Disney Princess Movies

I've got fifteen minutes to write this up before going out for a run so here goes!

Finding frost all over my car in the morning has become a fairly regular occurrence. It's pretty, but it's also inconvenient when I have to spend extra time cleaning it off before I drive.

Last night I went to watch this movie with Tanya. I quite enjoyed it, especially the scenes with Pascal and Maximus... the movie really surpassed my expectations! I was constantly laughing and smiling throughout the entire thing. The most impressing thing is really the graphics.. Man, things have really improved since Finding Nemo!

However, like all other Disney movies, there are hundreds of subtle messages aimed at teaching conflicting messages to the public.

*spoiler alert*

What struck me the most was when Flynn Rider observed Rapunzel to be a girl torn between two worlds; between following her dreams and obeying her mother. He makes it sound as if this were expected and a part of the growing-up process. Now to me, this is a dangerous thing to tell a child. You're basically saying to them, it's ok to rebel against your parent because it's natural. The movie then goes on to show how successful Rapunzel is in following her dreams.

Also, it really bothered me that Rapunzel basically went from one bad guy to another- Mother Gothel to Eugene Fitzherbert. From one psychopath to a thief. So being too vain and kidnapping a princess is bad but stealing the princess' crown and wayfaring is glamourous? Aren't both behaviours wrong?

Now I know what you're thinking, that this is JUST a movie for kids and I should stop taking things so seriously, especially if it's all so subtle... But that's just my concern- the subtleness of it all.

Growing up, I've always enjoyed watching Disney movies and my favourites were either Pocahontas or The Little Mermaid.

But after all these years, I've begun to notice common threads in all these princesses.

A) Looks are extremely important to all of them. They are always portrayed as the fairest of them all, or the loveliest one of them all.

B) They've all rebelled against their parents or guardians in one way or another.

C) After rebelling, they go on to pursue untraditional dreams and actually succeed afterwards. This justifies their rebellion in the first place.

D) They live happily ever after of course... And this almost always ends with a kissing scene!

Ok so what about all these similarities?

The thing is, during my teenage years, these were EXACTLY the things I've tried to do, whether unconsciously or not. I was always extremely conscious about how I looked and connected it to worldly success. I also rebelled against my parents, thinking that they wanted the worst for me and that their "traditional" ways weren't as good or exciting as the "modern" activities of the world (thank you MTV). I of course, pursued my broken dreams of "freedom" by moving out of my mom's house and went to live with my ex... This is a fulfillment of the kissing scene in the living happily ever after act that is repeated movie after movie after movie.

My deductions would be dubious if I were the only girl in the world who was stupid enough to incorporate these Disney princess movie themes into my life.

However, statistics and a surface evaluation of our evolving society may prove otherwise.

I see a generation of girls who like me, have forsaken the comfort and safety of their god-given guardianships and are seeking love instead in all the wrong places.

I see women who are addicted to clothes and shopping because they've heard it said somewhere that if you aren't dressed fashionably, they will never find Prince Charming. Even worse are the eating disorders or binge-eating that are inevitable side-effects of such thoughts.

I'm not saying that Disney is evil and that everyone who watches Disney princess movies will become female robots. That is a far-fetched derivation from what I've stated. I am merely stating my observations over the years.

Will I continue to watch Disney movies in the future? Sure. Because who the Son (Jesus Christ) has set free, is free indeed! Now that God has opened my eyes, I can never be blind again unless I choose to close my eyes to these revelations and return to the blindfold I was once imprisoned in.

But I'm not sure if I'll want to expose my future children to such subtle messages after seeing how powerful they've proved to be despite their hidden nature. Unlike adults, children take things for face value and cannot discern between right and wrong in more complicated situations.

Ok 25 minutes are up. Time to go!