Here's the typical life of a fairytale princess: live in a magical kingdom...check, have a handsome prince rescue me from evil...check, marry the prince...check, live happily ever after...check! If only life were that easy and that is the controversy over fairy tales for young children today. Young girls are being exposed to fairy tales of all kinds whether it is in a book or a movie and each tale shows the same patterns especially when it comes to the characters. Some people believe that children (especially young girls) will attempt to live up to the fantasy of the princess in the story in hopes of marrying the dashing prince who can take care of them for the rest of their lives or look just like the beautiful princess in the story.
As a child I frequently watched Disney classics such as The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella and I would use my imagination to pretend I was the princess almost every time. Although I would imagine myself as these princess's I was well aware of the fact that I was not a real princess, did not have the qualities of a stereotypical princess and did not live in a huge castle where I would be happy forever with my prince. I feel the realistic side to life will always be prevalent to children regardless of what they read or write and having them be exposed to these fairy tales is just a way for them to expand their imaginations.
In the article "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us" by Linda Christensen she quotes another author, Ariel Dorfman, about her hardships with fairy tales and the fact that it led to depression due to lack of self confidence with her image. Dorfman views fairy tales as a "secret education" which manipulates the minds of young children who read them. So if children are being manipulated by this sense of imagination, should children's fantasy books be taken out of schools and off the shelves of bookstores? Athough there are many stereotypes shown in fairytales society is making the shift towards diversity for young children's books and movies now. In this case more children will be able to identify with these characters and continue to use their imaginations.
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I do not think that children's fantasy books should be taken out of schools or bookstores. I feel that would just be a form of censorship. I believe that censorship should be up to the reader or their parents, not by the institutions. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with this idea of "secret education" in regards to fairy tales. I watched hours upon hours of disney movies while growing up too, I even dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast for halloween one year, and yet I feel I turned out to be a pretty normal person with great self-confidence. Yes, I did also look up to these princesses and I would have loved to live like them and find my prince charming, but there is also a disconnect that is eventually formed between real life and these fantasy disney movies. I feel that if these movies and books are removed, other stereotypes and pressures will be found everywhere else. Our society is surrounded with them, so removing this one element probably will not make much of an impact. I also do not think that this is the most severe pressure seen by children growing up. I think that tv ads and magazines or movies--images that are much more realistic--put a much stronger impression on children of what is "beautiful" or what they should strive to be. While Disney princesses are beautiful, they just aren't realistic.
I was actually considering making a post similar to this one. I agree with you. I do understand and agree with the sometimes negative stereotypes represented in fairy tales. However, I read these stories and watched these movies growing up and as far as I'm concerned I turned out alright. I am all for books and movies becoming more divers, don't get me wrong. I am also very eager to see all people represented in less stereotypical roles.
At the same time though, I just think that people worry and look to far into things sometimes. It's one thing to think critically but it's another thing to be out looking for things wrong with everything. I think people in general worry too much now. I do hope that books come out with new outlooks but at the same time, the classics will always have a special place in my heart.
Fairy tales have the potential to create unrealistic expectations for many young girls. Princesses in fairytales are portrayed as friendly, beautiful, and elegant, destined to meet their Prince Charming and live happily ever after.These elements make it hard not to question their potential impact on young girls' self constructed images. With the constant exposure to an "ideal image" girls may grow up with expectations that are unattainable. Additionally, girls may develop the belief that one day they will find their Prince and will live happily ever after, which is unfortunately not the way life goes.
I however, do not believe that these types of books should be removed from schools and bookstores. Young girls are already being exposed to unattainable images through t.v., the news, and other forms of media. I think it is important to contrast reality with fantasy in order for children to understand what is attainable and what is not.
Fairy tales can act as a "secret education" because they put into place images and constantly reinforce stereotypes that are hard to ignore. For instance, fairy tales have the ability to assign gender roles by the contrasting ways women and men are portrayed. In most fairytales, the female takes on the role of the vulnerable "damsel in distress" while the male portrays the strong prince ready to fight for, and rescue his princess. These gender roles create expectaions for what is is considered "masculine" and what is considered "feminine." However, if we remove fairy tales from bookshelves, children are still going to be exposed to these expectations by some other form of media.
It feels like this this is such a tough issue to dissect because many people are passionate about their Disney movies. I wasn't too big of a fan growing up but there were a few that I enjoyed. I don't think that the problem here is girls trying to obtain lifestyles similar to that of the princesses. Like you all have stated, you realized that they lived in a fictional world and you lived in a real one.
I think that the biggest issue is the consistent associations that are presented throughout some of the films. After I watched the Little Mermaid, I had a suspicion that my next door neighbor was evil because she was heavyset and had short hair like Ursela. Then again, I was a ridiculously gullible kid (if you couldn't tell from that last statement) but who knows what other stereotypes could reach kids and how they interpret and/or apply them in their life?
I know that most of the time when kids sing songs, they don't even know what the lyrics mean, but some of the songs in Mulan have some crazy patriarchal lyrics.
http://www.stlyrics.com/m/mulan.htm
I agree with you in the fact that children even though they are seeing this they know the difference between movies and reality. It may instill the fact that girls wear dresses, guys wear pants. Or pink and purple are girl's colors but they are going to encounter this in every elementary school also. I believe that they do see the perfect relationships in these movies but children also see their families and see that it is not realistic. Children see arguments between their parents and see 'broken' home families. So I believe all the information that is bashing Disney movies is ridiculous, just because they want children to use their imagination and let a child enjoy the movie doesn't mean they are trying to really instill a false hope life in children.
I couldn’t agree more! When I was little I also read a book about a frog and one about a duck and at no point in my childhood did I think I could actually be a duck. A princess, I understand is slightly different but in a lot of cases not so different at all. If a child is introduced to fairytales as make believe then they can relate them to that part of their lives, the imagination side, the side that makes invisible friends and has tea parties with stuff animals. Not the side that decides you wants to grow up and pursue princessing as a career. Everything comes down to presentation, if a little girl is lead to believe that she could actually BE a princess, there may be some latter effects of that. But if presented as make believe the dreams of being the sole princess of Make-believe Land will diminish. Sure there are always exceptions, but as a girl and a fan of the princesses I think they offer a lot more than just some tied up happy ending. They represent confidence and striving for a life that makes you genuinely happy. I’m not arguing that they should be the prime female example in little girl’s life, but give the girls a break, they were subjected to the ending that was written for them. Lucky for us real girls, we get to make our own choices and our own happy endings.
I too frequently watched movies that went along with the theme of the princess meeting her prince and living happily ever after. I do think that the thought of this is good, however I was also well aware, even as a child, that this is not how life would be. Never did my parents have to sit down and explain to me that this is a far fetched idea, I knew. The Disney movies that show this type of story line are not bad for a childs imagination, in my opinion. If young children took these movies in this serious of a way, then why do people not worry about the effects of a scary movie, or one where the children's toys come to life in the same serious manner. I feel that it is wrong if someone is going to judge fairy tale movies on such a tougher scale than any other type of movie. A movie is a movie, simple as that. People are going to take from it what they want, same with books as well. If young girls felt that these movies were as real as people may think then these young girls may also be thinking that they will live in a castle someday, and have an evil stepmother etc... I guess my point to what I am saying is that why would someone only take away ONE aspect from a movie, without taking any other part from it? If a young girl watches the Disney Princess movies she will be able to notice that they are all similar in the aspect of the princess, prince, some type of evil, the castle and the happily ever after. I think that children deserve more credit when it comes to things similar to this. A child watches a movie for the enjoyment of watching a movie. It is always fun when you are a little girl, to dress up and pretend you are a princess. However, I know that my brother used to pretend that he was a power ranger and Batman and never did he think that he was actually going to live the lives of these characters. I do not see these movies being extremely harmful to children, I feel that it helps them escape with their imagination for the hour and some minutes that it lasts and once its over, it is over.
I agree, when I was younger I totally was into the princess idea and finding my prince charming.THis kids young girls the wrong idea but once they get older though, girls start to realize that there is no such thing. I dont think that the librarys need to do away with these books, because i feel it gives kids an escape from reality and allows for them to use their imagination. If a parent or teacher feels it is unacceptable to their students/ kids then they can have their own censorship on the books.
I also think that disney is starting to experiment with new ideas of fairytales, for instance we talked in class about the Princess and the frog, the Princess is now African American which is allowing more girls to see different races. They also are not focusing on the happily ever endings anymore but rather feel good happy endings. Which is allowing more kids to know that things will turn out in different ways. Overall, I agree with your posts that disney has some what given young girls the wrong idea about society, but I dont think we need to do away with these books.
I think that it is absolutely ridiculous to blame fantasy stories for problems having to do with self-image and self-confidence. If anything, when read the right way, things like Disney movies can have a positive influence on children. There are countless places in Disney fantasy movies that encourage children. In Aladdin, they learn to follow their hearts, in Cinderella they learn to be happy in any circumstance and to appreciate even the little things, in Beauty and the Beast it teaches them to love people that are different than you, and so on and so forth. There are good sides and bad sides to every single thing in the world, and it is entirely the fault of the viewer if they can't see the positive and wonderful things that are portrayed in Disney movies and other such things. If you think this argument is ridiculous, remember that if someone can argue that there are mostly bad messages, others have a right to argue that there are mostly good. The two sides are entirely equal in my opinion, because it isn't up to us to decide what we think people get from fantasy books or movies, it is up to the individual. And no matter how many times people tell me to try to see the bad in Disney movies, I won't because I want to dwell on the positive. This is just the same as if I asked Todd to ignore the bad things and look at only the good. It's not going to happen, and there's really nothing I can do about it, and there needs to be a change in Todd, not how I argue. Someone elses standpoint may be a tool in someone's changing of their beliefs or views, but it is up to the individual to change their minds. This is why I think it is interesting that people choose to blame the tool (i.e. a Disney movie) for the belief (i.e. self-image problems), and I honestly don't think that the person is being completely honest with themselves.
I definitely agree with the point that Stephanie makes when she says that children are able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. When we were talking about this obviously controversial issue, I was thinking the SAME thing. This issue not only comes up in fairy tales and Disney Princess movies but also video games. I was thinking about when my little brother would play games like Grand Theft Auto. If you haven’t seen, or played it, you should know it is EXTREMELY unrealistic. I know my mom was concerned that he would think that he could actually shoot people and steal their cars and drive over cops and pick up hookers but she was proven wrong. My brother clearly knew that this was not proper behavior and would never even think to do such things. He knew it was just a game and in the real world these things were unacceptable. I think parents need to give children more credit. Kids know the difference between reality and fantasy and right and wrong. The values the parents instill is also very important for the child to learn how to make this difference as well. I think that if Dorfman fell into depression because she didn’t have the characteristics that the CARTOON Disney princesses had, she must have already had some self esteem issues to begin with. I think children should be able to use their imaginations and seek enjoyment through reading, watching, and playing in fantasies and fairy tales. It is not fair for these types of stories to be banned because of an insecure person taking it a little too far. Average people are not cartoon princesses or pimps stealing cars.
Taking away these books again would be a form of censorship. Children would not be exposed to many things such as these Disney classics if they were simply picked right off the shelf.
Children have a right to read what they want to and make decisions on their own regarding the lifestyle being portrayed. These stories may have negative aspects of how a girl should view living life but not every girl will pick up on these. Yes, most of the princess stories say finding Prince Charming is the only requirement of getting married and the only way to find him is to be a damsel in distress but through life they will learn that is not the fact. I think we need to allow children to choose what they want to read and through these stories make their own decisions on the themes portrayed.
I know for my own children both at home and in my classroom, I would make these themes very evident and have them understand fiction from reality. All of us who have gone through school thus far have grown up reading and watching these tales, we all understand these differences. Allow children to learn to be their own person through exposure to all of these things not just what may seem to only be appropriate.
I think that one of the things I don't like about this class is the constant over-analyzing to make a simple story or concept into something negative. While I can understand how someone might think that Shel Silverstein meant something different in his book "The Giving Tree", I strongly believe that his intentions and ideas behind the book were pure. Just because he has a past with "Playboy" doesn't mean that his book must mean it is demeaning towards women. What if we were all judged off of one thing we did in our lives? If, because perhaps we made a mistake, that every decision or piece of writing we did was perceived to have hidden agendas or undertones?
The same idea can be applied to fairy tales. Just because we all enjoy some Disney fairy tales doesn't mean that we are expected to live up to these princesses. These stories and fairy tales are just that-- STORIES. Nobody is saying we are expected to look, act, or dress this way, or live up to any sort of standards. We are who we are, and there is no reason to take the imaginative and creative fun out of fairy tales or children's literature in fear of what messages we are sending!
I believe that children’s fantasy books should stay in the classroom for children to enjoy. I do not think they should be taken out of the bookstores or schools! I think that with fantasy books, children are able to use their imagination more. I really do not think they are harmful in any way. However, I do think that they should include more diverse characters and there should be some censorship as to which books are made available to young children.
I grew up with watching these fairytales and reading books about the princess and the prince all the time. I would dress up and pretend I was Snow White or Cinderella, and yet I knew that it was just pretend. I do think that fairytales have the potential to create unrealistic expectations however I also think that these unrealistic expectations are all over the place. Viewers, both young and old, can get these “ideal images” through all kinds of media, not just in fairytales. If fairytales were to be taken away from schools and bookstores, wouldn’t magazines, television shows and other movies need to be taken away as well? I think wherever you turn you will find these problems. It’s up to the parents what they expose their children to and how they go about doing it.
I agree, fairy tales should not be taken away from children’s library. Even though fairy tales may expose unrealistic stories toward young readers, it provides them to imaginatively experience a new world apart from ours, similar to other books for young readers. For example, historical fictions may not always provide readers with realistic stories as time periods differ, hence why portray fairy tales as something dangerous for young readers to read? Moreover, fairy tales are shifting appearances of characters and stories towards diversity in which young readers can indirectly learn different races, cultures, and gender roles.
Fairy tales is another type of various books available for young readers in implementing creativity and imaginative thoughts. Therefore, there is no particular reason of prohibiting such stories from readers since they naturally realize the differences within characters in the stories as they grow and learn further values in lives through other various books.
I do not believe that these type of books should be taken out of schools. I think adults often times don't give children the amount of credit they deserve. Like you said they may imagine themselves as the princess and play dress-up but at the same time they see the same world they are living in and the problems that comes in the world. They see broken families and women working and can distinguish the difference. It may teach the that pink is a girl color but there is no harm in this extent.
I don't agree with your oppinion. It is ture that fairy tales has some influence in manipulating the minds of young children who read them. But I think young childrens do need the fairy tales for building their concept about the world. I agree that there is a general stereotype about the traditional form of "Princess and Prince fairy tales", but I think children do need this sort of book to show them and teach them the beauty of the world. Young children who are the main reader of those fairy tales needs a kind of protection, they need to have a believe that the world is good, kind, and hopeful. Everyone will grow up and will discover the dark side of the real life in the future, therefore I don't think the fairy tales will misleading anyone base on a long-term considerations.
In my conclusion, children needs fairy tales to show them the beautiful side of the world when they were young, and after grown up they will not have their conception of life based on the fantasy because people getting mature over time, and will learn what the world really are.
So if children are being manipulated by this sense of imagination, should children's fantasy books be taken out of schools and off the shelves of bookstores?
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