Disney's Everlasting Effect On Us
From the Lion King to Little Mermaid, Disney movies have been a part of everyone's childhood growing up. While some were obsessed with being Jasmine and trying to find their Aladdin, others were going out to become the king of their worlds just like good old Simba. These simple but yet powerful characters instilled many different traits into little children. Children learned the difference between good and bad, they learned about courage, and yes they even learned about passion.
Walt Disney has been able to make millions of kids' childhoods livelier through his rewarding films. Movies such as Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo are so good that a eighteen year old like me still says they are my favorite movies. Every single movie brings the innocence out in one and most of today's television shows don't really do that anymore. Most kids growing up today watch shows on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon that have pre-teens and teenagers hooking up; nothing a young child of five should be watching. These types of different shows are the cause that kids today are getting involved in more mature situations earlier. Kids are starting to have 'boyfriends and girlfriends' at ages when I didn't even know what that was. I was blessed to have my Disney movies to help me remain innocent and happy. The only type of love that I discovered was the one between a prince and princess, like Jasmine and Aladdin. Or maybe something like Nala and Simba, the lasting bond between a lion king and his queen. Disney movies taught me all the core principles of love, honesty, and courage that I needed to know. Now that I think about it I don't know what I would have done without them because even today while I write this blog, I am listening to "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from the Lion King.
Walt Disney has been able to make millions of kids' childhoods livelier through his rewarding films. Movies such as Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo are so good that a eighteen year old like me still says they are my favorite movies. Every single movie brings the innocence out in one and most of today's television shows don't really do that anymore. Most kids growing up today watch shows on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon that have pre-teens and teenagers hooking up; nothing a young child of five should be watching. These types of different shows are the cause that kids today are getting involved in more mature situations earlier. Kids are starting to have 'boyfriends and girlfriends' at ages when I didn't even know what that was. I was blessed to have my Disney movies to help me remain innocent and happy. The only type of love that I discovered was the one between a prince and princess, like Jasmine and Aladdin. Or maybe something like Nala and Simba, the lasting bond between a lion king and his queen. Disney movies taught me all the core principles of love, honesty, and courage that I needed to know. Now that I think about it I don't know what I would have done without them because even today while I write this blog, I am listening to "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from the Lion King.
Anmol, I absolutely love this post. I remember growing up with movies like Aladdin and Toy Story as my favorites. Those types of movies from our generation are timeless. The movies that disney comes out with today are just not the same. I will admit that I went to go see Toy Story 3 in theaters a couple of years ago and that whenever I have to watch over my baby cousins or babysit in general, I bring movies from my time in VHS because a lot of the stuff now is really annoying to watch.
ReplyDeleteI agree somewhat with what you are saying, television may be corrupting youth at a younger age than ever before. But I also think that times are changing and since every child now has access to more information than ever (my 8 year old cousin knows how to use the internet just as well as I do), that it is almost necessary to keep up with these times. Nickoledeon shows may be a little more explicit than Disney movies but I think it is better to expose children to the realities that they are faced with everyday than to keep them naive to it. Back in the day, public display of affection wasn't as prominent as it is today and so on...if children now see this everyday...isn't it better to inform them?
ReplyDeleteSoooooo I LOVVEEE Disney movies or kid shows in general. I sometimes use that excuse, "I have a niece that just turned one". I do have a one-year-old niece but she doesn't even watch what I turn on. I think Disney movies taught us the basis like you said, but in terms and situations in which we understand. It was almost like those movies and shows were our blueprint for the real world waiting to come. But as long as we knew good from bad, or like from dislike, we could build on that blueprint from experience as we got older.
ReplyDeleteThe first movie my parents took me to see when I was little was "Beauty and The Beast" (The Beast in the movie continued to scare me until I was around 7 years old). While I think that movie and TV shows can be used to reinforce positive views on children, I don't think they should be a substitute for good parenting. Parents spending time with and reading to their children are aspects of parenting that have been de-emphasized. While watching shows like "Mr. Rogers" and "Sesame Street" when I was little emphasized the values my parents tried to instill in me, I ultimately credit my parents for making me the man I am today.
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