Blog #3

Something we recently learned about in class that I thought was significant was the controversy with the major company of Disney. As we talked about in class, Disney has been with family and kids for generations. For most kids, it was a huge part of their childhood and shaped the person they are today. I have always thought Disney has made a positive impact in shaping my childhood and my outlook on things but the discussion we had in class really made me think a lot harder about Disney and the message they are trying to convey. In an article online titled, “Thought Catalog,” by Nico Lang the controversy of Disney is further evaluated. After reading this article and having the discussion in class, I really thought about Beauty and the Beast. I had never really thought about it before but it really is a controversial  plot. First of all the beast kidnaps her and her father and tries to deny her food and water because she will not eat with him. He is abusive and she forgets about all that when she falls in love with him. Many argue that Beauty and the Beast is even a case of Stockholm Syndrome because she ends up falling in love with her kidnapper. After thinking about all these hidden messages I find it much harder to look at Beauty and the Beats the same way I did as a kid. But at the same time I also argue that Disney did not mean to convey these messages. Beauty and the Beast was one of the first Disney classics and at the time it was released many would argue that America was a much less sensitive place. People did not get offended as easily and I don't think many people were really thinking deeply about the messages in the movie, but just trying to enjoy the film. It is good that America is more sensitive now because we live in a more welcoming world but at the same time I wonder if we are being too hard on Disney. Yes a lot of their movies convey women who need men to make them happy or that women have to look a certain way but after thinking deeply into the debate I really do not think that Disney does this on purpose. I think they make the princesses look the way they do because they thought that's what would make them the most money, not because they want children to think that is how they're suppose to be. I think they made Belle fall in the love with the Beast because that's what made the most interesting plot, and I think they made men and women fall in love in all the movies because everybody likes a good love story. This begs the question that if they changed their movies to make it so people were not as offended by them, would they be even close to as popular as the movie would have been originally? Would Disney still be the great cooperation it is today and make all that money? Lastly a great point brought up in class is how hard Disney is working to change the message they convey and still be as popular as they can be. Moana did not need a man and neither did Elsa in the end. Disney is doing as much as they can to not offend people anymore but it makes you wonder if people are just looking for reasons to be mad with Disney or if Disney is actually in the wrong. I believe people are looking for reasons to be offended.