Asking me to challenge my love of Disney has been an uncomfortable experience—and really the first such confrontation of the semester. The majority of our topics have been easy to nod along with. Yes, it’s wrong that all black people are represented as criminals. Yes, advertising preys on our insecurities. Yes, gay men are stereotyped on television. Of course, of course. We get it.
But deconstructing the magic and happiness of a Disney movie is quite another perspective. The cognitive dissonance was jarring, and I was not at all surprised when many of my classmates defended the films. I grew up on Disney, as did most children I knew. And, yes, I dressed up as a princess. Though have long since given up on the idea that “someday my prince will come.”
At the same time, it was good to hear the perspectives of non-white students—their not seeing characters they could emulate, the lack of roles for them to take on in playground re-creations, the struggle to find themselves reflected in animated characters. As a white girl, I saw myself in every movie…usually wearing a pretty dress and a crown at the end. It just didn’t occur to me that everyone didn’t see the same.
It’s a good approach for a deeper discussion on analyzing other cultural norms and accepted elements around us, and would serve this course well to have this topic earlier in the semester.
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