One thought on “The Hidden Messages Disney Is Teaching”
The changes in values in the past 80 years mean that people (especially cynical ones) miss the true intended meanings of the old Disney films. Eg. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were both parables on how jealousy can take the beautiful and make it ugly, and that evil will undo itself or easily be defeated by good eg. who would think some stocky little dwarves would be able to defeat a magical queen? or a single prince against a giant evil dragon?
Snow White in particular was about how the obsession with beauty can turn someone into something truly ugly. In a time where women are getting plastic surgery at record numbers this message is more relevant then ever.
Both The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were about how a person’s appearance and who they actually are inside can be very different things, and how a person can be spiritually and emotionally empty even if someone seems to have “everything” in terms of looks. Was the loss of Ariel’s body and talent really so bad if it meant gaining love?
All the Disney princesses succeed because their basic kindness leads people to want to help them, their looks are only incidental and none of them actually set out looking for someone to marry, they usually meet their princes incidentally.
Cinderella is a prime example of this. Had she not rescued the mice when they were trapped they wouldn’t have been there to rescue Cinderella when she was trapped. Had they not rescued her she couldn’t have married the man she loved.
The reason Disney Princesses are so reviled in our times isn’t because of anything actually wrong with them. They come from a set of values where gentleness, trust and love is considered most important. People in our times think the Disney Princesses succeed only because of their looks because we don’t notice how kind and gentle all the Disney Princesses. We don’t notice because we don’t value these traits any more.
Instead we value women by how much they achieve or how much money they make, or how independent they are, or how many lifestyle choices they can juggle at once. Where once we saw kindness we now see exploitation. What we once called trust we now call stupidity. Gentleness is now called weakness. Forgiveness and mercy are now called “being pathetic”!
In some ways modern people are like the villains of the stories. We hate the Disney Princesses because they are beautiful and often attain riches and power as well. We forget that someone can’t help if they are attractive and they can’t help it if they do honestly love someone who is rich or politically powerful.
In my opinion the derision the Disney Princesses often meet is actually a sad symptom of something we have lost in society, where the choice to devote yourself to the love of your spouse and family is no longer honoured, where we don’t trust anyone to help us when we’re in trouble and we think being positive and helpful will only lead to pain and trouble.
The changes in values in the past 80 years mean that people (especially cynical ones) miss the true intended meanings of the old Disney films. Eg. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were both parables on how jealousy can take the beautiful and make it ugly, and that evil will undo itself or easily be defeated by good eg. who would think some stocky little dwarves would be able to defeat a magical queen? or a single prince against a giant evil dragon?
Snow White in particular was about how the obsession with beauty can turn someone into something truly ugly. In a time where women are getting plastic surgery at record numbers this message is more relevant then ever.
Both The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were about how a person’s appearance and who they actually are inside can be very different things, and how a person can be spiritually and emotionally empty even if someone seems to have “everything” in terms of looks. Was the loss of Ariel’s body and talent really so bad if it meant gaining love?
All the Disney princesses succeed because their basic kindness leads people to want to help them, their looks are only incidental and none of them actually set out looking for someone to marry, they usually meet their princes incidentally.
Cinderella is a prime example of this. Had she not rescued the mice when they were trapped they wouldn’t have been there to rescue Cinderella when she was trapped. Had they not rescued her she couldn’t have married the man she loved.
The reason Disney Princesses are so reviled in our times isn’t because of anything actually wrong with them. They come from a set of values where gentleness, trust and love is considered most important. People in our times think the Disney Princesses succeed only because of their looks because we don’t notice how kind and gentle all the Disney Princesses. We don’t notice because we don’t value these traits any more.
Instead we value women by how much they achieve or how much money they make, or how independent they are, or how many lifestyle choices they can juggle at once. Where once we saw kindness we now see exploitation. What we once called trust we now call stupidity. Gentleness is now called weakness. Forgiveness and mercy are now called “being pathetic”!
In some ways modern people are like the villains of the stories. We hate the Disney Princesses because they are beautiful and often attain riches and power as well. We forget that someone can’t help if they are attractive and they can’t help it if they do honestly love someone who is rich or politically powerful.
In my opinion the derision the Disney Princesses often meet is actually a sad symptom of something we have lost in society, where the choice to devote yourself to the love of your spouse and family is no longer honoured, where we don’t trust anyone to help us when we’re in trouble and we think being positive and helpful will only lead to pain and trouble.