Monday, February 28, 2011

Disney So Screwed Me Over!

Ok before I start on my Disney rant. Here's a kind of harsh break-down for you:
Snow White=pretty much a blithering idiot "Oh yea I'll eat this random apple creepy old lady, gee thanks" like WHAT!
Cinderella=Zero-Backbone
Aurora=Ungrateful brat who couldn't take direction
Ariel=at least she had her own opinions and interests
Belle=Finally a semi-intelligent independent girl who saw inner beauty, she actually owns and reads BOOKS what an idea (Thanks Disney for finally getting with the program of giving girls an actually role model)
Jasmine=Kind of a bitch at times but she stood up for shit, broke rules to follow her heart, marry for LOVE (Disney finally preached a message of NOT marrying for money--> novel concept)
Pocahontas=Based very loosely on history (take artistic licensing to a whole new level), she really stood up for her love.
Mulan=What a BADASS!, again loose interpretation of the real story (a theme with disney, butcher original fairy tales), teaches girls they can do anything and make a difference.
Giselle=unofficial princess, sees reality, and Disney finally acknowledges that the fairy tales leave a lot out, and they are actually pretty unrealistic
Tiana=Most recent "official" princess, hard worker, knows what she has to do to get her dream, (a real role model for young girls), make your own destiny
Rapunzel=Most recent princess, she is the heroine, she saves Flynn's ass multiple times, and she reads.

So there is an idea that has been seriously bothering me lately. The idea of true love/love at first sight/the Disney ideal of love. Disney makes it seem pretty straightforward: Once Upon a Time...Happily Ever After...that's supposed to be the story. But life doesn't subscribe to the "Disney ideal". Shit happens that no one could see coming, death, infidelity, but that would be a bad message to show young kids. This crap about "happily ever after," thats the ideal, but it's never quite as easy as Disney makes it seem. Disney skips over the dating phase, the fights, the break-ups, the getting back together, the baggage that is ALWAYS there. All those princesses married the first guy who looked their way, except maybe Pocahontas who didn't get married in the first movie. Disney idealizes love, and makes it all look simple. Meet, fall in love, get married, happily ever after. That's a great concept, however people are disappointed when they get involved with someone thinking it will be all great and happy, and then it gets hard. Disney gives individuals false expectations about love.


Despite all that, I still find that I want the fairy tale as told by Disney. And I don't think it is wrong to want that as long as you aren't ignorant about reality and the fact that it won't always be perfect. But I firmly believe that if anything should be idealize it is love. Romantic Comedies seem to say it best, "Love is the only shocking act left on the planet." So you know what while I curse Disney for giving kids and young adults such unrealistic expectations of love, I thank them for teaching people to be open to finding love.

1 comment:

  1. True True, I am not having kinds, but as my mother says to me all the time "that could change soon," they will believe that Disney is real life.

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