How Do Disney Movies Have A Negative Influence On Children

The portrayal of older characters in Disney animated films presented the thoughts of stereotypes being present among children who have access to media devices as well as through their own familiarities. In movies, animated Disney movies in particular, older individuals are seen based off of their role through gender, face, position, or appearance. A raised question in the journal was whether these characters changed the feelings of younger children’s opinion on older adults. The researchers involved focused on the depiction of older characters within animated films to see just how influential they are on a younger audience. The findings shown post experiment told that even though many characters in the movies were shown as positively influential, some were shown with a negative influential ability on younger audiences specifically. Those involved lean towards the side stating that these movies do have a powerful influence on children and their research explain why such an occurrence happens.
First and foremost, a breakdown of the product took place among thirty-four Disney movies. Each movie involved, stringently animated Disney movies, were found in a theater at
one point in time. Exclusions took place of computerized films, as well as plot lacking films, and sequels. Individuals known as “coders” broke apart these movies into several categories. After being trained, they were taught to categorize older characters by their differing characteristics. Older characters were based off of standards such as wrinkly skin, gray hair, or baldness. Two individuals involved had the opportunity to determine whether a character was “human” or “nonhuman”. Other variables were present in the experiment, some of which included health, physical ability, outer appearance, and role within a film. After viewing individual characteristics of the older characters, an overall evaluation took place. A reliability test also took place to ensure proper eligibility for the coding system and it proved reliable.
Throughout the examination of all thirty-four films, ninety-three characters of an older age were analyzed through a coding system. All films, excluding one, contained one or more older character. Several questions of interest were answered throughout the experiment, some of which were what personality traits an older character expressed and what the overall description of an older character was. Often, the personality of an older character was either loving and friendly, or hostile and harsh. Over all, in an aspect of positive or negative, fifty-eight percent were coded as positive influences on children. The remaining forty-two percent were shown to be presented in a negative approach. While more were seen as positive, stereotypes about the older characters were present during the research. Some found stereotypes include the usage of a cane or wheelchair, excessive hair loss, or presented ageing.
Overall, in the article, a controversial topic was discussed.
Whether or not elderly characters pose as a negative influence on children giving them harsh feelings towards adults in reality was examined through research. The research concluded that some elderly characters pose as a positive influence to children while some pose as a negative threat. Even though more were viewed as positive, stereotypes were depicted throughout the experiment. Such results allow outsiders to see that animated Disney movies have a variety of characters with multiple influential abilities on an audience. “Disney films may not be the primary source of children's negative perceptions of older people; however, there is evidence that the media do influence children's perceptions” (Robinson, Callister, Magoffin, and Moore,
2007).