Mrs. Hill
English Composition 11 117 29, January 2012
A World NOT So Magical Disney is said to be “the happiest place on earth,” but taking a closer look at the real message of Disney’s animated films make writers as well as parents hesitate. In chapter three of The Mouse That Roared by Henry A. Giroux, Giroux writes about the huge industry of Disney and how the animated movies send out messages to kids that might not be the best. In this chapter Giroux talks about how most of Disney’s 1990 movies portray sexist, racism, and evil vs. good; and in writing this Giroux is trying to bring to attention that Disney is not as innocent as everyone sees it to be. When reading this chapter I thought that most of these controversies …show more content…
In many movies that Disney has recently come out with, as well as previous movies, have examples of this gender role. Movies like Tangled, Princess and the Frog, and Mulan. Giroux states “The construction of gender identity for girls and women represents one of the most controversial issues in Disney’s animated films.” (pg 98) What Giroux means is that we, parents, should not be showing little girl children that you should be underneath a man and not being independent. This is a big issue in the world of Disney because in almost every movie you see from the start, women are portrayed as less than men or some say weaker. For an example in the 1989 movie The Little Mermaid Ariel, the mermaid, appears to be struggling for independence with her parents to go out on her own and explore the human world. When she meets handsome prince Eric from up above she instantly falls in love and her main reason changed from being independent to falling in love. To young girls, they see that along with choice and dreams is tied with finding true love with a handsome man. When watching movies like this you tend to not notice these hidden controversies and by taking a second look you realize how negative these films can be towards young girls and their