Conclusion
So what does this all mean? Should you permanently remove The Little Mermaid from your child's movie collection? Not necessarily.
The first step is realizing Disney films reinforce gender roles to their audiences. Ariel is drawn in specific manner to emphasize the importance of women’s appearance. Disney suggests men are only attracted to women who do not talk a lot and are physically beautiful, which Ursula continuously reminds us in “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Ariel has no mother and her interactions with females are essentially limited to Ursula, who represents women as evil, which further facilitates her dependence on men. Ariel transitions from completing domestic duties under the sea and relying on her father to fulfilling domestic duties on dry land and relying on Prince Eric. Young audience members wish to emulate Ariel because of her brave and adventurous disposition; however, it is important as a parent you realize what other messages The Little Mermaid is subliminally sending to your children.
In “The Movie You See, The Movie You Don’t: How Disney Do’s That Old Time Derision,” Susan Miller and Greg Rode assert, “It is obvious, or appears to be obvious, that the movies we saw as children, which younger home video viewers now see as many as 100 times over, were products of a story about their celebrated supposed origin that we didn’t see” (87). Adults who grew up watching and wishing to emulate Ariel have a sacred, nostalgic view of her that they do not want to corrupt. These adults need to realize that Disney intentionally put these messages in their films and they are present whether they want to accept it or not. Children are not able to watch DVDs countless times, thus hearing Disney’s message that men should be big, brave, and strong while women should be small, dainty, beautiful, and quiet more than ever.
So as a parent what can you do? You can educate your child on the mixed messages films like The Little Mermaid are sending. In “Acting Naturally: The Practices of Gender,” Henry Giroux says, “Kids learn from Disney films, so maybe it’s time parents and educators paid closer attention to what these films are saying” (569). Parents automatically assume Disney films are wholesome family films, but it is time parents start listening to the lyrics of the songs in the films, really watching the plot, and contemplating what their child is really learning from it all.
So now you have a choice: are you going to let your child be part of this world?
The first step is realizing Disney films reinforce gender roles to their audiences. Ariel is drawn in specific manner to emphasize the importance of women’s appearance. Disney suggests men are only attracted to women who do not talk a lot and are physically beautiful, which Ursula continuously reminds us in “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Ariel has no mother and her interactions with females are essentially limited to Ursula, who represents women as evil, which further facilitates her dependence on men. Ariel transitions from completing domestic duties under the sea and relying on her father to fulfilling domestic duties on dry land and relying on Prince Eric. Young audience members wish to emulate Ariel because of her brave and adventurous disposition; however, it is important as a parent you realize what other messages The Little Mermaid is subliminally sending to your children.
In “The Movie You See, The Movie You Don’t: How Disney Do’s That Old Time Derision,” Susan Miller and Greg Rode assert, “It is obvious, or appears to be obvious, that the movies we saw as children, which younger home video viewers now see as many as 100 times over, were products of a story about their celebrated supposed origin that we didn’t see” (87). Adults who grew up watching and wishing to emulate Ariel have a sacred, nostalgic view of her that they do not want to corrupt. These adults need to realize that Disney intentionally put these messages in their films and they are present whether they want to accept it or not. Children are not able to watch DVDs countless times, thus hearing Disney’s message that men should be big, brave, and strong while women should be small, dainty, beautiful, and quiet more than ever.
So as a parent what can you do? You can educate your child on the mixed messages films like The Little Mermaid are sending. In “Acting Naturally: The Practices of Gender,” Henry Giroux says, “Kids learn from Disney films, so maybe it’s time parents and educators paid closer attention to what these films are saying” (569). Parents automatically assume Disney films are wholesome family films, but it is time parents start listening to the lyrics of the songs in the films, really watching the plot, and contemplating what their child is really learning from it all.
So now you have a choice: are you going to let your child be part of this world?