The Disney Movie

Out of the three videos we watched in class I found the Disney one the most interesting. It was neat to see all of the ways in which Disney movies actually shape the way in which children view different races, beliefs, and even their perspective of history. The examples given and clips shown from different Disney movies were very interesting to see how different races were portrayed in these movies. One comment that really struck me was when they were talking about native Americans and how, when children were asked to dance like them, they would jump up and down and hit their hand over their mouths. I can specifically remember kids doing this in elementary school, and I began thinking about how much different Disney movies actually shape kids perspectives on the world.

The more I began to think about this I realized that I do not think that Disney are the only people to blame. Growing up kids are exposed to all kinds of media, much of which have stereotypes, and certain expectations for the sexes of characters and how they interact with their world around them. These perspectives shape how people view the world but I also feel that they are rooted in our society by people themselves. Stereotypes would not exist if they were extremely inaccurate and not to be racist but there is some truth behind stereotypes. I think that there is a reason stereotypes develop and while it is definitely wrong to assume something about someone because of their race or sex, some of the stereotypes are somewhat truthful. Even in many sitcoms today there are mothers attempting to get their daughters to be married, this is just one example I can think of that was referenced in Disney movies. I think that many of these stereotypes are created by the society itself, and then simply exploited in the media, I do not think that the media creates these types of stereotypes. What do you guys think?

Lastly I just wanted to comment about the part where they talk about video games and toys destroying kids imagination. I do think it is important that kids play outside and discover the world on their own, but I also think that video games develop certain things such as analytic skills that are not easily learned by playing in the yard. I think that a healthy combination of play outside for physical development and video games for intellectual development is optimal for children. Do you guys think kids should stop playing video games or have them incorporated into their play?