Blog Post
Emma Holman
Week 8
Hyperlinks
“Flawed Fairytales and Toys”
The definition of fairytale is a story about fairies
which are told to amuse children that are interesting but highly implausible,
which are told as an excuse. Children only seeing the rainbows
and glitter of fairytales but what they cannot see is what adults sees
which is hidden by the glitz and glam. A young girl would conclude from a
fairytale that if you dream to the fullest, your desires automatically come
true. Which is stating that you are destined to find your “prince” or
“princess” by simply waiting around. These fairy tales such as Disney’s
Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have a much
deeper significance.
However we do
not pick up on the “secret education” of these fairytale movies until we are
past our childhood. For example the tale of Cinderella, a story
we all know where she loses her mother. Her father marries a vile women, who
treat Cinderella as a servant the moment her father dies. She continues to
suffer from her evil stepsisters. Then appears her fairy godmother, which
builds up Cinderella’s confidence to attend the ball. Cinderella is sent off in
a pumpkin carriage in a beautiful blue gown. She dances with the prince but as
the clock strikes midnight she must be home so her stepmother will not know she
snuck out. Later she realizes that she lost her sliver shoe. The prince
remembered her by the glass slipper. In my opinion I would rather not be
remembered by a shoe because what is the likelihood that a prince would find
you. Then Cinderella lives happily ever after with prince.
I would much rather be remembered by my personality
or my laugh, something real not superficial. This story brainwashes young girls
to think that life is all about finding your true love. Many marriages barely
last a year, the idea of happily ever after is rare to find. My parents are one
of the few parents I know that have been married well over 20 years. 43%
of marriages will not makeit to their 50th anniversary. Cinderella
also shows that wearing beautiful clothing and eating just enough so you can
“look” appealing to the opposite sex is suppose to make your life worthwhile.
The
Disney Princesses continue to show young girls to think with only your heart
but not with your heart and head. All of the princesses were at a very young age.
Cinderella was 19 years old, Belle was 17, Aurora was only 16, and Ariel was 16
years old when they meet their prince charming. Ariel gave up her voice toUrsula because she
saw a handsome man and could not control her emotions. She risked her chance of
speaking simply because she wanted to marry someone she barely knew. The only
thing the handsome man knew about Ariel was that she could sing
beautifully. This could imply that you should be married young or be in a
committed relationship in your teen years. Yet this implication is not true
because there is not rule that states all girls should be dating or married
when you are only a teenager. This is time
where you figure out yourself and figure out what you want out of life.
While movies such as Disney distort our reality,
some toys have the same affect. For example, Barbie, who was given the so
called “perfect height”, perfect weight” and she always wears stylish clothes.
Barbie always fashions her bright blue sparkly eye makeup. However Barbie is
anything but perfect, she is made of plastic. Barbie comprised of very
impractical body measurements, for example her neck is twice as long and six
inches thinner than the average women as a result she would not be able to lift
her head. Her waist is 16 inches, which is smaller than her head. Barbie’s leg
are 50% longer than her arms, the average women’s legs are only 20% longer than
their arms.
The world needs to be more realistic in the toys and movies that
produced because it has such an affect on young girls. From these kind of
pressures it causes so many issues for young girls. For example society
believes that women are meant to look one way. Which consists of
having long legs, long blonde hair and weight 125 pounds. When
we do not look these way women criticize themselves including girls as
young as 10 and 11 years old and even myself. Instead we should be seeing
that there are many kinds of beauty and that it is beneath the skin as well.
Emma,
ReplyDeleteFascinating observation on Cinderella eating just enough to look good. She probably isn't given much but since she prepares the food, she could easily sneak as much as she wants but she doesn't. Perhaps it is so she can be considered pretty. Hmmm...
I think the princesses getting married when they are teen thing is another throw back to when the fairy tale was written. Back then, that's how it was done but it does convey the wrong message to girls. You made another great point when you say they teach girls to trust their heart, not their heart and mind! If they did that, they probably wouldn't get married so young!
Interesting facts about Barbie's measurements too.