Disney Role-Models

At some point or another, every little girl has been in love with at least one of the Disney princesses. Jasmine, Snow White, Mulan, Aurora, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Belle, Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Merida make up the current list of the Disney Royal Court. Each princess has a different, unique story; many of these stories come from the ancient tales by the Brothers Grimm. The Disney princesses have erupted into a huge franchise. From dolls to bedspreads, there are numerous items one can buy that relate to their favorite royal. During holidays such as Halloween, most young girls choose to dress as their favorite princess. One can see tiny Cinderellas, Belles, and Ariels trick-or-treating at each house on the block. With all the antics these princesses perform, one must wonder if they represent decent role-models for young generations. In this article, we will examine Snow White, Mulan, and Ariel. Each princess will be 'graded' on a role-model scale going from 1 to 10. 10 represents a fantastic role-model, 1 represents an awful role-model.

The classic tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is possibly one the most sinister Disney stories. Forced to leave the home of her step-mother, who wishes to kill her, she leads a life in the wilderness with friendly, talking animals and seven dwarves. Snow White is not much for action. In the Disney film, she sings of waiting for her Prince to come. When Snow White's step-mother catches up to her, Snow White is fed a blood-red apple. This apple puts Snow White in a death-like slumber, of which she is awakened from by a kiss from Prince Charming. Is Snow White a good role-model? In older days, perhaps. The film was made in the late thirties (1937, to be exact), and examples of this can be shown throughout the film. For instance, Snow White is a dedicated house cleaner. In this day and age, that simply isn't realistic. Instead of making a life for herself, Snow White sings, cleans, and sleeps away her days waiting for a man to come and take care of the situation. On the role-model scale, Snow White gets a 3.

Mulan first premiered in 1998, and is one of the only princesses with no royal ties. As with all the other princesses, Mulan is based on legend, in fact, she is based on the Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan. Mulan is the tale of young girl who disguises herself as a man and fights in battles against the Hun. Mulan gets role-model points for fighting her own battles and being able to work with others. For Mulan, there is no real 'save me' scene, instead, she collaborates with Commander Li-Shang. However, Mulan runs away from home within the first few minutes of the film, leaving her parents stunned and heartbroken. She also dresses as a concubine with Li-Shang and Chien-Po. All in all, though, Mulan receives an 8 for showing courage and bravery, though also foolishness and naivete.

The Little Mermaid was released in 1989 with Ariel as the main character. Of all the princesses, Ariel is possibly the most recognizable and rebellious. Ariel lives with her father and six older sisters. She has a growing curiosity and she often finds herself in trouble because of it. Ariel is usually supervised by her father's supervisor, a crab names Sebastian. In Ariel's world, merfolk are banned from any contact with humans. Alas, she falls in love with Prince Eric, and thus feels drawn to reveal herself to him. Ariel makes a deal with Ursula, an evil sea-witch, in which she gives up her voice for human legs. Ariel has three days to make the prince fall in love with her or risk becoming Ursula's forever. Ariel is a character with many shades of gray, nothing is black and white to her. She is curious and kind. However, she is very rebellious and very devoted to her man. Ariel receives a 7 for kindness and curiosity, though she is very rebellious and almost overly adoring.

Overall, most of these princesses would make good role-models. It would be impossible for one to be the perfect kind, because, just as real people, they have their flaws. None of them are free of mistakes. If little girls can take away good morals from these stories, then Disney has accomplished their mission. Hopefully, young children can take away the ideas of love for their friends, courageousness, and loyalty from these stories.

Sources:

Wikipedia

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