Entertainment is an important part on building
society’s culture however Disney’s recent abandonment on its conventional ‘princess’
representation is a reflection of the changing times. Television has made an important
contribution in enriching culture across the world by bringing news,
entertainment and commercialism hence there is no doubt it has an influence on
education. Disney’s princesses were the most popular display of princesses for
generations however Disney has chosen to abandon its traditional representation.
The typical representation of a princess relied heavily on a prince on a white
horse to save the day however this has been discarded in careful consideration
and compliance to the audience. Disney’s audience was not limited to children
since parents, especially mothers, have been attentive in supervising
television content. Parents have been able to have more freedom in what they
wish for their children to see in television especially in changing times.
It can be seen that a growing sense of independence
from male reliance was pushed in female characters, such as the show “Sofia the
First”. Disney’s abandonment on its princess representation was a sharp turn as
it has been airing the same movies through generations. As Richter and Moss
states, “Dominant ideas related to gender become quickly fossilized in the
curricula.” Through technology society has become even closer and globalized.
The widespread of values becomes accessible and societies have been given a
particular freedom which it was not capable before. Parents being able to give
feedback on media content are valuable to reshaping culture because future
generations will adopt the culture its parents paved for it. Transformations in
the media could resonate to the teaching system. The Female gender does not
necessarily have to be associated with trouble and requires the attention of a
male figure. The purpose of reshaping the princess character was to give
individuals a sense of personal freedom of choice. For example a female teacher
who is not in any current relationship does not necessarily mean she is in
distress and waiting for a ‘knight in shining armour’.
I grew up with Disney. Whether I was male or female,
anybody in my childhood or current peers would know Sleeping Beauty, Snow White
or Cinderella. It is a pity that Disney has chosen to abandon the traditional
view of princesses being damsels in distress however it is understandable
because society puts so much pressure on the media and the content it delivers.
Previous generations may not have been deterred by the classical depictions of a
prince rescuing a princess however the growing sense of feminism has tackled
the role of gender in society. Disney wishes to detach female reliance on males
in order to enforce a new archetypal female icon. This icon associates with the
contemporary society’s expectations which are independence and freedom. The
article may not have been necessarily used to highlight the capitulation of an
American organization to the demands of the pubic but to rectify the advent of
feminism. In my perspective, these demands are detrimental to the purpose of
the fantasy genre. Parents wish to drag the media to more realistic topics
instead of allowing children to escape the grim reality and enter an
ENTERTAINING fantasy of their dreams.
D
Moss and I Richter (2011) Changing times
of feminism and higher education: from community to employability, Gender
and Education, 23:2, 137-151, DOI: 10.1080/09540251003674113
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