I have found a similar pattern in any article/discussion that has been related to class this semester. And that is I always have a recent story relative to the topic being discussed. As I immediately started reading this article, I was reminded of a conversation I had with some fellow theatre folk. We were discussing the Disney movies that we used to watch as kids. The conversation started with "The Little Mermaid." As a kid I enjoyed it, as an adult I can understand the sexist, misogynistic content --- A story about a young girl who is told that she doesn't need her voice to attract a man--in fact all she needs is her body. Okay Disney. The discussion moved to Disney female villains. "The Little Mermaid" came back to the conversation. As we all remember Ursula was portrayed as a larger woman -- in fact, most of the female Disney villains portrayed some sort of "SCWAAMP" based "flaw"...here are the Disney female villains as they were originally illustrated....THEN...and here are them NOW. Those were the best pictures I could find. But for the sake of the point, look at Ursula in both pictures. What kind of message does that send?
As Christensen would point out...these are childhood memories and many people would refuse to acknowledge their suggestive messages and characters. Disney movies, however, are prime examples of how the media manipulates our views.
I agree the pictures of Ursula are sending the wrong message. It shows how the villain is portrayed as ugly and large. The main character like ariel is depicted as a skinny, beautiful girl. So, when kids think of a villain all they will think of is a large, ugly woman, and that is the wrong message to be sending to children!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing those pictures a few months ago and I hate the changes that Disney made to them. The villains are now skinny and beautiful. I don't understand what was wrong with the original drawings in the first place. I agree with Alex, Disney is sending the wrong message to children. We live in a society where being skinny is valued because we were taught this at a young age by the media. The media has impacted our lives so much and most people don’t want to believe it. Here is a quote that I agree with by Christensen, it states, “Many students don’t want to believe that they have been manipulated by children’s media or advertising. They assure me that they make their own choices and the media has no power over them” (128).
ReplyDeleteRyan, I completely agree with you! Those pictures are ridiculous, after seeing all the changes Disney made over the years I quit watching them because I felt like they become more and more ridiculous with their shows and depictions of "real life" for children. S.W.A.A.M.P is the main reason why these depictions become so relevant.
ReplyDeletehey ryan!
ReplyDeletei really like your post and references.
your main points were definitely ones to be looked at.