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Are Disney Movies Subversive?
Posted by Agit8r • 9 days ago • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: feudalist propaganda, right wing bias in media
I recently observed people watching "The Lion King" and I thought to myself how un-American it is to portray royalty in a positive light. The same can be said for numerous Disney movies. How can it be acceptable for an entertainment company to indoctrinate children with these feudal messages!?! 
User Comments
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Why can't a movie just be a movie?-
exactly what i expected from the advocate of kings!
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To the dungeon with ya!
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I loved the Lion King ^_^!
What exactly do you find so bad in the Disney animation/movies?-
I am playing devil's advocate to an certain degree
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Aha! I see ^_^!
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If corporations are going to promote steeply hierarchal society in movies, what if we let them run (charter) schools!?!
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Many fairy tales include the haves (royalty) and have-nots (everybody else), with the have-nots hoping to escape their fate, often by marrying a prince to take them away to happily-ever-after. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Beauty and the Beast. Modern fairy tales are romantic comedies like Pretty Woman. The problem is in real life there aren’t enough princes to go around. We suffer from a prince shortage!-
Well, Prince can only put out so many albums.
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I asked kendall what she wanted to be when she grew up the other day. Her answer was cinderella....poor baby-
i don't know, who's to say she won't find her prince. -
Well I hope ur right,but it's easier to find a needle in a haystack...
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They are using fairy tales to base it on you know. They all have kings, queens, the poor people, and the animals.-
but no democracy?
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this is a little off subject, but i was thinking about aladdin the other day, and how in today's political climate disney would never be able to make that movie! i'm afraid too many people would be saying that it's trying to convert kids or something (i'm from a painfully conservative town)
i say let little kids watch their little kid movies & read them their fairy tales with the royalty! every little kid wants to be a prince/princess at some point!-
The movie originally caused a controversy among Arab Americans over the depiction of their culture:
www.nytimes.com/1993/07/14/opinion/it-s-racist-but-hey-it-s-disney.html -
woah, i had no idea! (i was a little kid when it came out) it's not the controversy i would have really expected, but thinking back about some of the songs, i'm not surprised!
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yeah. about as politically correct as a minstrel show...
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I thought the first Shrek film was a wonderful blowback on the Disney cartoons. The new animated movies by studios like Pixar have tossed royalty overboard. I don’t see any princes and princesses in films like Up, Ice Age, Ratatouille, Incredibles and so on. Finally us lowly have-not oppressed peasant-type unwashed masses are the stars!
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yay for the Third Estate
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I loved the Lion King. Children do not look at things through the eyes of the adults. They have this element of aww and magic among them. They are at a stage where they are learning to me hopeful and have morals. HAKUNA MATATA = No Worries!-
but is this kind of programming setting them up for subservience?
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In real life, the Kings, Princes, and Princesses are people. They are human. They have faults just like everyone else. It doesn't make them a villain or evil. Children learn basic morals and like to see princesses get the prince and the happily ever after. It teaches them that anything is possible. The reality is that it is possible. Perhaps the children seeing all the good that the Prince have done in these fairytales, they will grow up to be better human beings.
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or will they just be crushed when the Aristoi let them down?
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I cheer on the villains in Disney cartoons. Their villains are far more charismatic then any of the BORING heroes. Name ONE Disney cartoon hero who is more interesting then their villain. If you could pick a Disney character to share a beer with, would it be the hero…or the villain!
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See, in real life the kings and princes always were the villians
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You got that right. Brainwash the kids. And buy the plush toy along with the DVD!
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When I watched it when I was younger, I only saw positiveness. I saw Lion King 1 and 2. I even saw Aladdin. He was a thief. But all I saw was courage and love. Are there subliminal messages in disney movies? Yes. There are subliminal messages in all movies. They want you to believe in something, buy something, or continue to view something. In "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", the scene when Jessica's dress flies up and the inappropriate verses, children only see color, rabbits and bunnies. In the "Rescuers", there was a photographic image of a topless woman found in one of the scenes. In 1999, Disney had to recall those videos. Bottom line is, yes there are sub-contents in movies. But isn't it that way in all movies. However, children do not pay attention to what we pay attention too. I of course, never paid attention too the total messages until I got older.
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But I'm not talking about subliminal stuff. i am talking about the more explicit mesages, like that authority is trustworthy. horrible falsehoods
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I don't think that royalty is negative or positive. I feel the same way about the U.S. government. I just believe that children are not looking into those messages like we are. Even if it was right in their face, depending upon the age, it will not capture their attention. But "explicit messages" are definitely not acceptable. However, I don't believe that the child will be paying that much attention to it. Unless, there is Cinderella or Snow White naked up under a towel or something, SINGING!...LOL
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but there has NEVER been a good king, dictator, or other form of arbitrary power. Good things don't happen as a result of higher authority, but by collective vigilance
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You are right there has never been a good king or dictator, etc. However, perhaps when children watch movies that show a good king, dictator, or prince or president, then maybe they will aspire to be that someday. They will aspire to be a good person despite the real-life situations. Thats the only thing that we can hope to learn. If I saw a movie or cartoon that displayed how corrupt and scary the world is today, I think that I and many other people would have been damaged. Sometimes...just sometimes, its good to SUGAR-COATED the nasties of the world. Not all of us can handle the truth. I think that parents, teachers, etc. have a responsibility to talk to their children after watching these movies to make sure that they understand that _________ is possible but __________ is reality. And perhaps, when they grow up all things are possible.
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fair enough : ]
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Should we trust corporate behemoths with marketing/sending messages to our children? Look at Barbie dolls. What message are those sending to little girls? Children’s entertainment is mostly marketing. Train them early!
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We had a pregnant Barbie at what point. What type a message were they sending? The solution is clear. If we don't want children watching or having certain things, then don't let them watch or have certain things. However, you have got to find a way to keep them entertained and make sure that they are learning something and are spending their time productively. Many parents had a problem with Barney when they found out he was gay. I personally as a child loved Barney and the whole I love you, you love me song. When you are young, you don't look at those things. I don't have a problem with anyones sexuality. However, there were parents that felt that Barney was confusing the kids about the sexuality. Well, I will say to those parents that if you have such a problem with it, then turn off the tv or change the channel. Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill are CW shows that target teens 12 and up. They have a strong strong sexual presence. We can't control the media and whats being put out there. But we can control out children!
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it does seem that toys are not made in many forms we might want our children to emulate. Are there any doctors-without-borders-barbies? No, no there aren't
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I heard Barbie dolls were invented by the Nazis.
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Bunker-slut Barbie?
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You know, perfect Aryan woman who cooks, cleans, and looks sexy for her hyper-masculine and in no way, shape or form individualistic husband.
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Oh but that's not even the worse:
Fox & the Hound - Some people are meant to be hunters and some people are meant to be hunted by the police.
Bambi - You can't hunt animals.
Mickey Mouse - Men should speak in high squeaky voices like Micheal Jackson.
Cinderella - Women are only worth their shoe size.
Enchanted - When New Yorkers cease being New Yorkers, the world will be a better place.
The Lady and the Tramp - French people are cool!
Fantasia - Flowers are people too.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???-
Yeah, I was emotionally scared ever since I saw Bambi. Trust me. I drive extra slow on dark roads and scream my head off when I see blood on the roads. I just keep thinking that they killed Bambi.
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somebody has been eating sweeee-eeeeets... o_0
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Hey I'm not the one who said the Lion King promotes Monarchism.
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The hyenas make much more compelling protagonists
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What, the ones with no morals or principles?
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Joking aside, i think it's worth noting Agit8r that in Disney films the Prince/Princess/King/et cetera is the character that children most quickly relate to. Indeed, it's supposed to represent them, in authority over their lives, a very Orange County/Southern California way of looking at the world.
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@Agit8r: Read your article. There are a whole series of problems with this counterargument, namely the false dilemma of assuming that States Rights and Racism are naturally disjoint and only joined together out of rhetorical convenience. The worse racial problems get, the worse the violence becomes, the worse race motivated and abetted criminal activity becomes (which in turn worsens the racism), and the worse the effects on interstate commerce, local economy and foreign reputation of the United States. The pressure on the federal govenrment to intercede and break the states will grows.
As this federalist pressure grows, 1) those who believe in state sovereignty or disagree with a strong central government go against the federal government REGARDLESS of their views on race and 2) the race-motivated people side with the States Rights folks; "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." They also use States Rights as a rhetorical shield for themselves, but the States Rights folks came first. This is how the slave-owning and non-slave-owning sides of the American South got tied together around the time of the Civil War.
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It's sad when ya realize there is no such thing as prince charming,and your lucky just to kiss the frog that won't give ya warts....if ya know whatta mean
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I hope I don't... O_O
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This may sound too politically correct, but it would be nice if modern fairy tales taught children that cleverness and self-sufficiency were values to emulate instead of being “popular” like Barbie. Hansel and Gretel shoved that witch into the oven all on their own. Good for them! Now, the modern cartoon princess awaits for the prince to arrive shove the witch into the oven. Children need to be taught they can cook the witch all on their own.
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"Children need to be taught they can cook the witch all on their own."
danged straight! Or guillotine the king all on their own. jk... a little bit
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Yea,ur right....it's still good to think when you're a kid though that you are safe and your prince will come and everone lives happily ever after...
Hansel and Grettal always terrified me,so did little red riding hood...I want my girls to feel safe secure and everything is gonna be ok,because mama is gonna be there no matter what. -
It made me cry! the movie -
I disagree with the whole idea that a King, or royalty is a negative thing.
I am living in Thailand right now, and the Royal Family here is very well educated in all the aspects of running the country. They are bred for it from birth and spend their entire lives seeking advisement, and attending various universities all over the world.
They still have a democratic elected government, and the royal family is generally very quiet, but if something goes really bad, they are the king, and they will step in and correct it. They only have this power because the people believe in them and trust them to do right for them. There is no need for the King to be greedy or self serving since he already owns everything.
I don't believe politicians are really as qualified as a king to run the country.
There are many kings and queens in the world today still, some of them have quite a bit of power, and yet they still have democratic governments also.
You cant judge royalty by throwing blanket statements out about them. You need to look at what they are actually like in the countries that have them today.
There are still 26 kingdoms in the world, and most are constitutional, very few are absolute.
www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0775675.html
I think all of Hollywood sets the world up for disappointment with everything having a happy ending, but that just me. -
Well Disney movies are not made soley for the United States, Disney is a world wide corporation.
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