With just the flick of the magic wand can every girl turn into a princess? From the Disney movie Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother turns the ordinary pumpkin into an eccentric carriage, the mice into strong horses, the dog into a carriage driver, and lastly plain old Cinderella into an extravagant princess.
These images that are instilled in young girls minds may be harmful in the sense that it encourages them to learn a false sense of reality; that the world revolves around beauty, even though this is not truly the case.
Not only have these fairy tales influenced little girls, but they also seem to have infiltrated the way that romantic comedy movies are produced. To a certain extent almost all of romantic comedies contain a key element taken from fairy tales. This element is that in the end love is almost always guaranteed between the two main characters and they live happily ever after. In the movie She’s All That, Freddie Prince Jr. falls in the love with the nerdy girl Rachael Cook. After Rachael gets her makeover, she then becomes the popular girl who is dating the most popular boy in school. In the end, Rachael gets swept off her feet by her very own prince, Freddy Prince.
Do you think that only little girls are affected by this fantasy world? What about little boys dreaming of becoming that star professional athlete, the athlete that has fame and fortune. Is this highly unlikely dream of theirs comparable to little girls desires to become princesses?Do you feel that these fantasy worlds are indeed damaging to little girls or do you feel that these make believe lives that girls recreate is just an absolutely harmless part of growing up?
Growing up Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast were by far my favorite movies. As a little girl nothing was better than watching a Disney movie on a Friday night. I think in some ways these images of the perfect princess in the fantasy world has potential to be harmful to young girls. It gives girls a false sense of the world and makes them believe that everything is perfect. On the other hand, I personally do not feel like these fairy tale movies negatively impacted me at all. I admit I dressed up and put on my mom’s make up, but that is what little girls do. I do not think there is anything wrong with being a little girl and playing dress and up and fantasizing about being a princess. Being older now I think it was harmless for me to have wishful thinking of one day being a princess and finding my prince charming. Kids grow out of it. I think of it as just a phase and there are so many other ways for children to learn the truth about the world and to know that movies like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are just fantasies and a way to escape from reality.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the authors on the fact that these characters and movies can affect young girls and their views negatively during those formative years, but I don’t think it has that effect on everyone. As a child, I LOVED Disney movies, especially beauty and the beast. I honestly don’t think that it made me see beauty and the world around me any different than I would have if I hadn’t seen these movies. In actuality, it may have helped me realize that my love of reading wasn’t a bad thing, as a child can sometimes think when it’s called “nerdy” at school. That movie also helped me to see that you should love people for who they are, not how they look. And granted, the beast does transform into a hottie at the end, but it’s the main concept that counts. Like Kelly said, there’s nothing wrong with being a little girl and dressing up as your favorite princess, but I’m sure in some cases, girls have had body image issues later in life or trouble with relationships because they’re always looking for their “prince charming.”
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I loved Disney movies, especially the princess ones. The Little Mermaid is still one of my favorite movies of all time. I can see where people might say that these princesses could have a negative effect on little girls, but my personal opinion is that they are harmless. Like Kelly and Kelsey mentioned, I too played dress up and tried on makeup, and what little girl doesn’t want to feel like a princesses sometimes. Disney movies are a great way for little kids to escape to a fantasy world. When we’re little, we don’t have a care in the world and enjoy running around and playing outside. Kids grow up so fast, so why not have fun while they’re young. I do think that the princess Disney movies, in particular, give a false idea of men. Yes there are many, many men out there who would fit the “prince” motif, but as kids get older, and they enter into the real world, it is a bit disheartening to find that not every guy is like prince charming. I think little boys are affected just as much, if not more but this fantasy world. The athletes that little boys look up to are real people, not just fairy tale characters. Disney princesses are usually just a phase for little girls, but professional sports players can be idolized by young boys throughout their entire adolescence.
ReplyDeleteI would way rather have little girls wanting to be an innocent princess as opposed to the next Hanna Montana pop start. I wasn’t a big fan of princess movies when I was little, but I still say they provide more imagination and creative qualities. I really like the lessons that Kelsey pointed out as well, in regards to reading books and seeing inner beauty. When it comes to physical appearance issues, I would start pointing fingers at Barbie before Disney damsels. I agree that wanting to be a princess is just a phase anyway. I would say it’s far easier to come back to reality when you don’t hang out with seven dwarfs or under the sea too often. But when it comes to pro athletes and pop stars, that is something people can hold on to a bit easier and has more potential to be damaging. This is even more amusing to me being that when I was younger I did want to be a professional soccer player when I grew up. I can say I gave up on dress up long before going pro expired in my mind.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I dressed up as Cinderella for Halloween, I had the Little Mermaid barbie doll, and I watched Aladdin almost every day. I was surrounded by princesses day after day and that is what I loved. If I wasn't able to dress up as a princess or watch Snow white I knew I was in trouble for one thing or another. I personally have never really thought about the damaging effects watching princess movies could have. I would rather kids get images of princesses rather than rich girls like Paris Hilton or the Kardashians. Little girls really get a sense of imagination from the princesses, unfortunately the imagination could lead to expectations that will never be fulfilled. I see my cousin wear her princess dresses and have what she calls princess parties all of the time and I don't think that princesses have such an effect on kids that I would make her stop behaving like a princess. I also feel that if parents are active and talk to their little kids and let them know that this is just fun and pretend then they will see no adverse effects. To me, it seems that it is in the parents hands to supplement what their children see with real life information. In conclusion, princesses may damage some kids, but that would mostly happen because their parents didn't tell them that it is very unlikely.
ReplyDeleteI cannot speak from experience regarding the princess fantasy, however it seems relatively harmless to me. Granted it provides a fantasy world, but so do many things when we are kids. If I remember correctly, I was going to be a Power Ranger when I grew up. I don’t think it creates negative consequences, because as we grow we learn how to differentiate reality from fantasy. I feel the idea of becoming a princess is really similar to belief in Santa Claus. It’s just a fun thing of our childhood, but eventually we grow out of it and learn the truth, with relatively little consequences. On the other hand, I believe that the glorification of professional athletes can create extremely negative consequences. However, I don’t think that the effects come until adulthood. Many kids dream of being a star athlete, and there is nothing wrong with goals and dreams. But when high school or college students see the glamour and money, they can put their education and other important priorities behind their athletics. Sometimes the actual chance of being a professional athlete is ignored, because if a person makes it then they are set for life. This can ruin lives, and people who are actually extremely hard-working and talented go to waste because they completely followed a dream that never came to fruition. In this way, I think that the dream of becoming an athlete is more dangerous. Princesses and castles fade after childhood, but the dream of being an athlete can remain through adulthood.
ReplyDeleteI believe that everyone can have imagination and make pretend when they are little. I remember loving to watch Disney movies and to play dress up and make belief. Princesses are little girl’s dreams; to live in a perfect world with talking animals and to find their Prince Charming. It is part of growing up to have that innocent fun. However, I think little boys and girls now a days are being revealed to things too early, such as make up and having the best things which may be harm in the long run. There are new and better dolls coming out, which may portray to wrong message. For instance, Barbie and Ken Dolls are coming out with the latest fashion, and more skimpy clothing. Many little girls I have been seeing lately are almost too much into the "fantasy world” and princesses in regards to their appearance. I do believe that it could be harming in some way because they want everything to be perfect, however, it shouldn’t be too serious. Little kids will get out of that phase when reality comes around for them, lets hope!
ReplyDeleteI agree that girls do dream of becoming the princess’ that they see in Disney movies. I don’t think that it’s damaging to children at all to have dreams of what they want to become when they grow up. I do think that boys and girls share a common dream of turning into their role model, whether it’s to be a princess or astronaut. I think that it’s healthy to have children hear and listen of a princess and her prince, it’s entertaining and most little girls love the idea of a magical world with a fairytale ending. I can see how girls can be disappointed from things not working out like the stories, whether it’s their appearance, inability to find the perfect guy or pumpkins not being able to turn into elaborate carriages after all. The majority of girls and boys grow out of their “anything is possible” attitude and shift to how the real world is like and not Walt Disney’s films. I can’t speak for how girls truly deal with not becoming their princess selves, however, I can say that I was disappointed that I didn’t turn into Cal Ripken Jr. but I eventually got over it.
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves the fact that everything is going to end up perfectly, which is why these Disney princesses seem to be great heroes for young girls to grow up with. It is true that girls will probably grow out of this fantasy view of Prince Charming sweeping them off of their feet. However, there still are the subconscious views of how these princesses look that get engraved in the minds of little girls. So I feel that it could be a bad thing for girls because they see these unrealistic qualities that it takes to be perfect. The boys on the other hand do play into the fantasy role of being a professional athlete but get out of that fantasy without any real harm. It just seems that the girls would be more susceptible to falling into the trap of attempting to achieve perfection
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ReplyDeleteLike many of the other girls, I grew up playing dress up and watching Disney princesses. I agree that wanting to be a princess and find prince charming may not be damaging to every little girl but it does harm some. It brings up the issues of appearance and body image way earlier than it should be affecting little girls. At a young age these movies are fun to watch and seem harmless, but when you really start to look at some of the relationships in the movies they are not as good as people think. The Beast from Beauty and the Beast is abusive. He angers easily, holds Belle against her will and treats her father poorly. In Aladdin, Jasmine falls for a thief who pretends to be a prince. These are just a few examples from Disney movies. I don't know if these images of relationships actually affect children or not, but is this really the relationships we want them to be striving for?
ReplyDeleteThe formula has been the same since the first movie as far as I know. Girl meets guy, or vice versa, they fall in love, through some strange series of events they end up together. And it has been largely unchanged for decades. Clearly this model of the happy ending is not damaging. Yes, kids get sucked into the fantasy and want to be princesses and knights, but the next week they'll want to be a fireman or a chef. As for Disney movies being the reason girls seek to be perfect, these are animated fantasy movies. It would seem to me that the more damaging role models are the real actresses who are almost too beautiful to be real or the supermodel who is actually too thin to be healthy. I fail to see how Cinderella who is actually a step above a slave in the social hierarchy is a worse role model. The final point I would like to make is that I don't understand why a serious drive to be a professional athlete could be bad. If a child is not serious about it then it will be a phase just like wanting to be a princess etc. However, if they are serious and dedicated enough they will work to achieve their goal, and who knows, one day they just might be a professional athlete. In what way is it bad for this to happen? It seems to me as though an argument is being made that kids should have to dream to work in a cubicle for 40-50 hours a week. I believe THAT would be damaging to kids more than anything.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the girls when saying that these movies were my favorite. I do not think it did any harm to me growing up because they are about imagination. I would rather a child be watching a fairy tale than be watching a depressing movie. I understand where people are coming from when they say it might make us think too much about the beauty on the outside, but I feel that these issues are going to come up when growing up no matter what. I agree with Matt when saying that there is really nothing wrong with a child desiring to be professional athlete. Teenagers have that same goal and if that is their dream they can work towards it. Overall, I would rather my child be watching Disney movies than watch Teletubbies or The Wiggles.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I loved watching Disney Movies, and I still do! I completely agree with this blog! I fully agree that media influence, such as Disney moves, influences girls to be the "perfect" princess. If you notice each princess is good looking, their hair is perfect and they always look very polished. These images can defiantly harm a girls sense of body image and teach them that they always have to look and act perfect. Also, I fully agree that the "fairytale" ending to all of these movies is harmful to the perspective of a child's reality. While there may be a rare case that the first person you meet and fall in love with is the person you marry, this is usually not the case. All Disney movies have a "fairytale" ending, which is probably not best for a child. They need to know that this is not always the case. There is one thing I would like to counter. In the blog it mentions that because of these princess movies and television shows, girls try to dress up and act like the princesses. I know when I was little I loved the shows, but I never felt the need to dress up and act like them. I may be a rare case, but I don't think just media influences girls to dress up. I think it also has to do with creativity and imagination of the child. All in all, I think Disney has some great movies, they may just not be good for a child to base their reality off of.
ReplyDeleteIts no question that the DisneyPrincess line is one of the most popular for young girls. I work in a child center, and I can tell you that a hundred girls have come in dressed up in their special princess dresses. They like to watch the princess movies we have in our DVD collection there, remakes of little shorter version shows with the princesses in them. I am 50/50 on how I feel about them all. Some of the stories have some very brautiful and inspiring messages for little girls. Belle loved the Beast no matter what he looked like. I loved that. But Ariel gave up all that she was for a man?.. Not so much. The industry of Disney Princesses, which I feel I can almost call an industry because it gives the Disney Corporation so much freaking money, is one involving not only the movies, but toys, clothes, and even birthday party supplies. It fits into this American Individualism that we so easily boast. With that, not all girls are affected. My favorite girl at the child center, if you ask her "Are you a Princess?" She so very nonchalantly will respond, "No, I'm just Mae."
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I kept myself busy by playing in the woods, building forts, playing stickball out in my cul-de-sac, and wrestling with my little brothers. The thought of growing up and becoming my favorite Disney character never crossed my mind. I honestly never really cared about Disney movies to begin with. For me, they were always boring, lame, and corny. With that being said, it is hard for me to imagine a Disney movie ruining a young girl’s life because it did not turn out as planned. If Disney movies continue to be popular and profitable, then they should continue to make them. I do not mean to say that it is right to instill false glimmers of hope in vulnerable young boys and girls. At the same time, however, it is not right to just stop making these types of movies because of this issue. No matter what, it is always good to dream. Most dreams, despite them being highly unlikely, are a good thing because they cause us to work for something. Right now, the college dropout rate is pathetic. Despite this, I still dream of graduating and going on to a successful career in corporate America. For these reasons, I believe the fantasy worlds depicted in Disney movies are here to stay.
ReplyDeleteI thought I already posted my comment but apparently not. Here it is anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think the 'perfect N' is a standard that everyone can relate to in some way. We all have role models who we admire and wish to be like, and the difference between real life role models and fairy tales is that real goals are really attainable, and fantasies are not.
Personally, I remember looking up to Ash Ketchum as the perfect Pokemon Master. (Can you believe he actually started out older than me?) I became obsessed with Pokemon and wanted to be a Pokemon Master when I grew up. Even in fifth grade, when my guidance counselor visited the classroom and asked us all to draw what we wanted to be, I drew me outside of a Pokemon Center with a pokeball in one hand and some creature at my side. I think these fantasies are only as damaging as their ability to stick with people though, because I grew out of that phase and everything is OK now. I still like the franchise and enjoy fantasy settings, and I think that as long as we can keep them from ruling us they're just fine.