6/27- Disney

 What is your relationship to Disney culture?  How does Christiansen validate or challenge your views?

    
    I was a Disney princess kid. I grew up obsessed with The Little Mermaid, practicing my Ariel hair flip in the pool and refusing to separate my legs to mimic a mermaid tail. Once I got older, I realized the negative message the princess trope was telling vulnerable children, even still, Ariel had a special place in my heart Although if you ask me what my favorite Disney movie is now I will say Hercules- can you even listen to the soundtrack without singing along? Even as I type this and listen to Zero to Hero playing in my head, I am struggling to support it. While this movie is based on greek mythology and the story of Hercules, it tells little boys that you are nothing without a chiseled chest and strong arms and little girls that they need a man, a godly man, to save them.    

 Christiansen validated my views. I have come from a place where I can critique but also still find pleasure in Disney. I recognize the problem that the princess stereotype portrays but cannot escape the nostalgia that Disney provides. I find my self trying to counteract and balance what Christiansen says:

    "But what am I teaching them if the lesson ends there? That it is enough to be critical without taking    action? That we can quietly rebel in the privacy of the classroom while we practice our writing skills but we don't really have to do anything about the problems we uncover, nor do we need to create anything to take the place of what we've expelled? Those are not the lessons I intend to teach" (2016, p. 183). 

 It is important to recognize the problematic features of Disney media. As a parent, I work hard to teach my son important values and to try to reverse the effect that current, stereotypical media can have on him. I know that we will never fully be able to protect him from some of the toxic masculinity. I make sure he has access to well rounded examples and models in his immediate environment. 

He picked this dress out himself while searching for some new summer clothes at Target.

Letting go of gender stereotypes, see what I did there?

 

    I know Disney has come a long way from the classic tales that were so harmful in the past, but I also know it has a much longer way to go. After these readings, I learned that it is okay to be mad at Disney and to understand it does not promote the values of feminism and other harsh racial stereotypes, but I feel as long as you take action to course correct, it is okay to belt out with Meg as she realizes she is in love with Hercules. In accordance with Christiansen, we need to recognize harmful stereotypes in popular media and take action to course correct the negative impact they have. 

From our trip to Disneyland in August '22

*** As I was reading and preparing for tomorrow,  two more recent pop-culture moments spoke to me. One is a song that was popular on tik-tok and the other is a portion of a TedTalk that was made popular by Beyonce's song, Flawless. I wanted to share them here! Enjoy! 

(warning: may contain explicit language)