- Understand: I am in complete agreement with the fact that many indirect aspects of our childhood has developed us into the adults we are now. I honestly am disgusted that we all watched the same Disney movies as children, and found pleasure in them of course, only to grow up and regret it? I'm hoping now that time has passed, directors and such have managed to be a bit more considerate. I'm well aware there is some hidden value behind every advertisement, movie, video game.... even a simple design on a child's shirt. I would like to be part of the generation that puts meaning back into... well, something. Children deserve to enjoy a healthy show.
My personal favorite Disney movie was Pocahontas. I was always inspired by other cultures and nationalities as a child, and found natural beauty more empowering. After reading this article, the 'savages' song from the movie has been repeating in my head.
- (Don't) Understand: I didn't find the vocabulary challenging in this article, just possibly the quality of the article itself. I feel I may be in disagreement about some stuff. We need to consider the era at which these cartoons had been produced. We have come a long way with racism, sexism, feminism... etc.. I understand there is much to critique, but that is a very important topic we need to keep in mind.
"I start by showing student old cartoons because the stereotypes are so blatant. We look at the roles women, men, people of color, and poor people play in the cartoons. I ask students to watch for who plays the lead. Who plays the buffoon? Who plays the servant?
- Relations: This article directly relates to our first class discussion; stereotypes. We talked about the 'simple' stereotypes, defining youth and adolescence, and key identities. The old cartoon characters are all incredibly stereotypical. Women have hour-glass figures, are large breasted, bubbly personalities... long hair and skirts. When asked to draw a women, the features heavily identified are the physical features- same deal.
- Questions/Comments: I feel that it's really important to recognize the time that these movies were made. I also feel that it's really important to realize that WE are the ones that watched these movies. How did these movies influence our lives directly? I'd be interested to know if anyone really feels they've been impacted by a Disney movie, which one and in what way?
I can see that Christiansen got you thinking! Be more specific here. What exactly is her point in all of this? She says she picked old cartoons for a reason... So why would she say it is important to "read" these texts regardless of the era in which they were produced? Just some food for thought.
ReplyDeleteO Disney. I used to baby-sit my sister a lot, and as a result, I've seen the Little Mermaid well over a hundred times. I have to admit, I cried during a couple of viewings at least. Now, I don't know how much of an impact it had on me as a person, but it obviously got to me in some way. These days, though the songs are still catchy, I can't unsee the pervasive sexist underpinnings of the entire plot. Of course, they were there the whole time, hiding Under the Sea. And the fact that I didn't realize it back then left a horrible message completely unchallenged.
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine recently came out. She spoke of being disappointed because she wanted so badly to have a 'fairy tale' ending... as we know... these do not exist in any homosexual form in Disney movies.
ReplyDeleteAfter she told me about this, it really began to spark my interest. Disney has had more of an impact on our lives than we would like to admit.
It's awful to think that some little 'gayling' may be torn apart inside thinking that she won't be able to be entirely fulfilled by a relationship, or even more important, fall in love.