Once Upon a Time

Today I was sent an e-mail containing the following link for Top 10 Disney Controversies:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1946727_1946724,00.html
 
This caught my attention:

"The Problem with Princesses"
The Disney princess has become one of the most iconic symbols of Walt's ever growing empire — and one of its all-time greatest brands. From dress-up dolls to bedding to silverware, the heroines are everywhere, and kids love them. But do the princesses really make good role models? A lot of parents — and feminists — would say no. The most prevalent characteristic of Disney's three original princesses (Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty) is that they spend much of their movies as damsels in distress, waiting to be saved by men. It wasn't until 1989 that Disney debuted The Little Mermaid's Ariel, a princess less passive and more defiant. But Ariel also gave up her beautiful voice for a pair of legs just so she could be with a man — who, of course, is a prince who rescues her in the end.
And I began to think. Then I came up with my own discussion points:

From "do the princesses really make good role models"
Point 1. I would not look to fairy tale characters in general to be my children's role models. Characters from Asope's fables, maybe....but Rupenzel? Hansel and Gretel? Little Red Riding Hood? No! I'd just as soon tell my children to be more like the The Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon! Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are all classic fairy tale princesses. Disney did not invent them. It's not like they are a reflection of his own misogynistic ideals. And as far as the Brother's Grimm go, I wouldn't hold any man from the early 19th Century accountable for modern feminist ideals, nor would I trust him to define a good role model for 21st centruy women.

From "they spend much of their movies as damsels in distress, waiting to be saved by men"
Point 2. Where do our Fairy Tales come from? The Brothers Grimm aka Die Brüder Grimm lived in Germany in the 17/early 1800's and Hans Christian Andersen was from the same era but in Denmark. They wrote their fairy tales in this cultural context. A very old world European cultural context. Culturally, women were like property. They could be used, abused, bought and sold (dowery anyone?). Actually, in the Fairy Tales on trial, the damsels/princesses were treated as precious, so for the given time period, they were treated like something valuable (which is better than being treated as expendable, even if it is still a step below of being treated like a person).  Not taking sides or defending the way things were back then...just trying to bring the attack against the fabled damsels back into perspective.
From "Ariel also gave up her beautiful voice for a pair of legs just so she could be with a man"
Point 3. Ariel did not just want to be with a man. Ariel had fallen in love, with one very special man - her soulmate. And if I remember the story correctly, she saved him before he saved her! And isn't that the most wonderful example of love: sacrificing for each other - going out on a limb, being strong enough to let yourself be vulnerable to someone? Love isn't about power. Love is about giving freely and selflessly and investing your soul into some whole that is much larger than the sum of its parts and the fullfillment you can find in that. That's the only way you can get a happily ever after.

And one final rant....on The Princess and the Frog

This whole African-American Princess who spends most of the movie as a frog hooplah is really getting to me. But not for the same reasons it seems to be getting to everyone else. I hear the call for a princess that isn't your standard issue white girl. I hear the call for diversity in the media. But not this way. Disney Effed up.

Other "diversely drawn" Disney movies make sense: Aladdin took place in Saudi Arabia, therefore the cast naturally reflects the culture. Pocahontas was a real Native American (even though don't get me started on the creative license they took in THAT story). But now Disney is realizing how UN-diverse their princesses truly are and they just tried for a quick fix with this twist on the "Frog Prince" set in New Orleans with African-American main characters. Not ok.

Why not raise real cultural awareness and chose real African Folk Lore that takes place on the continent of Africa? Cultures are unspeakably rich. That's the whole reason for bringing people from different backgrounds together. And every culture has it's fairy tales and folk lore. Let's explore that rather than trying to mold the European fairy tales into the shapes of other lands.

(Can you imagine Korean children playing Hansel and Gretel in Disney's next film or The Little Match Girl as a Pacific Islander who certainly couldn't freeze to death and probably wouldn't be thinking of Christmas trees in the historical time frame---not only would it be stupid, it would negate the fact that Koreans and Islanders have their own legends and heros).
I don't care what color Disney princesses are. I think it's far more insulting to completely ignore entire countries and their legends, well except Euorpe and America of course.