When we hear the name Walt Disney,
we may think of cartoons, Disney characters, Disney World or Land and a host of
childhood movies and memories. The legendary entertainment industry figure is
known for his many achievements like being the first to create the first
full-length animation feature we all know as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Loveable characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck continue to win the
hearts of children in every generation and to this day, the name Disney rings a
familiar bell to anyone of his time and afterwards.
As a kid, I loved Disney characters
and movies. One of my favorite Disney characters
is Tinker Bell and my favorite movie was Aladdin. I must have watched Aladdin
about 1,000 times! As a way to keep me
occupied, family members would often sit me down in front of the TV, popped on
a good Disney movie and let me laugh my little self to sleep. It never failed. But what they didn't know about the truth of Disney is what many still don't know today.
As a preteen and early teenager,
while Disney cartoons weren’t the main focus of my attention, Disney Channel
was a big deal for me. In the early 2000s, Disney shows like Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, Kim Possible,
The Proud Family and That’s So Raven to name a few were mostly all that I
watched.
According to Zacks.com, The Walt
Disney Company was one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world and
rightfully so. Since it was founded in 1923, it has been a major influence in
American media as well as worldwide. The Columbia Journalism Review gives a
breakdown of all the entertainment companies that The Walt Disney Company owns.
From films and theaters to music, television, radio, publishing, parks and
resorts and more, the company owns probably over 100 companies. With this, it
is safe to say that the influence The Walt Disney Company has is pretty
significant.
As influential as Disney is, it has
surfaced over the years that Disney movies have in fact had many shocking subliminal
messages in them. From sexual images to portraying certain races in a negative
light, the Disney company may have more to the agenda than mere entertainment.
So is Disney really that innocent
and should kids be watching it?
After watching a movie in class, we
realize that there is a pattern of a young beautiful maiden being rescued by a
young man. Movies like The Little Mermaid teaches girls they should change for a man and Cinderella that teaches them that outward beauty is what is most important. We also see the images of women being portrayed as having small waist,
big bottoms and breasts, long eye lashes and are overall seductive. We also see
how minorities are portrayed as dirty dogs, hyenas and gorillas and are put
into certain stereotypes.
What about sexual images? Below are just a few sexual images that are portrayed in Disney movies.
The reality is, Disney is not
really as innocent as we would like to think. Many subliminal messages are put
in its products and they are marketing children, teaching them the wrong
things. What we see and hear can definitely
have an impact on us subconsciously. Being bombarded with negative messages
such as what is shown in Disney films and shows can be detrimental to a child and how
they view the world around them.
No comments:
Post a Comment