Growing up as a young girl that was very petit, classy and needy. I would say that Disney movies played an important role in my life and the different items “I had to have.” When I was a young girl I had all the Disney movies for VHS listed on the assignment page. An example of synergy is all the Disney products had the different shoes, pajamas, toys, movies, bedroom decorations and more. Any new product that came out from a Disney movie, I made sure my mom brought it for me. However, there was academic excellence that came with being rewarded all these different things. I remember when I was in the third grade I did so well in school, my parents took me to see Disney on ice. THE BEST SHOW EVER!
The cultural theme and characteristics of the given movies all emerged into the same thing, a happy ending. In Disney movies there is always a climax, when something is discovered or someone need to be rescued. In some movies there is always a beautiful princess with the perfect face and body with long straight hair and a prince charming. When children continue to watch movies like these and begin to get influence by their lifestyle. It gives us the impression that like in these movies, this is how life will be and this how we want to look. So we play dress-up in our mother clothes, shoes, and makeup to look as pretty as Cinderella at the ball. All the princess in Disney movies have the perfect body shape, and models do also, as a little girl this what we look up to because we are expose to these types of images based off of the movies and magazines we are interested in. The only Disney movie that I have seen is most recent when I am now 20 years old is Shrek, his princess Fiona turns into a ogre at midnight. With one kiss from a human man or ogre she can be either for the rest of her life, she decides to stay with Shhrek. Her true love, and appear the same way as him except with a dress. Fiona as ogre is not very pretty and don’t have the perfect body put little girls still enjoy her presence. So just as Ariel from Little Mermaid, skinny with long pretty hair influences little girls, so does Fiona a ogre that is green and thick.
This soon takes affect on our parents and friends because we beg our parents to buy us everything that symbolize these movies and characters. After they go out and purchase all the toys and clothes, they get interested in these things also. My mom was always up to date on all the movies and different items that hit the stores. It affect your friends because when you get something cool, fun and amazing to show off to your friend. They will ask their parents to buy them the same toy or shoes, etc. This is building the profits of the seller and contributing to other people collection of toys and more. When you influence one friend or family member to get the item, then they influence others and the change go on. Christmas comes around and you ask your aunt, uncle and grandparents to get you the MySize Princess doll or the Toy Story Motor car. Some way and some how the people who surround you are influence by the things you like.
It didn’t really affect me until I was older and I realize that Disney movies didn’t have colored characters. It really doesn’t affect me now but it seems as though when we are represented it is by a animal with varied skin complexions. An example of this would be the gorillas in the Tarzan movie. Like the video below shows, he only has friends in the jungle that are animals. Animals are different colors so how does skin complexion or race play a factor in these different movies.
Only when these movies are redirected and are remade with real people that we may see black characters, like when Brandy (the singer/actress) played Cinderella. In these cartoons this could give children the impression that black people don’t live fantasy lives like the white prince and princess.
