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clips
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Toy Story
In a new book, Christopher Jamison, a prominent Catholic cleric in England, has become a vocal critic of Disney and what he sees as the company's encouragement of materialism in children. While Jamison says that the Disney movies often have a moral message of good triumphing over evil, the products that go along with the movies encourage children to think that material objects will give them happiness and a place in the Disney world. Jamison says: "Where once morality and meaning were available as part of our free cultural inheritance, now corporations sell them to us as products." [Telegraph]
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Leftovers
Snow White Gets Sexualized β’ Virtual Girlfriend Invented
β’ Has Snow White been given a sexy makeover in recent years? β’ Meanwhile, why doesn't Disney capitalize on its trove of female villains like it has with its princesses? We know some angsty tweens who would love that. β’ France's Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, is cool and collected as she prepares for an emergency summit meeting of world leaders in Washington this weekend. β’ The family of an 11-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome is suing their Manhattan co-op, whicih placed strict conditions on letting the boy get a medically necessary dog despite the co-op's no-pets rule. β’ More » -
mouse traps
Is It Better To Be A Pixie Than A Princess?
The oft-criticized Disney Princesses are big business for the Mouse Company, and an American childhood means being fluent in the language of castles, charming princes and "happily ever after." But the number one DVD on Amazon and Barnes & Noble right now is Tinker Bell, a movie about the fairy best known for her jealous, protective friendship with Peter Pan. But this new Tinker Bell is different from the old Tinker Bell — for one thing, she has a voice. And while she may not exactly be gainfully employed, unlike the Princesses, Tinker Bell has some kind of occupation: She fixes stuff. More » -
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The Seaweed Is Always Greener
Sleeping Beauty May Be Safe, But Ariel Has Some Explaining To Do
Last week, Sadie made the case for Sleeping Beauty, a classic Disney film that, while having its drawbacks in terms of presenting feminist ideals to little girls, still stands the test of time as a fairly harmless piece of children's entertainment. While I agree with Sadie, especially about the fact that we need to give little girls "credit for intelligence and good sense", there is one Disney film that does not sit right with me, and I think it warrants a proper discussion. While Sleeping Beauty may be off the hook, I'm afraid there's a certain mermaid who isn't. More » -
Scary Tales
The Princess Diaries: Can Little Girls Handle Disney?
Yesterday on EW's Popwatch blog, Mandi Bierley pondered watchingSleeping Beauty, with her soon-to-be niece, realizing there are worrisome things in it. βThe first gift the good fairies bestow upon the baby Princess Aurora is beauty, and she is engaged at 16,β she writes, adding, βSeriously, what do you do?β More »
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part of your runner's world
"The Road To 'Happily Ever After' Starts With Me": Disney's Princess Half Marathon
Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out the weirdest piece of Disney Princess marketing yet: the Princess Half Marathon. Advertised in the October Runner's World magazine, the Princess Half Marathon takes as its tagline, "Mirror, mirror, what do I see? The road to 'happily ever after' starts with me." Apparently being a princess is now all about individuality and girl power — like the power to wear a tiara during a race. Check out the full ad, after the jump. More » -
Beauty and the Veep
Walt Disney Presents: The Sarah Palin Story
Last week, actor Matt Damon spoke out against Sarah Palin, comparing the possibility that she could become president to "a really bad Disney movie." Palin's life does seem to parallel that of the classic doe-eyed Disney beauty who ventures outside of her small village and fulfills her destiny to become queen. (Though, no matter what you think of her politics, it's not fair to reduce any woman to the fairy tale archetypes on display in Disney movies: the pure and pretty damsel in distress and the vain, cold-hearted villainess.) But with that said, just what would the Disney version of Sarah Palin's story look like? We scoured the Disney vault and created a vision of Sarah Palin's happily ever after rise to the White House. Clip above. More » -
Leftovers
Disney Takes A Walk On The Racist Side β’ Killer Of Pregnant Marine Extradited From Mexico
β’ Who are the most racist Disney characters? The Indians from Peter Pan, Sunflower the Centaur from Fantasia (pictured), and Uncle Remus from Song of the South, to name a few. β’ Yesterday, Olympic gold medalist Kim Rhode's Olympic shotgun was stolen out of her pickup at an outlet mall in Lake Elsinore, California. β’ A Wisconsin appeals court dismissed videotape evidence of a man allegedly having sex with his comatose wife on grounds that the secret videotape was an invasion of privacy. β’ More » -
Leftovers
Minnie Needs Less Gigs Than Mickey β’ Morning Sickness Gender Myth May Be True
Disney's USB flash memory drives may be showing some gender discrimination: Pink drives with Minnie Mouse on them only hold 1 GB, while blue Mickey mouse drives hold 2 GB. Hm.β’ Breaking down some people's preconcieved notions of Middle America: Moms in the Midwest are more likely to go back to work after giving birth than Coastal moms. β’ Three anti-aging treatments are proven clinically effective by The Archives of Dermatology: topical retinol, carbon dioxide laser resurfacing, and injection of hyaluronic acid. β’ More »
