What Disney teaches us about Princesses and Princes

mark

10 mins late to everything
#1
I was looking at my sister's homework for college because she's complaining why she's getting Disney type stuff for homework and as I was logging in to check I was just curious and looked and it's very weird how Disney movies are made...
 
#2
If you're looking for someone to blame (generally speaking), it's more like what the original authors of these stories "teach" us than Disney who just retold them for entertainment purposes. :shrug:

I've admittedly never read any of the original fairy tales, but as far as Cinderella in the movie is concerned, she wanted to attend the ball for the sake of attending the ball. She didn't know the man she fell in love with was the prince. She wasn't happy in her situation, but she never once (to my knowledge) said she expected to meet a man or wished to be rescued. It just happened. Plus, Charming would've been introduced to dozens of beautiful ladies, and yet, only noticed Cinderella. This makes ~true love~ a plausible idea. Heaven forbid "looks" may not be the sole reason. :huh: So, in my opinion, the argument about Cinderella is invalid. :p
 
#3
i dont think most girls are taught these things and just like the movie. When i was younger i never thought that complex about them and just liked them cause they were good movies. but idk i guess thats just me
also ariel doesnt get legs to be more attractive, but because has always wanted to go on land and so she can actually show herself, since she is not allowed as a mermaid.
 
#4
These were stories that Disney got the rights to and just put a slight twist on them to have some originality. These stories are from fairytales that are older then all of us. Also i never watched these movies as a kid and thought that deeply into them..but if you think about ALL disney movies now...lets look at the lion king simba can't wait to be king but uhh to be king i'd mean his dad would have to be dead :thumbsup: all movies are unrealistic this is why we call them movies and not reality.
 

Bindingkey

Well-Known Member
#5
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None of those are right in the slightest and the person who made the images either didn't actually watch the movies or created vapidly ignorant views based on what little seemingly problematic topics addressed in each film. Both images scream ignorance to not only the movies themselves, but also to the subject matter that is discussed in them, all for the sake of highlighting faux shortcomings in the makeup of a Disney movie.

Snow White: She is assumed to be more beautiful than the reigning queen, and yes she is threatened because of it. However, this isn't her marketed trait and is not the reason you like her. Her unwavering dependence on a positive attitude despite her surprisingly messed up situation, and her assertiveness on helping the dwarfs with their, frankly, disgusting house practices all contribute to providing a girl who truly doesn't deserve what her step-mother does to her. I can't really give more, because admittedly, not much more of her character is provided due to being a product of a very sexist period in our history. Despite this, we're still given a woman who, though may be a reflection of other women of her time, is still represented as strong in the very fact that she doesn't give up even though she has every right to. And to further degrade Disney's representation by saying that it's a part of the story that her sexuality is what starts it, it still doesn't drive it. The only time her attractiveness is what drives the plotline is the very beginning, when the mirror says that because of her beauty it makes her better than the queen. If anything, the story is about how much of a jerk you are if you base your dislike of someone on whether or not they're prettier than you. The catalyst of the entire thing is the Queen, who does base her efforts on killing her on her attractiveness and she ends up paying for it. Literally, the argument made against Snow White is challenged by the plot of the movie.

Aurora: Also a product of its time, and considering she has the least amount of prominent presence in the film, I can only say so much about her. But what we do know is that, clearly though everyone around her uses her for essentially political drama, she detests it. In fact, the drama involved with Sleeping Beauty is the very reason we should side with Aurora. She's used by Maleficent in order to punish her parents, and is used by her parents to settle a matter with two kingdoms, and all obviously against her will. She at least shows a clear objection to one of these things and if we had more time with her we'd also see her genuine hatred for it. Unfortunately, the thick of the events stops us from looking more into the matter and we're sent straight into her sleeping curse. And setting aside that mess, what little we do see of her presents a girl who may evoke a typical naive girl, but also shows someone who isn't stupid really. At first, she doesn't immediately trust Philip. It's only when she spends more time with him that she starts liking him. And then she doesn't even give him her name and gives him a vague time and meeting place. Aurora's not stupid, and she's not going to let this guy she just met in on everything about her, she wanted him to meet her caretakers first and get to know him. Also, I seriously don't think the image's author actually watched this movie because sex or sexuality is in no way a driving point of this movie. The fairies and Maleficent are what drive it, Aurora just gets caught in the middle of it.
 

Bindingkey

Well-Known Member
#6
Jasmine: Does "reluctance" involve sending her pet tiger to rip off a man's pants off? If so, then I really need to meet the person who made these images cause they sound fun. Jasmine blatantly refuses to agree on a suitor, for the simple reason that she wants love to be on her own terms. Which is not an oh-so-bad thing. It frustrates her father, but ultimately he understands why she's hesitant and so he doesn't press her. Now, her sexual attractiveness is something that drives a small portion of the plot, but she also uses that trait of hers to deceive the villain (which is cool okay let's not pretend it's not) and even double take on Aladdin. Jasmine's most important trait is that she acts of her own free will and no man can take that from her. She does not let a man or her desire to seek a truly loving relationship define her. I'm slightly convinced the author was just looking for any fault here, but I mean seriously Jasmine is nearly flawless as an independent character and has MUCH more quality and development than Snow White and Aurora.


Ariel: She gets a lot of heat for the plot of her movie, but let's just analyze everything we ARE given about Ariel prior to the all famous Ursula scene. Everything in this movie is a result of a mixture of things, but faux-feminism tends to only recognize the one singular reason/event that they are oh so against. Ariel has wanted to see the human world, she's fascinated by it. She also has a very unstable love/hate relationship with her father, which already screams a plot point that will drive the movie. Add a dash of "omg I just met this hot guy the other day and we're soulmates", and you've basically got a good pot of "Very Valid Reasons To Not Be A Mermaid Anymore". By the time we reach Ursula's lair, Ariel is broken. She doesn't feel safe or happy with her father. Her only real safe haven is destroyed and everything she worked so hard to collect is gone. Right now, she feels like she has every right to indulge herself and meet this one last connection she has to a dream she's had for a very long time. Now, it's fair to say that she still gives up her voice and appearance for Eric, but then again... Is this even remotely treated as a good thing? No. It's treated as a bad thing, her friends try to stop her. Even Ariel hesitates, and Ursula is shown silently demoralizing it and making fun of her. But as we continue on, we start to see that the two actually have chemistry, and Ursula realizes that her plan has an actual flaw and her attempts at making Ariel too weak to hold anything together failed. Why? Because Ariel's actions and connection with Eric spoke louder than anything she could've said or sung. Even Eric realizes this and is close to asking to marry her before Ursula steps in. Everything in this movie is a mixture of things that on the surface seem vapid but when you ACTUALLY watch the movie and really take it all in, it's just not what the media and non-Disney fans say it is. The movie is nearly the same as the fairytale, it tells little girls to not change yourself just to be with someone, or to avoid a problem.


Belle: Any actual bs against anything in Beauty and the Beast is either due to someone just looking for a reason to hate it/hate Disney or the person didn't watch the movie. Belle has a million qualities to her personality and capabilities that surpass any initial judgments. She may be pretty, but her beauty's only true contribution to the movie is the villain's unsuccessful attempts at domesticating her. In the end the reason she saves the Beast is because she fulfilled the necessary qualifications of a 10 year old curse. The curse was that the Beast had to love someone and receive their love in return. Oh wait... so... nothing about sexual attractiveness? Nope. In fact, the writer, Howard Ashman, explicitly makes it very obvious that their relationship is driven on the fact that both are freaking social pariahs. Belle is an outcast because of her disinterest in the community's blatant ignorance of her father and her love of books. She finds comfort and safety with the Beast in time and she grows to trust him. Which is also the point of the fairytale, though the tale is a lot less political in its message. I'm serious though, if anyone says something bad about Beauty and the Beast in a "social justice" argument of any kind I will rip them a part because this movie is beautiful and Belle is literally one of the most amazing fictional characters ever.


Cinderella: AH! The weakest of them all! The one all modern day "feminists" will compare the most and drag for filth! Because she is the most recognizable of all the Disney Princesses! Cinderella suffers from the same dilemma Snow White and Aurora do: being a product of a very sexist period in history. That doesn't excuse anything, of course, so instead of making excuses, let's, yet again, examine the facts of Cinderella's predicament. Let's see... She loses her mother at a very young age so that's a bit emotionally scarring. Then her father remarries, probably rather quickly which would also be negative for a young girl, but whatever people move on. However, it's made clear that her step-family hates her when the prologue is being said. Then, her father dies, tears are shed, and her step-mother inherits the house. Following something that I can imagine is even more emotionally jarring, her step-mother sends her to the tower and makes her the house maid, forcing her to do all the chores and take care of the stables and the animals in the yard. Basically, Cinderella is forced into labor for her own house, something that was once a safe haven. She's treated terribly by her family, the devil cat is literally no help, but the most important factor is that she, like Snow White, doesn't give up. She still thinks her life will turn around. At one point, she thinks it will. A letter is sent to the house inviting all eligible maidens to a ball that's welcoming the Prince. Cinderella makes a bargain with her step-mother that if she gets all of her work done in time and get a dress ready, she can go. When she does that, her sisters rip it to shreds and she loses hope. She is then helped by a fairy godmother and given the special treatment, and for one night she can pretend to be a princess, the prettiest girl in the world (but like no one would do that right?). At the end of the night, she's left with one last glass slipper and when the Grand Duke comes by to do the shoe test thing, and then break it (which is really stupid of him, but in all fairness that gosh darn step-mother), Cinderella presents the other shoe and provides her own ticket out of her terrible life. You can argue that she was given help multiple times throughout the movie, but I could also argue that the ones who did help her were people who genuinely cared about her. Which gives a message that, help and a happy ending are given to people who deserve them. Cinderella did what she could with what she was given, and because she was an honest, hopeful, and kind person she was rewarded with a wonderful night and ultimately a marriage proposal.


I'm not going to address the princes, because I'm pretty sure I made my point clear. The person who made those two images have a blatant disregard for what the movies are actually about and only want to dig a stupid, half-hearted analysis on how to evaluate a Disney movie and tearing it down with feminism. Half of the movies are products of a sexist time, but let's not pretend that a woman can't learn anything valuable from Cinderella, or any Disney movie for that matter. These kinds of arguments are stupid and I seriously recommend that you don't take them to heart because they're not true.
 

AlphaTheEdge

Well-Known Member
#7
Honestly. They teach us about true love. And to pursue our dreams, no matter the obstacles. Maybe they are animated prettily, but really and truly, and shouldn't be that heavily looked in to. Everyone is beautiful. We are all princes and princesses. We just have different stories.
 

philitup

The Internet Champion!
#9
i dont think most girls are taught these things and just like the movie. When i was younger i never thought that complex about them and just liked them cause they were good movies. but idk i guess thats just me
also ariel doesnt get legs to be more attractive, but because has always wanted to go on land and so she can actually show herself, since she is not allowed as a mermaid.
Exactly this. I can see in some movies how it can be a little true, but for the most part when I was little watching these movies, I never thought of sexuality being a major factor.
 

pirateguitarchick

eyerolling is my cardio.
#10
i think belle is a little off.
she didn't exactly "save" the prince's life purposely. she saved her father's life first.
they didn't even like each other in the beginning. lol.
then later she saw the good in the beast when others didn't.
to me, belle has always been my favorite because she's the most realistic.
 

gravebound

not actually a grave
#11
while i agree with a lot of this, and some of them i may love(belle & beast is my favorite), there's still a lot of issues that have to be addressed within disney and media itself.
however i just want to point out that the beast does not have a name other than beast. "adam" is completely fan-made.
 
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