Beauty and the Beast, child market media and steering the canoe.

I won't go into too much detail, but of all the people here who consider themselves for gender equality and the things that feminism stands for, how many of you would show your kids Disney movies, or for that matter, were raised on them?

Without going into too much detail, not only does Disney portray the good men as muscular with big eyes and square jaws and women with impossibly skinny wastes nice curves and huge tits, huge eyes, super feminine features, BUT have any of you actually taken the time to think about what message Beauty and the Beast is sending?

Basically, if you're a little girl and you believe in the moral of the story, you're learning that abusive men who hit and forcibly confine you can be turned into beautiful caring princes, so long as the love is real... right?

This is some of the most important things we can do to prevent gender biases: Don't raise your kid on that bullshit!

The TV will make your child brainsick. It is not a good parenting aid. Sitting your kid down to stare at some random crap is very uncaring about what they're going to turn into. I believe that unless you agree with everything that's being shown and encouraged, you shouldn't be showing it to someone who's so young and impressionable as to take it to heart. Please. We talk alot of talk, but this is some of the most important stuff. I hold my tounge when I see all of these parents being idiots with their kids and instilling bad things in them, but enough is enough. You wanted the kid, you better raise it right. This isn't the dog you told your parents you'd feed. This is a highly complex psyche growing under your guidance...

Buh... sorry for ranting. I just think it's some of the most important stuff we can deal with right now.

What do you guys think?

 

Mulan was better. At least she learned kung-fu and saved both the Captain and the Emperor of China.
Hmmm... there are some educational shows (e.g. Sesame Street) that I wouldn't mind letting my son watch.

I think that unless you're willing to throw away the TV (and ban the kids from seeing movies), it helps to watch with your children instead of letting the boob tube babysit them. And not just watch but also think about what you're watching. And discuss them with your children.

Anyway, I think this better fits the Parenting forum but that's up to the moderator.

 

Honestly I loved Disney movies as a kid and I still do love them. They never once made me think that that was what reality is like. It's a fairy tale and I never took it seriously or thought that it in any way portrayed what my real life was going to be.

Regardless your child is going to see things from television or movies and it is up to you to explain to them what you believe in. I guess I just never took movies that seriously growing up so I don't think it has really affected my self-esteem. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites but I took home the message that you can love anyone no matter what they look like. After all, she fell in love with him before he got all handsome. Also the message that people are capable of changing and becoming a better person. In the movie it is clear that at the beginning he is a real asshole but he was able to change... and I think that that is something real.

Also, it is a fairy tale, not a real life portrayal so you can't really compare them.

 

Disney is improving with the times, however delayed they may be. I think they ought to be seen for what they are and with a positive family influence all will be well. I do see your point, but I turned out fine! I am able to keep my opinions about abusive men and female societal expectations while still holding a place in my heart for those Disney movies.

They are colorful and age very well but you should remember how old many of them are. Consider the classics: most black and white films that we treasure contain chauvinistic men and dainty women. I think my parents appreciated quality above all else, even if they did not live their lives the way those movies depict, and knew that no resulting 'morals' would get past them first.

 

FWIW, Beauty and the Beast was a huge step away from the previous Disney fairy tale films. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty - all the princesses there were just waiting to be rescued by Prince Charming. Belle is able, at least, to stand up to the Beast and tell him off: "You should learn to control your temper!"

Actually, if you compared the earlier Disney princesses vs. the later ones (Belle, Ariel, Jasmine), you'd find the latter to be showing rebellious streaks not found in the former. Okay, so they still found Princes of their own and, in the case of Jasmine and Ariel, got rescued by them, but at least they had some initiative - they didn't just passively sit in a tower dreaming of happily ever after.

Later, Disney apparently got tired of princesses - still, they included the rebellious passionate, rule-breaking female character in their animated films (Mulan, Pocahontas).

Basically, I agree with MaccaByrd's statement above: Disney is improving with the times - albeit slowly.

 

Belle is actually one of my favorite heroines. I mostly loved her because she was so into reading which is my main hobby. Also, she sends a good message by refusing to marry the wealthy good looking asshole. If she wanted a real abusive relationship then she would have married that guy.

And Musikero is right, she stood up to the beast and spoke her mind. Like I said before, you as a parent need to be the one to tell kids what morals in movies you agree with or disagree with.

 

Yeah, I remember two years back there was some talk among some Christians to boycott The Golden Compass movie because the author was atheist and his books were anti-Church. And I thought: "Way to go Christians. You've just made everyone you're telling to boycott the movie CURIOUS about watching it." Then I watched the movie and I thought, "What the hell was the fuss all about?" I might even let my son watch it (at an appropriate age of course).

I guess my point is at the end, I'm the one responsible for teaching my child morals. I'm the one who has to set the example - not movies, not television, not any book. If I want my son to learn to be kind, I'm the one who has to teach him that by practicing kindness myself - I can't just plop him in front of the TV and expect him to learn that way. Although of course, I do have to be wary of what's in the media, I can't fully shield him from that; so I have to guide him and make sure he spends more time with real people instead of images on a screen.

 

I find that only the Fairytale Disney movies have sexist stereotypes. Like for instance Mulan which is a great movie to show children because it portrays a girl who becomes a warrior and is equal with guys. The original unedited stories of Brother Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Perrault are more realistic and actually show some instances where woman take control, such as Ariel killing the Prince when he cheated on her with the foreign princess....A bad example, I know but at least these stories mostly do not show the female protagonists as completely helpless. I remember that the Golden Books version of the fairytales that I had read as a child were more liberal than the Disney movies that I had watched also at the same time.

 

Exactly! You and I are so on the same wavelength