I, like most other people, grew up watching Disney movies. To this day, I still love them. In fact, I spent my previous Saturday night watching 101 Dalmatians instead of going to a party like most of my classmates. I’m a major fan of Mickey Mouse, the Kingdom Hearts video game series, and I can sing along to most any Disney classic. But, whenever I think about what Disney taught me as a kid, I can’t help but realize the faults in their movies. The Little Mermaid didn’t do me any favors by showing me that not only should I put a crazy obsessive love in front of family, but also, that if I’m ignorant of the world around me and have a below average intelect, I have a much better chance of snagging “Prince Charming”. And don’t even get me started on the sexual themes in The Hunchback of Notre Dame; it’s the only Disney movie to have songs about sex and hell, not to mention an alleged deleted scene that is more than reminiscent of a strip tease (which begs the question why it was ever thought of as an animated children’s movie in the first place).
Admittedly, some movies like Beauty and the Beast taught me a real lesson about tolerance and acceptance despite appearance and behavior. However, it also told me that it only takes about 3 days to go from completely abhorring someone to figuring out they’re your soul mate.
I haven’t even touched on the fact that when I turned 16, I was so “Disney-conditioned” that I figured the fact that I didn’t have and had never had a boyfriend meant I was past my prime for finding a man. I mean, if Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, and countless other Disney princesses were all happily hitched by 16, what on earth was I doing with my life?!
Although, it comes down to more than just the obvious Disney mindsets of “be a princess”, “wait for your prince”, and ‘good always triumphs’. The more I think about what Disney prepared me for, the more I realize that it taught me to expect that even the worst of situations will always work themselves out. Whenever you see a movie that has any sort of romantic theme, whether it’s found in the main or sub plot, you will always find yourself expecting a satisifying resolution (something that I believe Disney had a huge part in teaching us).
A few years ago, I saw the movie SuckerPunch, which turned out to be a twisted tale about the hardships of a girl unjustly thrown in a strip club covering as an insane asylum. However, the movie is more messed up than it sounds, dealing with the harsh subjects of forced prostitution, abusive parenting, and general disregard for child welfare. I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot or the end, but let’s just say that the hope for a happy ending enstilled by generations of Disney movies wasn’t fullfilled. I was one of the few who, after experiencing the unconventional ending, left the theater saying “Wow, that was a great movie!”
This kind of movie isn’t as well accepted as movies that are similar in subject matter and violence, but have a happier ending, like many Tarantino movies for example. But, that seems to be the culture of movie-goers that we are. After all, don’t we go to the movies to watch someone whose life is worse than ours get back on their feet and conquer some sort of evil? Even I, as someone who enjoyed the unconventionality of SuckerPunch, have been taught, thanks to Disney, to see things work out for the best, no matter how stereotypical that may be.
Photo source:
http://www.examiner.com/article/disney-loses-its-lawsuit-appeal-against-celador-international