In Defense of Disney:
I decided - for conversation sake - I want to defend Disney
and their storytelling antics. To help my case I will go “a little” ( a lot) further to one side than I actually lean, but
I think I can still make a compelling case for Disney (or at least show how Orientalism
has been a norm amongst story tellers since the dawn of time). …So here it
goes.
The article we read for class concludes that The Little Mermaid
and Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) are two white characters who are less
sexual than their minority counterparts: Jasmine, Esmeralda and Pocahontas. I am not
going to attempt to defend Pocahontas (history states she was actually 12 at
the time the Disney film tells her story) and Esmeralda (unfamiliar with this
character, I was unwilling to read the whole book containing the original
story). I will say that Esmeralda was said to be a petite woman in the book -
so it seems Disney may have missed the mark in her story as well. As for The Little
Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, they were misrepresented (in my
opinion) as read by the author from the in class article.
Disney did not write any of their movies, making the stories
unoriginal. They have taken most of their movie ideas from old folk tales and/or
storybooks. Yes, they do change some key points but after reading the English
originals of Aladdin, Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, the amount of
changes made reminded me of a few current day book adaptations. Their exceptions
are to the movie endings, where the stories change completely. Disney markets
toward young American viewer as young as 10 (10-12 year olds), who are only
interested in watching movies that end, “and they lived happily ever after.” Even
at 20 years old, I still feel this way and I am guessing that most of my classmates
prefer stories (especially Disney classics) that have some sort of happy
ending.
I pulled out a few points from Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast
and Little Mermaid:
Little Mermaid - In the original story, “Ariel” first spots
the prince at age 15. The prince himself is 16. After that the story never
gives any ages, but it does seems that when the Mermaid gives up her voice it
was not many years later. This is why “Ariel”, in the Disney film, looks so
much younger - she is younger. The point in the class article made about her
walking abilities on land was unique. In the original story each step she takes
“feels like knives,” yet she is also considered the most graceful human to walk
on land. As far as her ability to walk in the movie, no matter how graceful, if
every step I took felt like knives were poking my legs, I would be walking a
little gingerly too.
In Beauty and the Beast, “Belle” is looked down upon by her older
sisters who tell her that she is too young to marry. In the book, she is one of
many children, but the only one that desires to be an “academic” like her
father – his dream for each of his children. Disney kept her youth and love for
reading as read in the original French tale.
Aladdin - The written story does not mention any age. Aladdin
first sees the princess when he defies the Sultan’s orders - and does not stay
in his home with his windows shut. In fact, he sneaks all the way up to “Jasmine’s”
bathroom door to catch a peek of the princess. (The version I read was from “The Blue Fairy
Book,” by Andrew Lang.) After the first
description of Aladdin there is little reference to any of the appearances of any
of the characters - in fact it was very vague.
As I was trying to gain a better understanding of the folk tales,
so I went to Wikipedia (I know I am not supposed to use it but it’s a great
summary tool) and found a quote about Aladdin that was very interesting - so
take it for what it’s worth:
“Although Aladdin is a Middle Eastern tale, the story is set
in China, and Aladdin is explicitly Chinese… Everybody in this country bears an
Arabic name, and its monarch seems much more like a Muslim ruler than a Chinese
emperor. Some commentators believe that this suggests that the story might be
set in Turkestan (encompassing Central Asia and the modern Chinese province of
Xinjiang). It has to be said that this speculation depends on knowledge of
China that the teller of a folk tale (as opposed to a geographic expert) might
well not possess, and that a deliberately exotic setting is in any case a
common storytelling device.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin)
Storytellers have always tried to use exotic settings
because people know less about them and the listener’s mind can more freely
enjoy and create a magical story. If a storyteller wants
to tell stories of impossible situations, the unfamiliarity of the setting is
the storyteller’s best friend. I am not trying to make any excuses for Orientalism,
but scholars need to understand the commodity of using the unknown has
been used across all cultures and all time periods and is not just seen in Disney movies.
LINKS: To Readings if your interested.
Little Mermaid------ http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html
Aladdin------ http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/141/the-blue-fairy-book/3132/aladdin-and-the-wonderful-lamp/
Beauty and the Beast ----- http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/beauty.html
Interesting historical facts, but you don't really address the sexual allure of the heroines. You need to stress more that Disney got it really wrong on Pocahontas and Esmeralda, while maybe Belle and Ariel match their stories.
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