I believe in Disney
I am
a certified Disney enthusiast. I have always have been and believe that I
always will be. In fact, coming up on my 30th birthday, I have asked
for a DisneyParks Dooney and Burke wristlet. Being so in love with Disney, I am
connected to animated children’s culture in and out of my kindergarten
classroom.
As a
child, I was a young girl in love with every new Disney character and movie
that was released. Each of my birthday parties was based on a different
character beginning at the age of three. It began with Minnie Mouse, then Ariel
from “The Little Mermaid”, then Belle from “Beauty and the Beast”. This continued
with Cinderella from “Cinderella”, Mulan from “Mulan”, and so on. I first
traveled to Walt Disney World in Florida with my parents at the age of five. We
stayed at a resort on the property, the golf club based off Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs. While it no longer exists today, I can still remember every part
of it…the carved dwarfs in the trees, the brown and green décor, and the
feeling of magic. I remember meeting the princesses that I so admired. I had an
autograph book signed by most of the characters. We ate in Italy, and in
MGM. Magical.
I
returned to Disneyworld upon graduating high school with my best friends. We
spent one week, stayed in the All-Star Music resort, and traveled throughout
each park every day. We explored Animal Kingdom, MGM, Downtown Disney, Magic
Kingdom, and Epcot. Each day, we planned to do something from our childhood
that we had loved in Disney and a new experience such as eating in Morocco in
Epcot. This time, twelve years later, we still took photos with every princess
and character we encountered. Yet, this time we did chase Aladdin through three
different parks as my friend was “in love” with him!
Today,
Disney is a part of my everyday life, on top of other animated characters.
Teaching kindergarten, I incorporate many characters into my teaching to engage
my students in activities. Elsa and Anna from “Frozen” are two big players in
my classroom. I also use any new character and movie that has come out to help
guide instruction. I have learned about animated programs on television and the
depicted characters in them... “Paw Patrol”, “Batman”, and “Shopkins” just to
name a few. The children that I teach are enamored with these characters,
shows, and movies reminding me daily if I have not seen a show or movie that
they mentioned that I should because “I am old and I will like it”.
My
memories are of childhood innocence. I loved the princesses because they were
girls, who I thought we like me, who sang and danced and had friends. I wanted
to talk to a teapot, and swim with the mermaids and help Mulan be strong but
still be girly at the same time. I am happy to know how I grew up with those
fond memories. In completing the readings, I do understand the points addressed
by the authors. I may be naïve, but I have a specific view on these movies. I
know that I am a white woman, green eyes, light brown hair, and I relatively
have not gone through racist or sexist issues. These movies are classic parts
of childhood though. Every child tends to remember when they watched the movies
and the parties they had with them. These movies were developed in a different
period of time. The world was different then with different morals and values.
Maybe these movies should be remade to fit today’s society and need? But then
would that deter the meaning of a classic film? There are many questions left
on this matter but I firmly believe that children should innocently watch these
films and create memories of their own at the young ages that I teach.
“Frozen”
is a different kind of Disney movie than I grew up with. In fact, it did take
me well over a year before I saw it. I had heard there was no prince and it was
about the girls, and my childhood self really didn’t care to watch it. I knew
the song “Let it Go” and for my kindergarten babies, that was enough. In
watching “Frozen”, I did enjoy it immensely. To me, it was like any other
Disney movie. Yes, there were differences in storyline and character
development, but it still had the happiness that Disney is. I would be curious
to see Disneyworld at this point since the release of “Frozen”. I know that it
had such a large impact and that there are now rides and character meals. It
has impacted the lives of all of my students as even years later, they talk
about the movie every single day. I believe that not since “Toy Story” was
released was there such a great impact on children in Disney.
Allison, while I also did grow up on Disney like you, I distinctly recall not caring for all the other princesses (besides Belle) because they did not represent the real women I saw around me, the ones who worked, who challenged the privilege of men, among many other things. I think when we analyze Disney movies we need to place them in their original time in history and be cognizant of how the "different morals and values" of that time are really just a reflection of the dominant culture at the time. If Disney is going to continue to make movies with great success, they should start reflecting the reality of our society and challenge the dominant culture norms. We, as a society, should realize the large impact such movies and media have on us even from a young age and how this can shape our perception of the world and ourselves for the years to come.
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ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read about the tension between the pleasure and the criticism in your words, now that you are critically analyzing your Disney favorites within a current social context. I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s and I see no lasting damage from my love of Cinderella and Snow White or any of the fairy tales I read at the time. I still grew up to be a critically thinking feminist...who loves to watch a Disney movie now and again!
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