Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us
By Linda Christensen

In Christensen's article she discusses how the cartoons and movies that we watch and adore as children are actually planting racist and sexist thoughts into our minds. Christensen includes a quote from Beverly Tatum "the impact of racism begins early. Even in our preschool years, we are exposed to misinformation about people different from ourselves". She argues that cartoons that look goofy and harmless on the surface actually have negative underlying messages. The quote from Tatum "the stereotypes and world view embedded in the stories become accepted knowledge". As children we do not have experience with different races and cultures so we only know what we see portrayed of them. For instance, Christensen mentions how in the Little Mermaid Ursala is a darker skinned character and is mean and ugly. The exposure we have to stereotypes portrayed in cartoons not only affects how we see other people but also how we see ourself. We only see the thin, perfectly per portioned, beautiful character getting handsome prince. The not so beautiful characters are always the villains or servants in these movies. We in turn want to look like the different princess characters. Christensen also argues that many Disney movies teach young girls that the only goal in life is to find a husband "Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption-in their case new clothes and a new hair style". This is true in most Disney movies. When the princess wears a new gown and gets dressed up she meets "the man of her dreams". They never meet and fall in love when she is wearing ordinary clothing. I think that this has a huge impact on how materialistic and shallow children are. Also in many Disney movies the female character can only be saved by a handsome man. This is teaching young girls the wrong messages about life. In the article Christensen also mentions that it isn't enough to just criticize these cartoons and movies but to do something about it and take action.

I think that Christensen's article really made me think about all the movies that I loved as a child. Thinking back on these classic princess movies I am beginning to realize they may not necessarily have the greatest underlining message. I can completely see the sexism that is apparent throughout these movies. Thinking back I can also see how body image is portrayed in these films. Although I can see what Christensen is saying I still can't imagine banishing these classic movies forever. These Disney movies will always be a part of who I am and I can't say that I will never watch them again or never show them to my children.