According to Santrock (2011), the development of a sense of self, in which an individual starts “to sense a separate existence from others” (p. 185), begins in infancy. It is thought to have emerged as a result of sensory-motor and perceptual experiences, and contribute to a child’s interaction with others as well as his or her language skill development (Guardo, 1968). As stated by Wylie (1961), self has two chief meanings which include firstly, self as object, and secondly, self as subject. The first meaning, self as object, refers to the perception of an individual as an object by forming a conception of his or her abilities, weaknesses, and values (Wylie, 1961). As for the second meaning, self as subject, which will be focused on throughout this paper is one’s awareness and experience of his or her own being and functioning (Guardo & Bohan, 1971). This experience is equated with a sense of self-identity, which involves an individual’s experience of having certain characteristics which are important in experiencing himself or herself as a person with a unique identity (Guardo & Bohan, 1971).160 Children’s development of self-identity is influenced by many factors. As noted by Swindler (1986), the impact of mass media on the cultivation of children’s values, beliefs and expectations, which shapes their self-identity, cannot be overstated. The fairy tale is one of the most popular genres of movies that children spend time watching. Through the ages, children have formed mental images of the princesses and other characters appeared in these tales from their representation in the context (Hurley, 2005). In addition, children often try to look or behave like the positive characters depicted in fairy tales. Therefore, fairy tales pl... ... middle of paper ... ...ange of personality characteristics in Disney Princesses has produced a disparity of self-identities formed by children after watching the films. The self-identity depicted in early Princess films is that princesses or heroines are obedient and gentle; they always follow the orders given. In contrast, Pocahontas shows a princess with strong will and it represents one’s accomplishment by displaying the characteristics of independence and bravery to stand up for her beliefs. The diverse characteristics shown in the films exert great influence in the development of children’s self-identities. This is because different traits of the princesses depicted may result in different experiences of having certain characteristics in children. Hence, the classic and recent Princess films give children their own illustration of princesses characteristics and beauty respectively.
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
Today, “60 percent of children who use the Internet regularly come into contact with pornography” (Hanes 1). In Stephanie Hanes’ article, “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect”, she provides undeniable evidence to suggest that the culture of today’s world causes sexualization of children, specifically of females, at an alarmingly young age. This sexualization has become increasingly invasive in the past decade, so much so that parents, educators, and even more recently politicians have decided to try to counteract some these negative effects. In this article, Stephanie Hanes uses strong research with logical arguments that support this
Since Disney’s Snow White appeared in 1937, Disney princesses have been a present in pop culture. With the release of new movies frequent and re-release of decades old movies inevitable, a continuous stream keeps Disney princesses in the foreground of adolescent society. It is with the value of entertainment they have been created and as entertainment they should be viewed.
Presently, many books and fairytales are converted movies and often, producers alters the original tales to grasp the attention of a large audience. However, some of these interpretations hide the primary interpretation. The original interpretations of the Disney classics Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are greatly reinvented from the original fairytales Sun, Moon, and Talia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of the brutal nature of the treatment women in these original forms. Although there are differences in certain aspects from the original tales to the movies, there are many issues that are influential to the young girls who are still watching the Disney version. I realize this when my youngest niece, Anella asks me, “Why can’t I be beautiful and fall asleep and suddenly wake up to finally find my prince?” This is true in all cases of the four different translations of the fairytales. Every single girl in these stories are in a “beautiful” state of half-death who wake to find a prince who if eager to carry them off. This can lead to negative psychological effects on young girls as they are growing up, creating a large amount of pressure and low self-esteem due to the beauty that these stories portray and maintaining restrictions that these women experience in the stories. While it is true that Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are considered Disney classics that entertain children and provide meaningful role models, it is evident that the true, vulgar nature of these tales are hidden; these stories are about women who are thrown away.
We all grew up hoping that we were the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairytale.People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Melissa Taylor the author of the piece ‘10 reasons why kids need to read non disney fairy tales’, I am against disneyfied fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not only watch disney fairytales but also the real versions.
Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these accomplishments with stereotypes of women present in Walt Disney movies. These unrealistic stereotypes may be detrimental to children because they grow up with a distorted view of how men and women interact. Disney animated films assign gender roles to characters, and young children should not be exposed to inequality between genders because its effect on their view of what is right and wrong in society is harmful to their future. According to Disney films, it is important for women to achieve the stereotypical characteristics of a woman, such as maintaining their beauty to capture a man, and being weak and less educated than male characters. The women in Disney movies are always beautiful, which helps them to find a man.
In the article Construction of the Female Self: Feminist Readings Of the Disney Heroine, Jill Birmie Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith are looking at the female self and how it was developed based on two theories: Standpoint by Parker Follet and the psychological development of girls by Gilligam. That by examines gender identity especially girls and how media exposure affects them through analyzing five of Disney movies: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas. They segmented the article into three titles: The Oxymoron of Power and the Perfect Girl where they introduced the two theories in which they built their critic on, Construction of the Female Self where they talk about the evolution in the female character from Cinderella to Pocahontas, and Construction of Self in Relation to Others where they talk about the evolution of the self in relation to others from power-over to power-with until power-to. Finally they concluded that even if the female character in Disney’s movies was changing to become more
In unit one of Interactions, the authors Ann Moseley and Jeanette Harris showed a number of readings about the idea of the self. The self-concept is an important matter because people change with age constantly and their thoughts change as well. There are many factors that can affect any individual’s thought of self-concept such as growing up, life experiences, friends and family, and meeting new people. Moreover, a number of readings in unit one by different authors showing their experiences and struggles with self-concept such as ethnicities, economy status, and self-esteem issue. I have had similar experiences with several authors, which are, “Zero” by Paul Logan, “Living in two worlds” by Marcus Mabry, and “The Jacket” by Gary Soto.
In Disney movies, it is all about the lesson. There is always an overarching theme to the film, and sprinkled in are instances where kindness, love, and friendship are shown. As a result, in the princess movies especially, the lessons correspond to who they are, and their journey. So, when examining who is the best princess, it is important to reconsider the wisdom they taught us in their movie for it is a window to who they are.
Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite their mask of progression, Disney princesses still have the potential to corrupt the minds of young children through sexism and racism.
Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.
Each Disney princess has different positive attributes that make her unique, the most recent Disney princesses are especially fitting in today’s society. In Jena Stephens’ analysis of the three most recent princesses, excluding Anna and Elsa, she describes Rapunzel by saying, “Her forward thinking, desire to prove she is just as capable as a man, and realistic dreaming make her a great role model for young girls”. Whether it is to become a princess and marry her true love like Cinderella or open a restaurant like Princess Tiana, all of the Disney princesses have aspirations. Jena Stephens says, “The words that Tiana sings about the necessary hard work it will take for her to reach her dream stand out as a message to young viewersone that does not covey that love is the only thing that will make girls happy”. Not only do Disney princesses have dreams but they make their dreams come true with hard work. As Liz Gumbinner described her trip to Disney World with her daughters, “The princess luncheon led to a great discussion later in our hotel room, in which we told our girls that it is okay to be strong, smart, hardworking and still dream of marrying a prince”. Disney princesses carry themselves in a humble and confident manner. The princesses are beautiful but they are not conceited. Lastly, they are never stuck up but rather loving and independent which makes their character so
In today’s modern age, young children are being raised by their TV screen. Reining from the original tales of Perrault and the Grim Brothers, the Disney princess line has been a staple on the screens since the 1930s (Do Rozario 1). However, these princesses have gone through dramatic changes to remain relevant to todays youth. The effects that can be influenced by the roles expressed in these types of films send mixed messages to the audience, causing them to ask themselves whether or not they should believe what the princess is expressing on the screen.
Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for
A self is some sort of inner being or principle, essential to, but not identical with, the person as whole. It is that in a person that thinks and feels. The self is usually conceived in philosophy as that which one refer to with the word “I”. It is that part or aspects of a person that accounts for personal identity through time. In spite of all the ways one can change with time, the self is invariably same through time. A self is what is supposed to account for the fact that an individual is same person today as he/she was at the age of five, given that all his characteristics have changed over time. For instance, compared to his childhood, this individual is stronger, taller, and smarter; he has different aspirations and dreams, different thoughts and fears, his interests and activities are remarkably different. Yet, he is still the same ...