Everyone has all seen a Disney film at one point in our lives. Most of us today have grown up watching Disney films over the past decade or two. While I have enjoyed watching them purely as entertainment when I was younger, watching them now, I am able to recognize underlying themes and ideas that are placed within the stories. I have found that there are three common themes that almost all Disney movies share. These are poetic justice, racism and anti-feminism.
Body1: Happy ending like poetic justice
All of Disney’s animated cartoons have a happy ending with poetic justice. Poetic Justice is the idea that the protagonist of the story is celebrated while the antagonist is punished and given what they deserve. For example, In Cinderella, once she is given glass shoes, she …show more content…
The main female character usually has fair skin, blue eyes, and shining blond hair. Most of the main male characters have fair skin, well-built physique and chiseled features. In Aladdin, the antagonist is given a full beard, clunky nose, and a strong ethnical accent. In The Lion King, the hyenas use African American Vernacular English or Hispanic accented speech. All these factors contribute to the main idea of Disney promoting while privilege. In most Disney fairy tales, the princesses look Caucasian and this sets a standard of beauty for young children. Children are given the impression that you must have fair skin, blue eyes, and other Caucasian features to be considered beautiful. This also discourages children from socializing with others of color or ethnical features, as they associate these attributes with the antagonists in the animated films. This subtle racism is extremely problematic as it encourages a certain standard for beauty that is unattainable for children of various backgrounds, and even shows them that they are not good enough to be idolized like the princesses they see in their movies unless they are
Body1: Happy ending like poetic justice
All of Disney’s animated cartoons have a happy ending with poetic justice. Poetic Justice is the idea that the protagonist of the story is celebrated while the antagonist is punished and given what they deserve. For example, In Cinderella, once she is given glass shoes, she …show more content…
The main female character usually has fair skin, blue eyes, and shining blond hair. Most of the main male characters have fair skin, well-built physique and chiseled features. In Aladdin, the antagonist is given a full beard, clunky nose, and a strong ethnical accent. In The Lion King, the hyenas use African American Vernacular English or Hispanic accented speech. All these factors contribute to the main idea of Disney promoting while privilege. In most Disney fairy tales, the princesses look Caucasian and this sets a standard of beauty for young children. Children are given the impression that you must have fair skin, blue eyes, and other Caucasian features to be considered beautiful. This also discourages children from socializing with others of color or ethnical features, as they associate these attributes with the antagonists in the animated films. This subtle racism is extremely problematic as it encourages a certain standard for beauty that is unattainable for children of various backgrounds, and even shows them that they are not good enough to be idolized like the princesses they see in their movies unless they are