Kaitlyn Thornton Abbott

Everyone’s seen the classics: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and so on and so forth.  I myself have grown up watching these beloved tales — and still do, for that matter.  But the question that needs to be asked is: what subconscious messages are we actually sending our children?  In today’s society, we are so concerned with what our children hear at school, what they read on the Internet, and what they put into their mouths; shouldn’t we be just as concerned with what they are watching, too, even if it just seems to be harmless cartoons?

Let’s address some of the most loved classics — the princesses: Cinderella, Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and Jasmine.  Are these princesses really the heroines they appear to be?  Most would say yes — however, as we delve into these plotlines, you will soon see they are not as “princessy” as they appear to be.

Cinderella — the most acclaimed Disney princess, the one everyone wants to be — has some interesting messages she sends along in her story; more than happiness does come to those who wait for it.  She, most particularly of all the princesses, embodies the notion of “love at first sight.”  She meets Prince Charming at a ball, and suddenly, they both are madly in love with each other after dancing one minute dance together and her running off into the moonlight before he sees her for what she truly is — a servant.  This teaches young girls a variety of things: one, never show your man what you’re truly like until you’ve got him hooked; and two, you’re only pretty when you’re all dressed up.  She teaches them finding love is easy — which we all know is very far from the truth.  A key theme noticed in this movie is deception.  Yep, that’s right.  I’m sure you’re reading this with a bit of apprehension — and it’s understandable.  Who wants to think their childhood hero emulated lying to one’s parents and getting away with it as a good thing?  Well, I’m sorry to crush your dreams, but that’s exactly what she does.  Cinderella lies to her stepmother, sneaks out of the house, and then lies to the Prince about who she is; and yet, she still gets her happy ending.  Aren’t we proud of what our daughters are learning?

Beauty and the Beast — ah, a tale as old as time, right?  WRONG.  Sorry, but no.  On the surface we see Belle looking past the Beast’s hairy, monster-like exterior, at his heart and who he is as a person, or, er, Beast.  And while not judging a book by its cover is a fantastic lesson for children, let’s examine the underlying messages.  Belle is strong-willed and defiant when it comes to the expectations of French society, and that is fantastic — don’t conform!  But, on the other hand, what actually happens in the film?  She gets the Beast to change his ways.  Now, in reality, the Beast had bipolar disorder, was a manic depressive, with anger management issues.  He abused Belle, verbally, emotionally, and even physically at times.  He keeps her locked up and refuses to feed her at times, and yet, her sweet, compliant demeanor changes him and turns him into a gentle, handsome, loving man.  SIKE.  Let’s be real — no woman can change a man from abusive to gentle.  That is not something we need to be teaching young girls; and don’t even get me started on the bestiality aspect.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first animated movie released by Disney.  As the first heroine on the scene, Snow White sends the strongest message about gender roles.  After being thrown out of her kingdom, she stumbles upon a dirty cottage with seven little men living in it.  Without being asked, the young woman cleans the whole house from top to bottom and begins to take on the motherly role the dwarfs expect of her by cooking meals and continuing to clean up after the men.  In 1937, when the movie was released, this domestic image of women was commonplace and accepted.  But now, more than 80 years later, little girls continue to watch Snow White and assume her submissive role with a smile.

She’s one of the few princesses who is actually born an actual princess, but unlike the other princesses on this list, Princess Jasmine is a supporting character, not the lead.  The movie, as you may be able to guess by the title, is about Aladdin, not her.  Although her existence as a woman who wants to live her life her way rather than according to the laws of men or her palace is an important turning point in the history of the Disney Princess, she is still very much a pawn in the film.  But this really isn’t the worst of it….

Her whole story arc in the film is about whether or not she’ll be married by her next birthday, so the next ruler of Agrabah may be chosen.  She doesn’t get to be the ruler of the kingdom when she becomes queen, even though she is the sole heir.  The Sultan, her father, spends the bulk of the film trying to find a suitable suitor for her.  Additionally, this plot point is integral to the villain Jafar’s master plan as he desires her hand in marriage, not because he loves or cares about her, but for the title and power that would give him if they got married.  But it is important to note she is the only female character in the entire movie.  While Disney improved the message they sent to their viewers, Jasmine was still portrayed as a lonely girl whose only option was to marry in order to not be alone anymore.  She had no friends to help her, besides her pet tiger.

Now that we’ve addressed a few of the prominent Disney Princesses, let’s talk about the messages of some the movies directed to a gender-neutral audience.  For example, when The Lion King, a fan favorite and Disney’s hugely successful animated movie first roared onto the big screen, some astute scribblers on the arts, entertainment, politics and social psychology weighed in with thought-provoking reflections on the underlying messages of the ostensibly simple story.  Some found strong elements of sexism in it.  Some discerned homophobia.  Others found racial stereotypes.  Then there were those who found anarchistic monarchism and the psychology of victimization.  Most of the children for whom the movie was made, however, simply enjoyed its visual beauty, its delightful music, its whimsy and its good, old-fashioned, bloodless combat, where the good guys win in the end.  Of course, there really is more to The Lion King than the surface story.  It’s just that the previous dissectors couldn’t see it anymore than the people who put it together.  Now that the movie has leaped onto the small screen, it’s a good time to set the record straight and explain the real hidden meaning of The Lion King: it’s a political fable of contemporary America.  The first crucial scene in the movie is Scar’s murder of King Mufasa by tossing him off a hill into the path of thousands of stampeding wildebeests.  What is not explained at that point is what started the wildebeests on their stomp: something had panicked them.

Obviously the hyenas did it by yapping such scary warnings as “Health-care reform gonna take away your mama’s choice!  Welfare mothers gonna eat your baby’s peanut butter!  Affirmative action gonna lay off your daddy!  Sex education gonna rape your daughter’s mind!”  Well, once the wildebeests started running, nothing was going to stand in their way.  They trampled Mufasa just like the alarmed voters of this country ran amok and wiped out the dominance of the Democratic Party in Congress last November.

Rather than monarchy, Mufasa obviously represents the New Deal ideal of the free, tolerant, egalitarian, compassionate society that had been evolving in this country since the midpoint of the century.  Scar is a throwback to the days when social conscience was not very much in fashion, and the interests of the rich and the greedy were all that mattered.

The usurper’s natural allies are the hyenas.  It wouldn’t take much stretching of the imagination to identify Scar and his pals with some of the politicians whose stars have ascended of late.  Suffice it to say there are some rapacious lions and scavenging hyenas on the loose in Washington.  And they are easy to spot.

Scar conning Simba into believing he is responsible for his father’s death is analogous to current efforts to convince people who are victims of systemic discrimination, cultural and educational deprivation, and opportunity curtailment that their plight is their own fault.

Simba is fatherless and homeless, but he blames himself, accepts his fate, and consigns himself to a life of purposeless hedonism in the company of a Falstaffian warthog and a foppish meerkat.  Meanwhile Scar and the hyenas turn the Pride Lands into a fascist dictatorship run strictly for the benefit of the strong and the greedy.  Before long the Pride Lands become a wasteland, and the government is a prisoner of the scavengers it used to gain power.  Faith, however, does not die.  It is personified by the mystical old baboon, Rafiki.  It is he who sniffs the wind, realizes that Simba (the hope of the future) is still alive, seeks out the rightful ruler and persuades him to return and restore the kind of rule where the “Circle of Life” is maintained for the benefit of all.

There is, of course, a love story, but it needs no exegesis.  Real love never does.  On a very superficial level, one could sum up the whole movie as Simba’s and Nala’s love story with some political intrigue, humor, and action padded into it.  That’s probably what the people who wrote and produced the political fable intended.  But what do they know?

As a child, I loved the Disney film The Little Mermaid.  For me, the attraction to the film was based on my love of the competitive sport of swimming and Ariel’s abilities as a mermaid.  When I used to obsessively watch The Little Mermaid, I was not aware of the subliminal gender messages the film directs toward young girls and boys.  Personally, I believe most (if not all) girls watch the film to feel the traditional Disney love that accompanies their fairy tales and the Disney Princess films.

After watching the movie again, I was hyperaware of the cultural messages it reinforces in relation to the hegemonic description of what it means to be female.  To some extent, Ariel illustrates individualism and a challenge to patriarchal values by rejecting her role as a princess on her birthday and exploring the unknowns of a shipwreck.  Eventually, Ariel is still dominated by patriarchy and is subservient to her powerful father.  It is not until she witnesses the leadership and kindness of Eric that she decides to sacrifice her aspirations to be with him.

I found issue in the film with the portrayal of Ursula as an angry sinister spinster.  It seems that in Disney films when women are unmarried, have no children, and have powerful tendencies they are portrayed as evil and angry spinsters.  Instead of having a powerful moral female role model, powerful female characters are cast as immoral and wicked and looking to destroy the lives of young girls like Ariel.  It is as if she is competing with Ariel and must use her power to prevent success in the life of a young girl instead of helping her to be successful.  This theme is relevant in many of the Disney Princess films and could be a reflection of patriarchal values: marriage is the ultimate goal of a woman and if you do not follow this you become an unhappy evil woman who has no reason to lead a kind lifestyle.

The character Ariel also presents an interesting reflection of patriarchy.  She is first portrayed as a young active girl who shows interest in knowledge and adventure (generally male characteristics) but the sight of a man causes her to forget about all previous interests to find a way to be with him.  I found it interesting she has no mother or mention of a female role model (even though she has six older sisters).

Because she has no guidance, she gives into the guise of Ursula and makes a major sacrifice.  She loses her voice (literally and figuratively) and submits to dominant society by becoming an object.  She relies solely on her body to prove to Eric that she is worthy of his love.  The issue with this idea is pretty blatant when you think about it from a gendered perspective.

Ariel loses all control and power.  The loss of her voice signals the loss of power and her subordination to men.  She must rely solely on the sexualization of her body, at the age of 16, to seduce Eric into kissing her within the three days they have known each other.  Until then, she is powerless and if her seduction fails then she becomes a pawn to the powerful sinister Ursula.

By supporting the patriarchal perspective on what it is to be an ideal woman, Disney’s The Little Mermaid teaches young girls that a man does not want a vocal, powerful, intelligent woman.  In order to get married and be happy (because that is all that matters in life), a woman must sacrifice her voice, all of her dreams, and she has to rely solely on her oversexualized youthful body.

Although this is what the film portrays, I do not think young girls are aware of The Little Mermaid’s meaning.  Disney films are so successful because of their cutesy characters and fairy tale endings.  When children are young, they are not looking for real life endings to love stories — they want happily ever after.  My issues with these films have to do with Disney’s cross marketing strategies and how these young children are parented.

This article incorporates ideas and sentences from Molly Mahan’s article “7 Disney Princesses That Make the Worst Role Models” from http://www.ranker.com.