolved around Disney movies.
As a white little girl, it was easy for me to imagine myself as the princess - as
Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White are. I would play wedding
with my next door neighbor’s grandson. After that I would go to my pretend
kitchen and make my new husband some delicious play dinner. As a young girl, I
thought my whole goal in life is to become a bride. As I got older, Disney movies still played a
role in my life. The princesses I figure to be in their late teens. They are
all thin and beautiful. They have perfect hair, perfect outfits, and everyone
who is good adores them. Well, I’ve never been all that thin, my hair is far
from perfect, and not everybody wants to be my friend. In one of the courses I
took in high school, we discussed how movies made us feel as children. While
many other white girls in my class could relate to my experience, it was
difficult for students of other races to agree.
That really opened my eyes to all the hidden education in Disney movies,
as well as other children’s entertainment. I did a research project on some of
the secret “messages” these movies give out. I talked with some of the little
girls I babysat, and they all identified some sort of racist or sexist idea
that they most likely learned from watching these movies.
Some examples were:
-
Bad people are fat and ugly
-
Princesses are the most beautiful, and they
never have to go to work or school, but get the best husbands
-
If a man is not strong, handsome and charming he
is bad
These were examples out of the mouths of four year olds. The
way they see the world will be shaped because of this. To conclude, I found a
video another student made to highlight some of the things I discussed.
I totally agree with you that society and the media make us think if we do not look like those beautiful characters in those movies we are considered ugly or invisible. It gets to the point that teen girls wont leave the house with out looking gorgeous and with tuns of makeup on.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Marissa. Your experience was really eye opening. Society makes it seem like we have to be like the princesses in these Disney movies, which isn't right. However, I still think that no children really pick up on these flaws because they are only watching it for their own entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog post. Your discussion with the children you babysat for was very eye opening, and also very sad. I know I remember growing up thinking black people were very rare and there was very few of them except in Africa. I thought this because I lived in a very white area and never say black main characters so I just figured that was why. :-( It troubles me that these young girls will continue to grow up getting the same messages from our media and Hollywood. My hope is that maybe as more of us become aware we can ask or make changes to fix these issues.
ReplyDeleteI love this! I also identified with the princess a child, and then when I got older, it was disheartening to learn that that's not what I looked like! I really agree with Chrissy, as educators hopefully we can instill a different message in the youth, and convince them of the real truths.
ReplyDelete