Reflection
Like most people of my generation, I grew up watching lots
of cartoons and Disney movies especially. As I have gotten older and I have
re-watched them, however, I have started to see that they all have some pretty
big faults. Cinderella and Aladdin were my two favorite Disney movies when I
was a kid, and I used to watch them over and over again. Both of those movies
may have influenced the way I am today.
One of my friends is reading the original story of Aladdin
for her literature class. When she was telling me about it, I was very
surprised to find out that the original story of Aladdin did not take place in
the Middle East at all. The original story of Aladdin actually took place in
China. To make sure this information was accurate, I looked it up, and indeed,
the original story of Aladdin was Chinese. Why Disney decided to change the
story to take place in the Middle East is beyond me.
After looking up the origins of the Aladdin story, I was
also very curious about the origins of Cinderella. I know that the Disney
version was based off of the tale by the Grimm Brothers, but the original story
was actually written in China as well, and takes place there. However, there
have been more than five hundred versions of the story found in many different
countries and cultures, so the fact that anyone would complain about a black
Cinderella is ridiculous. Disney could of chosen to make Cinderella a person of
color if they’d wanted to, but they did not.
For more race-bent princesses click here
The multicultural issue is obviously not the only thing wrong
with Disney, as the reading explains. There are huge gender issues as well,
both in heroes and in villains. The men are always made to be handsome, strong
and smart, and the women are always dainty and beautiful. The villains are
surprisingly mostly women, and I liked how the reading explained them as “…mean
because they are losing their looks” (130). Too much of Disney’s concepts seem
to be about looks, and they portray beauty the same way each time. I have never
seen a plus size Disney princess, for instance. Disney is a huge follower of
SCWAAMP, as they idealize straightness, whiteness, and maleness.
To end my post, I am going to say that Disney’s newer movies
are making improvements. Brave features a girl who doesn’t want to find a
prince, Frozen focuses on two sisters (I still haven’t seen it but am just
going off of what I’ve heard!), and The Princess and the Frog features an
African American prince and princess. However, there is still a lot of progress
that could be made.
So true, great job, I had no idea that those stories originated in China. How interesting and different than the Disney version we know so well. The villain I think of right away that fits the bitter meanness over losing their looks is the one in Snow White.. Mirror, mirror on the wall.. Who's the fairest one of all.."
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