Princesses Spreading Positivity

Many times in class, we can get caught up in looking solely at the negatives of Disney Princess culture. Here is a heartwarming video to remind you of something positive that has come out of this franchise:




This warmed my heart. The full article can be found here. Give it a read, and perhaps find your own inspiration to make a child's day!

A Pre-Halloween Scare: Disney Villains In Real Life!

This Buzzfeed article appeared on my newsfeed this afternoon, and not gonna lie, these drawings are spot on. Be sure to give them a look if you wanna get ~spooked~ this Halloween!

Ice Cube+Oliver Twist=?????

Apparently Ice Cube is going to be Fagin in a new Disney musical of Oliver Twist. This could not be worse. I hate the show Oliver so much and honestly, Ice Cube annoys me. I don't know why anyone would have this idea. Also, the director of "Hamilton" agreed to direct this. Is the world losing it's mind? As you can probably tell, I am not looking forward to this, nor do I think it will be a success. Oliver Twist may ask for "more gruel, sir" but I am saying please no thank you!!!!

*sung to the tune of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman"* Do you want to read my blog post?

"For the first time ever" I decided to "let it go" on a Monday and watch Frozen to relax. It certainly did the trick. Between the incredible music, phenomenal characters, and intriguing plot, it's no wonder that the entire world fell in love with Frozen. I don't think it's possible to finish that movie in a bad mood. America has been #living for Frozen since its release in 2013.

Some have tried to explain the reasons why Frozen was so successful. For me, I love it because it's relatable. I love my siblings more than anything else in the world, so I can certainly identify with the sisters in the film. Elsa as a character is also very relatable. Everyone at one time or another has felt uncomfortable in their own skin for whatever reason, whether it be sexuality, race, or nationality, for example. "Let It Go" is a reminder that we are all stronger than our insecurities. The song has remained an anthem to be proud of who you are for the past three years.

Quite a community has been created on the Internet surrounding Frozen. Ever since the sequel was announced, they have been very vocal. They want many things, but something they have been adamant about it giving Elsa a girlfriend in the sequel.

#GiveElsaAGirlfriend has gone viral! Would you like to see Elsa get a girlfriend in the #Frozen sequel?

— Walt Disney Frozen (@FrozenFans) May 4, 2016

I would love to see a princess with a girlfriend. I definitely think that is the future of Disney films. The films can be an important tool in order to raise the next generation with compassion for all sexual orientations. But I think giving Elsa a girlfriend would take away some of the power of the original story. Isn't her living happily ever after with a girl the same as living happily ever after with a man? Isn't that the problem that people have with Disney films? I think it would be a cool opportunity for Disney to just let Elsa run her queendom independently. That, in my opinion, would be just as groundbreaking as a lesbian Queen. It will be interesting to see what the creative team at Disney decides to do.

Also, Frozen does include Disney's first gay character and his family. Oaken, the owner of Wandering Oak's Trading Post and Sauna is seen onscreen with his family. I wish we could learn more about them and that they could have been onscreen longer. But at nearly one hour and 35 minutes, Frozen was already lengthy for its target audience. 


One thing I am excited for in the Frozen sequel is more music. Even though Frozen came out when I was a sophomore in high school, I listened to the album all day long. The music transcended the film, making Frozen even more popular through word (song?) of mouth. Film critic Tim Robey thinks there will be a big duet with the sisters in the sequel:



Can I just say #BLESSED? My favorite song in the movie is the one that the two girls sing together, "For the First Time in Forever- Reprise." 10/10 would recommend a listen:



The casting is honestly perfect. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel are my actual queens. Gossip Girl and Elphaba? Have I died and gone to heaven? Also, Josh Gad is probably one of the funniest people alive. And don't even get me started on Jonathan Groff. With a cast like this, there was honestly no way this movie couldn't be a hit. Look how cute they are!

Rejected #Frozen2 announcement photos: #CantTellItsIce #LooksLikeAPillow pic.twitter.com/8NSwGTo3PN

— Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) March 13, 2015

Backstage with #JohnLasseter after announcing #Frozen2. As you can see we are not mildly excited.

A photo posted by Josh Gad (@joshgad) on Mar 12, 2015 at 11:27am PDT\

Some things that I really love about Frozen are that it breaks Disney norms. As Union College psychologist Erika Wells said "The handsome prince is evil. The person with the magical powers is good. It spins Disney on its head.” The leads are both strong, inspiring, and yet very different females. They talk about things other than men and do all of the rescuing themselves. Who says that true love can only be romantic love? Sister power. It's kind of incredible that the same company that had female characters singing "Leave the sewing to the women" has transformed to have its principle belting beautifully "It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me. I'm free!"

I'll be real though, not everything in Frozen is perfect. Elsa and Anna's parents die in the first ten minutes. #RIPAllDisneyParents. There's hardly any diversity in Arendelle. Also, the men don't sing nearly as much as the women. I'd love to hear Jonathan Groff sing every song in the world. At least the Internet has this:



Frozen goes beyond in terms of plot line, music, casting, message, and fandom. The merchandise, spin off short films (check out Frozen Fever), and costumes are honestly and empire of their own. This leaves much to be desired in Disney's next princess film, Moana. With composers like Lin-Manuel Miranda and actors like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, hopefully it will bring the same great energy as Frozen did to people all around the globe. 

Sneak peek of Moana!

Disney released some clips from Moana! You can watch them both here. In both, you can see Dwayne Johnson already stand out as the egotistical, entertaining, demi-god Maui. Auli'i Cravalho is a headstrong, intelligent Moana. I simply can't wait for this movie! It already seems to be looking great. Now that my night has been made, back to homework!

The OG Rapunzel

Let's dive right into this one. Rapunzel was a much shorter original fairytale than others such as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, which surprised me. That being said, I felt the ending came too quickly, and the story didn't make very much sense. What did the witch want Rapunzel for? It doesn't seem like she knew about her magical healing tears. Did she just want a kid to lock away forever? Also, why would Rapunzel consent to marriage with literally the first man she meets? Definitely a problem.

I couldn't quite understand the moral of the story. In Tangled, the message is that you shouldn't be vain. In the original, I can't tell if it's that you shouldn't lie, or maybe it's that you shouldn't steal. It was very unclear, and in my opinion, I think this makes the story weaker than the other fairytales.

There's no sort of Flynn Rider character mentioned in the original. Flynn is a direct Disney product. In a way, he is cookie cutter Disney. He is charming, good-looking, and just dangerous enough to make him a bad boy who is able to be turned good by the princess. His role is much bigger in the movie because he is the narrator. Lester says this is a problem because Rapunzel is restricted from using her own voice to tell her own story. But then again, its not like she does so in the original. The original is mostly about the evil witch doing things with no sensible motivation.

Disney actually produced something decently entertaining from an original fairytale that was pretty lousy. I definitely give them more credit now, even though they could have done something even better. 

Getting Hairy with Tangled

I have written about my sister a few times on this blog. One fun fact about her is that Tangled is her favorite Disney princess movie. As for me, I just don’t get it.

I found myself extraordinarily bored while watching this movie. Perhaps it is because I have seen it so many times (my mom would play it in the car so my sister could be occupied while she drove me to things). I honestly just find the plot so boring and predictable. Again, we have the princess who is isolated from the world with her evil “mother” and who later on falls in love with the first person she sees. This indicates a huge step backwards in terms of quality of Disney films. Coming after Princess and the Frog, which features an assortment of kooky, fun characters in New Orleans, Tangled is a let down in terms of entertainment.

I think one of the reasons my sister likes this film so much is because she was the target audience when it first came out. She was five years old when my mother took us to the theater to go see it. This film was an important part of her childhood in the same way that I grew up with Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King (even though these movies weren’t released in my lifetime, my parents got them on VHS and I would watch them all the time).

There were many parts of Tangled that reminded me of other Disney films. For example, Mother Gothel falls to her death, just like the Evil Queen in Snow White and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. Also, just like in Beauty and the Beast, the prince comes alive again miraculously after the princess sort of weeps over his limp body. Classic Disney.

I didn’t really understand Mother Gothel’s motivations in this movie. She used Rapunzel’s hair to keep her young for many years. Did she do anything with her youth? It sounded like she rarely left Rapunzel alone in the tower. Why did she need to be young? Did she want to meet men? Did she want to marry for money? I found Mother Gothel’s character to be very shallow. She kidnapped a girl to make her young only to stay inside all the time. She paled in comparison to second wave villains like Ursula, Gaston, and Jafar. Those villains had more depth to them.

One of the scenes I hate the most is when Rapunzel first leaves the tower and is being very wishy-washy about whether or not she should have left. Ugh! Just make a decision and be confident with it, girl! I was honestly cringing at that scene it was so unbearable. I can’t stand people who can’t make up their minds.

There were some positive aspects to Rapunzel. She is smart and resourceful with her hair and frying pan. She finds ways to keep herself busy and educated while locked away in her tower. In fact, before Flynn shows up, she never talks or sings about wanting a man to come and save her, in the way that Snow White and Cinderella do.

The film also had some good music. “I Have a Dream” has been stuck in my head all day and “I See the Light” is on my playlist for destressing. “When Will My Life Begin” is also a great tune.

Overall, I don’t think Tangled is as good as the second wave films. The second wave films have more interesting plots, more diverse characters (I don’t think I saw any people other than Caucasians in Tangled), and less predictability. Tangled is a hairy situation in the midst of some really great third wave films.

I leave you with a chart.

Little Merm Quiz

Here is a super cute quiz that tells you what Little Mermaid character you are based on your seafood preferences. I'm Sebastian :)

Imagination and A Strong, Independent Woman Nation

It’s funny how you don’t realize how much you miss a book until you pick it back up again and start reading. I forgot how much I love Orenstein. Her style and her humor really make the book a delight to read. Some of my favorite parts were when she called a random toy “tawdry and badly made- what a bargain!” and when she said that Edward falling in love with someone as plain, untalented, and helpless as Bella is the true fairy tale of the Twilight series.

Orenstein had some very serious points that made me think. In discussing violent play on pages 98 and 99, Orenstein notes that it can be useful if kids are able to use “their imaginations to create the story lines, props, outcomes.” This type of imaginative play has become rather rare now, since TV programs “essentially became vehicles to sell toys.” This causes kids to simply just copy the story lines they see on TV. Playing all over the country has become “homogenized” because there is no need to imagine what can happen anymore; everything the characters do is shown on screen.

This passage reminded me of an article we read earlier in the year, called “The $500 Million Battle Over Disney’s Princesses” by Claire Suddath. To summarize, Suddath explains that kids want toys that are connected to TV shows or movies. They like characters and stories. Instead of kids creating them themselves, big companies create and market them to kids.

This makes me so upset. Imagination is so important to development and childhood in general. Without imagination, there would be no entrepreneurship. Imagine if Steve Jobs never invented the iPhone. How much worse off would you be?

I am afraid that if kids grow up with stories and characters already shoved down their throats, innovation will cease into oblivion. How can we expect the next generation to create the products and methods that make our lives better without ever letting them explore their imaginations?

Further, Orenstein explores the original fairy tales on page 100. She cites Bruno Bettelheim, and writes, “Fairy tales demonstrate that hardship may be inevitable, but those who stand fast emerge victorious.” This was a much more positive statement than I had seen recently about fairytales, and it’s one that I agree with. Fairy tales are meant to be fictitious. Princesses are meant to undergo hardship and end up happy. In Disney versions of fairy tales, happiness equates to marrying a prince, which is problematic. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Orenstein points to The Paper Bag Princess, in which the heroine is rejected by a prince because of her paper bag appearance, so she dumps him and goes independently on her merry way. I certainly didn’t know there were fairy tales where the princess can find happiness in being alone. While Orenstein thinks this is flawed because she wants her daughter to still find a man that makes her happy, I believe that girls will try to do that no matter what, but they should be taught that they don’t have to stick around jerks, and that it is possible to be happy and single. This is the opposite of what Twilight tells teens. Bella is always unhappy unless she is with a guy. UGH! I hate Twilight and so does Orenstein. It’s unrealistic and the characters are annoying. I’m getting heated just writing about it now.

It was great to explore the problems with princess culture with Orenstein again. I look forward to reading what else she has to say soon!

Disney Stock- Is the cost to society worth it?

One of my assignments for my Political Economy class is to participate in a virtual stock exchange simulation. We each were given $100,000, and the goal is to beat the teacher's randomly selected stock (RSP) portfolio. This counts for 10% of our grade.

My stock has not been doing too well. The RSP is up 6% and I've made $37. This is one of the reasons I was drawn to this article, "10 Reasons to Buy Disney Stock and Never Sell."

However, that got me thinking. This is what gets Orenstein mad. Disney is a great investment because all they want to do is make money. Inspiring and empowering young girls (through their #DreamBigPrincess campaign, for example) will always come second to releasing a successful film that will create a franchise. What does this tell us about the products it is putting into our lives?

Is this materialistic society that Disney is cultivating worth it? At this point, is there anything we can do to stop it? It will be interesting to see how huge franchises like Frozen affect our lives.

The Pseudo-Feminist and the Beast

One of the many highlights of my fall break was watching Beauty and the Beast. It was great to reconnect with a classic childhood film; there's truly nothing better than listening to "Tale as Old as Time" in your own bed with some hot chocolate. Shameless plug: Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts) was in the original Broadway cast of "Sweeney Todd," and you should come see Hoof 'n' Horn's production of "Sweeney Todd" (I'm in it!).

Now that the promotion is out of the way, its time to delve into things between Belle and the Beast. There are a few specific things that struck me after watching the film.

1. The Relationship Between Belle and the Beast
There are many things that are different in this relationship than in first wave relationships. First, Belle and the Beast actually spend time together before falling in love. Granted, it was because he takes her as a prisoner, but they spend some quality time reading, playing in the snow, eating, and dancing before they say they love each other. First wave princess Snow White meets her prince one time (and runs away from him) and then doesn't see him again until he kisses her and wakes her up from a spell. Over time, Disney seems to let its princesses spend more time with the princes before they live happily ever after. Also, the phrase "I love you" is spoken in these film, whereas in the older films it is just suggested that the two people love each other as they ride off into the sunset together.

Something that hit me harder as an adult than as a child is that the Beast is an actual Beast. His paws dwarf Belle's dainty hands, and his chest is broader than even Gaston's. Some argue that Belle experiences Stockholm syndrome, while others deny it.  A story that was supposed to be about loving people for who they are on the inside falls flat because of the unnatural love between an animal and a girl. It is a shame that memes like this exist since the authors had good intentions, but it really is quite an odd story when you think about it.
 


2. Plot Holes
There are many, many, many articles that detail the numerous plot holes in the story. How does Chip exist? How does the portrait of Adam as an adult travel through time? Whose clothes is Belle wearing? These questions and more have haunted me since I rewatched the movie, and they are quite interesting to read. Perhaps some of them will be answered in the live action film in 2017! The trailer already features a more realistic, younger looking portrait of Adam.
 (2017)  (1991)

3. Belle as a Pseudo-Feminist
The second wave of princesses are generally known as the pseudo-feminists. There are a few things that are considerably better about Belle than her predecessors. She loves to read although many of her fellow villagers call her odd for being a woman who reads. She doesn't cook or clean like Cinderella and Snow White, and she spends some time with her man before she lets him put a ring on it. She also doesn't just go for the first guy she meets, even though Gaston is admired by the villagers for being handsome and strong. She doesn't just sing about a prince like Snow White and Cinderella. Rather, Belle sings about "adventure in the great wide somewhere" and wanting more than "this provincial life." 

Yet Belle choses to abandon these dreams to marry a prince and live in a giant castle, so the story doesn't end much differently than the first wave films. At least we know Belle gets a library.


Hopefully by casting the incredibly talented and dedicated feminist Emma Watson as Belle in the live action film, audiences will get to see more qualities of the princess that make her suitable as a role model for young kids other than the fact that she likes books.

Overall, this film was significantly better than anything in the first wave, though not flawless. A few questions remain in my mind, though. Why does Disney always give the princesses non-human pals (animals or inanimate objects)? Why have all the mothers we've seen either been evil step-mothers (first wave) or simply absent (second wave)? And lastly, what effect do these choices have on young children who watch these movies? Hopefully in class we can discuss and find out. 

I leave you with one last meme.