Preview

Disney Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1948 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Disney Essay
Zuki Ekic
Professor Barron
English 102
21 June 2012

The Truth Behind Disney
The documentary “Mickey Mouse Monopoly” written by Chyng Sun and directed by Miguel Picker, discusses the truth behind Disney and the message it gives to young children. Disney portrays a lot of racism in their movies by correlating black or dark animals as being evil and always up to no good. This teaches little kids that people of color are monstrous and bad people when really they 're not. It 's not common to see an African American or Latino as an actual person in Disney as they are always some sort of animal. As a matter of fact, according to “Mickey Mouse Monopoly, it took 56 years for Disney to create a film that featured a dark skinner hero and heroine.” Disney also has a lot of sexism in their movies. The guys are seen as the most powerful and they are always saving the girl in the end. Even if the girl saves herself, a character like Tarzan would always find a way to save her. Men in Disney are never seen cleaning or cooking they are usually outside working and or fighting with someone. Women are seen as the weaker sex which correlates to how it is in reality. All the women in Disney are cooking, cleaning, they have to be calm and collective, they don 't fight, they can 't get angry at a male, and they do all this just to be able to get a husband. When Mulan, for example, came back from fighting in the war, her grandma 's first words were asking if she brought back home a man. Lastly, Disney makes young girls believe that they 're bodies have to be perfect and with their perfect bodies is how they will get whatever they want. There is a lot of sexual appeal when it comes to women in Disney and this sets very high standards and demands for young girls that love watching The Little Mermaid or Aladdin and Jasmine. Both of the females in those films have perfect little bodies with feminine curves and the most beautiful hair. The documentary is right about correlating Disney


Cited: Business media, 2010. Sun, Chyng-Feng and Miguel Picker. Mickey Mouse Monopoly. Media Education Foundation, 2011
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Racist and Sexist Stereotypes in Disney's Aladdin
    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Racist and Sexist Stereotypes in Disney's Aladdin

    Disney has come under fire in recent years for the obvious racist and sexist visuals and sounds that appear in countless Disney children movies. The movie Aladdin is full of racist stereotypes dealing with the Middle East and its people and also sexist stereotypes against women. These stereotypes are found all throughout the movie and are obvious. There is no attempt to hide them; the remarks are blatantly stated and shown constantly within the natural flow of the movie.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Course Project - Walt Disney
    • 3690 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Course Project - Walt Disney

    [1] What is the amount of property and equipment on the balance sheet for the two most recent years? What is the amount of depreciation expense? What amounts are on the cash flow statement for the most recent year that relate to depreciation, gains and sales of property and equipment, and purchases and sale of property of equipment? What amounts are permitted for inclusion in the capitalized cost of property and equipment?…

    • 3690 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Commercialization Of Disney Movies Summary
    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Commercialization Of Disney Movies Summary

    This author, Peggy Orenstein talks about and argues that the isolation of boys and girls are pretty relevant through the commercialization of Disney films and toys when all is said in done. Disney and toy organizations are promoting gender roles as a hidden topic in the matter of what boys and girls ought to partake and be. The view of Disney films creates what girls and boys should and shouldn't make strive toward in the public eye. Orenstein demonstrates that gender roles are made through the utilization of Disney motion pictures. The one point I might want to grow and remark on is the commercialization of the Disney princesses Orenstein discusses with her friends.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Disney Princess Role Model
    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Disney Princess Role Model

    For the past seventy-eight years, Disney has been creating disney princess movies, a phenomenon that has swept the world, with worldwide gross of up to six hundred million dollars. Little girls from the age of two watch and enjoy these chauvinist movies, spending hundreds on outfits so that they can resemble their most idealized princess. The official disney princess line-up includes Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Merida. While a single caucasian girl’s dream is blossoming, dreaming about the multiple princesses she could grow up to be, an african american girl’s is falling to pieces, with only a single idealized role model to chose from. While a child yearns for a prince to sweep…

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Sociology: Toy Store Analysis
    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sociology: Toy Store Analysis

    This was clearly the goal of the Flagship Disney store that I walked into at the South Shore Plaza Mall in Braintree, MA. It was amazing to see the imaginary worlds of Disney movies captured in the cold, hard, sophisticated products of the capitalistic machine. Forget the adults, they might as well be walking bank accounts when they enter the world of fantasy that Disney has created for today’s youngsters. I was bombarded by the amazing array of colors as soon as I entered the door. When I regained my focus and was able to actually look around I wondered if Disney had somehow separated their store chains into individual stores for girls and boys. Very quickly I realized that the store actually had toys and other products for both boys and girls but was overwhelmingly geared towards girls. Not only was 90 percent of the product gendered feminine the majority of that 90 percent female product was what I would call princess product. Furthermore over 60 percent of the Princesses displayed were raced white. At this moment in time I realized that this store was the intersection of capitalist marketing, racial stigmatization, and the scripting of young girls.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Disney The Little Mermaid Analysis
    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Disney The Little Mermaid Analysis

    I do agree that Disney does follow a lot of the Gender stereotypes. In Disney, Women have to be really skinny and white to be beautiful, which is not true they focus on outer beauty and not inner beauty. They are teaching little girls beauty is being white and skinny that is resulting in an image and standards set for girls. I totally disagree with that and think Beauty should vary and not be just be white and skinny. In "The little Mermaid" many stereotypes are involved involving Ariel and her prince. They teach the idea of changing who you are to be with someone and not following the idea of "being yourself". They teach the idea that women are submissive. I think symbolically it even goes deeper to say that women give up their voice to be…

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Stereotypes In The Lion King And Aladdin
    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Stereotypes In The Lion King And Aladdin

    So here you are watching what you think is an innocent Disney movie, free of harm, but yet if you watch closely you can see that they are anything but innocent. Two major Disney produced movies, The Lion King and Aladdin were both major hits despite that fact that they both have unrealized racial subliminal messages. Despite this, Disney is still known as one of the major and most successful movie companies. Now who wants their young kids watching movies filled with racial innuendos? The problem is that no one is realizing them.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Snow White Gender Analysis
    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Snow White Gender Analysis

    For generations, Walt Disney films have been a “must watch” by parents, children and their families. However, these people may not see the hidden meanings behind Disney films. Currently, children are constantly exposed to media and opinions inherently presented within television, films, radio, books and more. Disney films are no exception. The films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty all reinforce traditional gender roles, and the idea that lightness is supreme and will help when it comes to goodness conquering evil.…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Compare/Contrast Cinderella Essay
    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Compare/Contrast Cinderella Essay

    “The Walt Disney Company is a powerful economic and cultural phenomenon known throughout the United States and the world as a provider of family entertainment (Maltin, 1, 308). Its media and entertainment holdings establish it as a central communicator in contemporary life. As such, it provides many of the first narratives children use to learn about the world” (Ward, 1). Disney has always been family oriented making it one of the main attractions of reading something Disney. They always have an innocent feeling to their stories, which makes it more appealing for children. But in Vietnamese fairytales a family oriented story may be somewhat gory or violent. “The stories from Vietnam tell us about their culture, their beliefs, and their determination throughout time” (Ly, 1). The 1950 version of “Cinderella”, written by Walter Disney and adapted by Campbell Grant, has some differences and similarities to the Vietnamese “Tam and Cam”, by Vo Van Thang and Jim Larsen. They differ in their violent content in their stories but similarly have a great deal of magic included and also both have prevalent characters to help them find their way.…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mickey Mouse Monopoly
    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mickey Mouse Monopoly

    The film Mickey Mouse Monopoly is an overview of how sociological ideas presented in Disney films effects the cultural development of children. The idea of using “cookie cutter” stereotypes of gender and age to influence how children perceive those of not only different gender, but race, and how they should act and perceive themselves. The film also deals with the idea of how these controlling images of Disney’s are unescapable.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Disney Films Should or Should Not be Shown To Children
    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Disney Films Should or Should Not be Shown To Children

    The greater young children loved the Disney films, the more influence the hidden messages the films have on us. While young children enjoy the courage of the little mermaid to give up her voice, her comfort and her family to marry the prince, they also accepted the idea that love is above everything. This was certainly a bad influence on girls because this was not how real society worked. Parents did not realize, the seed of conflict were embedded in their childrens mind just for watching a cartoon.…

    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In Today's Society
    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gender Roles In Today's Society

    Disney is a very popular company. Many of us grew up watching their movies and shows. Many of us don’t see what they are doing until we have grown up and become exposed to how women are not treated equal. Disney has many movies with showed many things be seen as stated here, “the author cited numerous examples of both sexism and racism in the films, specifically noting the heroines’ extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breast. (England 556)” They have the image of women to be light skin, skinny, and mainly be more attractive to men. Disney shows that women need be the person to get the help, not them helping themselves. In many movies you will see the ‘princess’ will be confronted with some problem that…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Gender Socialization in Disney Movies
    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender Socialization in Disney Movies

    Gender socialization is defined as the process in which societal factors such as school, family, and the media, teach children their gender roles at an early age and those roles are continually reinforced throughout their lives. Boys are raised to adjust their behaviors and actions to the male gender role, while girls are raised to adapt to the female gender role. Schools reinforce such roles by enforcing uniform policies; for example, in some schools, girls are required to wear skirts while boys are required to don pants. Children are also segregated through lines by their gender. Family members have a big impact on gender socialization, since gender roles are imposed as early as the infancy period. Also, girls in the family are taught nurturing behaviors, things such as cleaning and cooking; while boys in the family do not exercise nurturing behaviors, but are rather encouraged to go out and be adventurous. Many forms of media such as advertisements and television shows often portray men as the bread-winner and show women in more of a domestic role. In commercials, men typically advertise things like tools; while on the other hand, women would be advertising household cleaning devices. I will be explaining how another form of the media—specifically Disney movies, also influences the construction of gender roles in society. I chose to explore Disney movies, because a lot of people have watched Disney films while they were young. Many girls, such as I, wanted to be a princess living in a beautiful castle, while many boys wanted to grow up to be strong and muscular, and to be a leader. While many see no harm in Disney films, they actually perpetuate…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Disney and Masculinity
    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Disney and Masculinity

    today I want to present my project about how Disney films show masucliity in almost all Disney movies and the four types of masculinity.i want to give everyone the idea of how disney have shaped and influenecesx the idea of masculinity,feminisxm and gender roles in young kids . Disney has many films in ehich thy show masuclinyt, feminicism and gender roles and often include violence,sexist relationships, and show dominance to show power. And often many young kids imitate these characteristics and grow up with them and even feel uncomfortable or f eel less than the rest of the young boys when they realizr that they don’t have these characteristics. As we all grew up we remember watching a lot of Disney movies and remember most of the characters and the stories. For young boys there was such films such as lion king,toy story,ect and for young girls there are many princess stories like Cinderella, Pocahontas,little mermaid, etc. but does anybody wonder or think about how Disneys ideas of masculinity have affected the men of today or will affect the man of tomorrow? We often think or remember about the princesses finding their own prince charming and how the male has certain characteristics that show authority and power, well, this one of the many things that Disney have made us believe and we grew up with this idea.but for my project, I wanredto be specific and wanted to focus more on masculimty and the four types of masculinity that Disney uses as well as sexism in films.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mickey Mouse Monopoly
    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mickey Mouse Monopoly

    Disney creates gender roles, racial roles, and white supremacy through socialization within their motion pictures. For example, Walt Disney’s “Snow White”, “Fantasia”, and even “The Little Mermaid” all show females as obscenely beautiful, male dependent and flirtatious creatures who couldn’t save themselves from a Chinese finger trap. Males are the perfectly sculpted rescuers who can be easily wooed by a woman’s body; and these exaggerated roles create a false standard for children and can lead to severely underdeveloped sociological skills. Moving onto the racial roles; in the movie “All dogs go to heaven”, the Chihuahua had a clearly Hispanic accent and attempted to steal a car with nothing but enjoyment on his face, teaching young children that people who sound like the Chihuahua (Latinos) like to steal. Another example of this is the hyenas in “The Lion King”. A woman in the film expressed worry and discomfort when her child identified the hyenas in the film to African American children, simply by listening to their speech patterns. Finally, white supremacy is rampant in Disney. Excluding “Mulan” and “Pocahontas”, “Aladdin”, and “The Princess and the Frog”, nearly every human character in every movie, is white. And when there are other races brought into the film, many times they are mocked or have funny speech patterns or are represented in the wrong light, like the Magpies from “Dumbo”. The birds’ speech and song are clearly Black and are even referred to by some as the “Nigger Birds”, while Dumbo walks away earning sympathy from the audience and the birds, and those they remind people of, gain only hatred.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics