In defense of the Disney Princess
Nov. 22nd, 2009 01:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynNow, as some of you may know, I am rather fond of Disney. This isn't because of any kind of childhood exposure to it - I think I saw my first Disney film in my teens, which one friend of mine said 'would explain the bitter and twisted thing' - it's just something I like. I find them cheerful, optimistic, and increasingly I think that as role models for little girls go, they are far better than anything produced by the Twilight franchise.
I mean, look at them.
First of all, contrary to popular belief, the Disney Princess isn't a passive creature, sitting around waiting for her Prince to come. Mulan saves China. Belle rejects the town heart throb and takes off to rescue her father, and eventually saves her Prince as well. Jasmine meets Aladdin whilst running away from the palace in search of freedom.
The Disney Princesses are, when you look at them, surprisingly active. Even Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are brisk, motivated and organizing people who have a lot of friends around them. Well, small woodland creatures anyway.
Secondly, looking at the Disney Princesses, I'm always impressed by how much of a diverse bunch they actually are. OK, so none of them are exactly podgy, but then neither do any normal kids films. They are, however, a mixture of ethnicities, personality types, and even hair colours. As a little girl, I was raised on books with an endless stream of identikit blondes. The Disney Princesses are Black, White, Asian, Native American.
Thirdly, I, very sadly, quite like the morality of the Disney Princess world. OK, so it's got its flaws, but so do most mainstream films and I quite like the basic driving message that it's good to be cheerful, to be positive, to be nice to other people and to try and change things.
And finally, honestly, I think the messages about love and romance that Disney send out are a lot better than most films.
The Spirit, for example, which was one of 2009's superhero films, has a love story with the central message of 'heroes sometimes don't know what they want, will screw around with the sexy femme fatale, and never tell you anything. But remember, he's a hero!'. Tammy Wynette could be singing along to that.
Mulan, on the other hand, has a love story which says 'you can be a tough and really not very feminine girl, and still get the guy. Although he's going to be pissed when he finds out you've lied to him and it might involve you doing something to make it up to him'.
Twilight, as we all know, is an anthemn to abusive relationships. Beauty and the Beast is all about a relationship where the big, powerful, monsterous hero has to learn to control his temper, treat his girl well, and respect her, and in return he is saved by her.
I know there are holes in the whole Disney mythos - heterocentric as all hell, beauty is linked with goodness, and there is always a love story, but for all that, I think they are one of the more surprisingly cheerful set of Hollywood morality plays out there. And I'd certainly rather have Belle as a role model than Hannah Montana.
I mean, look at them.
First of all, contrary to popular belief, the Disney Princess isn't a passive creature, sitting around waiting for her Prince to come. Mulan saves China. Belle rejects the town heart throb and takes off to rescue her father, and eventually saves her Prince as well. Jasmine meets Aladdin whilst running away from the palace in search of freedom.
The Disney Princesses are, when you look at them, surprisingly active. Even Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are brisk, motivated and organizing people who have a lot of friends around them. Well, small woodland creatures anyway.
Secondly, looking at the Disney Princesses, I'm always impressed by how much of a diverse bunch they actually are. OK, so none of them are exactly podgy, but then neither do any normal kids films. They are, however, a mixture of ethnicities, personality types, and even hair colours. As a little girl, I was raised on books with an endless stream of identikit blondes. The Disney Princesses are Black, White, Asian, Native American.
Thirdly, I, very sadly, quite like the morality of the Disney Princess world. OK, so it's got its flaws, but so do most mainstream films and I quite like the basic driving message that it's good to be cheerful, to be positive, to be nice to other people and to try and change things.
And finally, honestly, I think the messages about love and romance that Disney send out are a lot better than most films.
The Spirit, for example, which was one of 2009's superhero films, has a love story with the central message of 'heroes sometimes don't know what they want, will screw around with the sexy femme fatale, and never tell you anything. But remember, he's a hero!'. Tammy Wynette could be singing along to that.
Mulan, on the other hand, has a love story which says 'you can be a tough and really not very feminine girl, and still get the guy. Although he's going to be pissed when he finds out you've lied to him and it might involve you doing something to make it up to him'.
Twilight, as we all know, is an anthemn to abusive relationships. Beauty and the Beast is all about a relationship where the big, powerful, monsterous hero has to learn to control his temper, treat his girl well, and respect her, and in return he is saved by her.
I know there are holes in the whole Disney mythos - heterocentric as all hell, beauty is linked with goodness, and there is always a love story, but for all that, I think they are one of the more surprisingly cheerful set of Hollywood morality plays out there. And I'd certainly rather have Belle as a role model than Hannah Montana.
