My husband recently forwarded me a link to a blog called Geek Dad, and though it's not a part of my usual blog-browsing circuit, it talks about some great things concerning parents and kids. And since I'm one of those parents who suspiciously believes the "heroins" in older Disney cartoons were specifically created and marketed to keep archaic gender roles in play, my husband knew I'd appreciate the post titled: Top 10 Bad Messages from Good Movies. So in the spirit of not wanting to try and repeat something that's already been so well said, and general laziness, I'm posting my Top 5 of those 10 Bad Messages. But first, here's what the author of Geek Dad had to say about the list:
"Quality doesn’t generally come into play when it comes to messages: There are plenty of bad movies whose messages are perfectly benign, and plenty of good movies that have messages you definitely wouldn’t want your kids to take to heart. It is this latter category with which this list is concerned."
Coming in at number 5...
5. If you’re not born with special abilities, you’re never going to be any good at some things, no matter how hard you try (from the Harry Potter movies, and, of course, books).
"In the world of Harry Potter, there are those who are born with magical abilities, and those who aren’t. There’s even a word, “squib,” for people born to wizarding families who can’t do magic. It’s made very clear in the stories that, if you’re unlucky enough to be born without magical talent, you’re never going to amount to anything in that world and might as well not try."
4. Unconventional creative play is very, very wrong (from Toy Story).
"Sid, the kid next door, is portrayed as basically evil. The movie makes him out this way because he pulls toys apart and reassembles them in strange ways, and likes to blow things up. In other words, he’s a geek. If the toys weren’t alive — and Sid can surely be forgiven for not realizing that they were — his behavior would be perhaps a little extreme, but not in any way wrong, especially for a kid his age."
3. Kissing sleeping women you don’t know will wake them up and lead to them falling in love with you (from Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).
"We don’t really need to explain this one further than that, do we? I mean, we all know the stories."
2. If you’re a really good person, but in a lousy situation, simply wait around and eventually good things will just happen to you (from Cinderella).
"Cinderella ends up living happily ever after, but not because of anything she did. If the Fairy Godmother (a deus ex machina if ever there was one) hadn’t appeared, it’s a sure thing Cinderella wouldn’t have done anything on her own to get out of the house. Yes, her stepmother and stepsisters treated her terribly, and one could argue that she deserves a Fairy Godmother. But — stop me if you’ve heard this before — life isn’t fair, so why should she get something just because karma says she deserves it?"
1. It’s OK to completely change your physical appearance and way of life for the person you love, even if he makes no sacrifices at all (from The Little Mermaid).
"This movie has the single most appalling ending of any Disney movie ever made, which is a shame because, apart from that, it’s a decent film. I just cannot comprehend how anyone could make a movie in the late 1980s with this message, which is not exactly subtle: Ariel gives up her home, her family, and BEING A MERMAID because she loves Eric so. And he gives up … nothing. Yeah, that marriage is off to a great start."
OK, I'm off to do some damage control.... And speaking of damage control, is it normal for six-year-olds to be that afraid of Chucky the doll in Child's Play?
Totally agree with you about the Disney princesses, but I have to take exception when it comes to Harry Potter, because in the Potter books and movies there are so many strong messages saying the exact opposite. That there are things far more important than natural ability - things like courage, loyalty, friendship and love.
Hermione is the best example of this - many times it's emphasized that she does not have the same abilities as Harry, but she makes up for the fact by studying her brains out and knowing as much as she can about magic and how it works.
Neville also has lots of trouble performing up to standard, but in the end it's his Gryffindor qualities of courage and loyalty that save the day.
Hagrid - not so good with magic or teaching, but Dumbledore keeps him on at Hogwarts anyway, just as he does professor Trelawney, because there are some things more valuable than ability or even competence.
Our anti-hero Slughorn is a great negative example of someone who values people based on their abilities or accomplishments - and this behavior is treated in quite a negative light in the books.
Voldemort of course is the ultimate example of this - he worships only ability and power. And it's really not through their magical abilities that our heroes manage to defeat Voldemort (because they're no match for him), but by relying on each other - friendship, trust, hope - all the stuff Voldemort doesn't have.
Posted by: Marcy Davis | 06 January 2011 at 10:09 AM
Thanks for sharing your comments Marcy. I love the Harry Potter books and I totally agree with the points you're making. I think Geek Dad highlighted the bad messages well though, with the princess movies definitely taking the cake.
Posted by: One Rare Bird | 06 January 2011 at 11:19 AM
For some reason Geek Dad's comment really pushed my buttons. (I see from the comments on his blog page that others are getting theirs pushed too, lol.) I had to think about it a while before I figured out why it bothered me so much. I guess because the criticism seems unfair. He uses the example of squibs, but he fails to differentiate between an author including an element in a story and an author actually _condoning_ the element. And I don't think the story supports that second conclusion.
One of the things I appreciate most about Rowling is the care she's taken to create a complex world where good and evil aren't always as easy to identify as we'd like; on some deep level, Harry Potter presents a closer picture of reality than a lot of kids books I've read, or adult books for that matter. (Did I just use reality and Harry Potter in the same sentence?)
I see Rowling trying to paint a true picture of human nature: one showing that even the best, kindest, most well-intentioned people can act in unkind ways, individually or corporately.
Hermione and Harry offer an outsider's view into the magical world - they're the ones who see the treatment of squibs, or house elves, or goblins, for the injustice it is, while their magical friends mostly take the status quo for granted. Dumbledore is a great example of someone who changed and grew, from helping the family hide his squib sister to later standing up for muggles and enlisting the aid of a squib like Mrs. Figg to watch over Harry. And let's not forget the fact that Hermione spent most of book 4 trying to win freedom for house elves. It didn't work, of course, which I think injected another dose of realism into the story - some kinds of evil are a lot harder to fight, and take a lot longer to defeat than others.
To me it seems the lesson isn't 'if you don't have special powers you shouldn't even try.' Rather, I think the point is that we already live in a world where people have a tendency to treat each other that way. None of us are immune from the impulse. Pointing the fact out at least raises awareness and offers us hope for change.
Posted by: Marcy Davis | 06 January 2011 at 02:10 PM
I'm glad I hit on a topic that struck a cord with you :) Thanks again for you input!
Posted by: One Rare Bird | 06 January 2011 at 06:25 PM