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Stephanie Pendleton
Professor Kathy Rowley
English 201-23
30 May 2012
Argumentative Essay: Disney Films Have a Negative Impact on Children
Many young children grow up watching Disney films. Many parents do not think that
these movies could have a negative impact on their children. Henry Giroux, who wrote the book,
“The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence” is a firm believer that Disney films
have a negative impact on the children that watch them. For several generations Disney films
have been a huge part of children’s lives, but many parents do not realize how these films can
negatively impact their children. Disney films can teach young children stereotypes, how to deal
with life events such as death and they can learn negative ideas and values from these films.
A negative impact is something that harms someone. Giroux claims that Disney films
negatively impact children because they teach them stereotypical ideas. A big issue that has been
found in Disney films is how gender roles are portrayed. Many Disney films have the main
character as a princess. These princesses can give girls the wrong idea about how they should
behave, dress, and how they should act as girls. A good example of a Disney films giving girls
ideas about how they should look is “Sleeping Beauty.” Paul Castillo claims, “Aurora is
described as an extraordinarily beautiful woman, so young girls will understand, even if they are
not directly told, that is how they are supposed to strive to look” (Castillo 1). All of the Disney
princesses are very beautiful, skinny, and have long beautiful hair. Young girls constantly see
these images on Disney films and start to think that they should look the same way. This can lead
to girls having negative body images because they think that they should look like a Disney
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princess. Girls do not just get ideas about what they should look like from these movies, they
also get ideas about gender roles and how they should act as a female.
These Disney princesses also show young girls how they should behave and what type of
roles they should take on. Castillo claims, “Disney movies also teach little girls they are
supposed to be complacent and weak if they want to be successful. “Sleeping Beauty” is a
perfect example of this. Aurora, as the perfect woman, is depicted as extremely demure”
(Castillo 1). He claims that the princesses in these films are helpless and cannot stand up for
themselves.
The Disney film “The Lion King” is a great example of how females are seen as
subordinate to males. Giroux states, “All of the rulers of the kingdom are men, reinforcing the
assumption that independence and leadership are tied to patriarchal entitlement and high social
standing” (Greene 582). This is the case for most Disney films that the male characters have
power over the female characters. The female characters are depicted as weak and dependent on
the male characters. This can give young girls the wrong idea of what type of roles they should
take on. If they keep seeing female characters being portrayed as weak and dependent on males
they may think that they should be the same way. However, not all of the female characters in
these movies are portrayed the same way.
In the movie, “Mulan” the gender stereotyping is different than in the movie, “The Lion
King.” Although she is portrayed as a strong female she still needs a man in her life. Giroux
states, “Mulan may be an independent, strong-willed young woman, but the ultimate payoff for
her bravery comes in the form of catching the handsome son of a general” (Greene 582). This
teaches that young girls should strive to be beautiful so they can find a handsome man that will
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want to be with them. Men, on the other hand, are portrayed in a less negative light than the
female characters in these movies.
Males in Disney movies are portrayed in a completely different way than females. It
seems as if most of the male characters in Disney films have a much smaller role in most of the
films than the female characters do. Castillo states, “While men in Disney films are allowed to be
aggressive, they are not allowed to be much else” (Castillo 1). Most of the men in these films,
especially the Disney princess films, the males seem to play a much smaller role then their
female counter parts. As Castillo points out, the males are seen as aggressive. They are shown to
be a prize that is won by the princess. Castillo claims, “All of this teaches the boys who watch
Disney movies they need to be strong, but silent and withdrawn, to be successful” (Castillo 1).
This can give boys the idea that they need to be the strong protectors of helpless females.
Obviously women are not helpless and do not need a man to make their lives complete as is
shows in these films. Another factor besides gender roles that can be seen in these films is
racism.
Racism is something that can be seen in almost every Disney film. Many parents do not
realize that this element is present in these films, but it can definitely be seen in many of the
films. For example, “Aladdin” has negative stereotypes of Arabs that is portrayed in the film.
Giroux states “For example, Aladdin portrays the ‘bad’ Arabs with thick, foreign accents, while
the Anglicized Jasmine and Aladdin speak in standard American English” (Greene 584). This
can give young children the idea that Arabs are bad people because they are portrayed as evil
throughout the movie. Aladdin is not the only movie that portrays negative racial stereotypes
however.
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In the blockbuster hit “The Lion King” racism is fairly evident. Giroux states, “Scar, the
icon of evil, is darker than the good lions. Moreover, racially coded language is evident, as the
members of the royal family speak with posh British accents while Shenzi and Banzai, the
despicable hyena storm troopers, speak with the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin
in the jive accents of a decidedly urban black or Hispanic youth” (Greene 584). Authors Libby
Brunette, Claudette Mallory, and Shannon Wood claim that, “This negative stereotype is what
children may remember when they hear someone speak with a similar accent” (Brunette,
Mallory, and Wood 1). Children pick up on small things such as accents and when they do they
associate that racial stereotype with the accent. This can lead to children having a negative
opinion of someone who is of a race that has been portrayed in a negative light in these films.
Racism can also be seen in the music that is used in the films as well.
“Aladdin is a great example of racism being conveyed in the songs of the movie. The
opening song of the movie titled “Arabian Nights” has been found to have racist undertones.
Giroux gives the example of some of the lyrics, “The lyrics of the offending stanza state: ‘Oh I
come from a land / From a faraway place / Where the caravan camels roam. / Where they cut off
your ear / If they don’t like you’re face. / It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home’” (Greene 583). These
lyrics prove that racism is also conveyed in song in Disney movies as well as in direct images in
the films. Children love songs in movies and by remembering and singing these types of lyrics
they can pick up on racial stereotypes. This song can teach children that Arabs are barbaric
people that actually will cut off your ear if they do not like how you look, which obviously is not
a true statement. These racial elements of the movie can make children aware of race and what
races are considered good and the what ones are considered bad.
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Children become aware of race at a very young age. So by children watching Disney
films, which contain racial stereotypes, they can get the wrong idea about certain races. Dorothy
Hurley claims that Disney shows children that being white is considered to be the dominant race
and all other races are inferior. Hurley states, “The problem of pervasive, internalized privileging
of Whiteness has been intensified by the Disney representation of fairy tale princesses which
consistently reinforces and ideology of White supremacy” (Hurley 223). Hurley is claiming that
Disney princesses show young children that being white is better than being any other race. If
you look at Disney princesses almost all of them are white. Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Aurora, and
Snow White are all beautiful white females. The only exception is Jasmine who is an Arabian
princess, other than that all the princesses are white. You never see an African American
princess in any of the Disney movies. You see the darker skinned characters being portrayed as
evil and never the ones who are the princesses. Along with teaching children about racial
stereotypes Disney films also have been found to teach children about how to deal with life
events such as death.
Most young children have no concept of death or how to deal with it. In many Disney
films the evil character dies or is killed in the film. They way the deaths are depicted may have a
negative impact on how children view death later on in life. Meredith Cox, Erin Garrett, and
James Graham discuss how Disney films show death. “In other cases, there is an
acknowledgment of death, but it is not grieved, as in Bambi. In contrast, in The Lion King, death
is acknowledged and the young character grieves and displays a gamut of typical grieving
emotions ranging from self-blame and anger to profound sadness” (Cox, Garrett, and Graham
271). The Lion King seems like it portrays death in a much more realistic way then movies, such
as Bambi, does. Children need to see a realistic way that people deal with death instead of seeing
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characters not acknowledge death at all. Death is not the only thing that a Disney film sometimes
portrays in a negative light. Fiona MacRae has found that Disney films also portray older people
in a negative way as well.
In many Disney films there is an elderly character that is in it. From Cruella de Vil to the
wicked step mother in Cinderella, Disney reinforces negative stereotypes about the elderly.
MacRae says that Disney reinforces the stereotype that older people are always grumpy. She
gives a few examples of this, “Even the Seven Dwarfs appear to be at fault, with the characters
of Grumpy and Dopey giving children the impression that the elderly are bad tempered and
absent-minded. Of the 93 characters judged by the researchers to be aged 55 or over, a quarter
were down-right grumpy” (MacRae 1). Many of the older characters are probably portrayed in
this light because most people expect that older people are mean and grumpy. Of course, this
stereotype is not true of all older people. Some may seem slightly grumpy but not all older
people are. MacRae also claims that, “Many others were portrayed as evil or sinister or helpless
or hapless. Nosiness, craziness and forgetfulness also featured heavily in the Disney roll call of
the elderly” (MacRae 1). Very few of the elderly characters in these films are portrayed
positively. Most are shown to live up to the negative stereotypes that many people think of when
they picture an older person. This is one of the many negative ideas that have been found that
children pick up on when watching Disney movies.
Disney films have been found to show many negative stereotypes in their films, such as
racial stereotypes and negative stereotypes about elderly people. Another major factor that has
been found to be present in these films is gender stereotypes and roles, particularly for girls. The
Disney princesses give young girls the wrong ideas about the way they should look and behave.
Disney films also show children how to deal with life events, such as death, in ways that parents
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may not agree with. Although Disney films entertain children, parents should be aware of the
messages that these films can be sending their children. Parents need to take the time to talk to
their children so they have the beliefs and values that they do, not what a film teaches them.
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Works Cited
Greene, Stuart, and April Lidinsky. "Children's Culture and Disney's Animated Films." From Inquiry to
Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 568-90. Print.
Garrett, Erin, and James A. Graham. "Death in Disney Films: Implications For Children's Understanding
of Death." Omega. By Meredith Cox. Vol. 50. Ewing: College of New Jersey, 2004. 267-80. Ser.
4. 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
MacRae, Fiona. "Disney's Villains 'Give Children Negative Images of the Elderly'" Mail Online. 31 May
2007. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
Castillo, Paul. "The Negative Effects of Disney Films on Children." Editorial. Daily Sundial 4 Dec.
2006. 4 Dec. 2006. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
Hurley, Dorothy L. "Seeing White: Children of Color and the Disney Fairy Tale Princess." The Journal
of Negro Education 74.3 (2005): 221-32. JSTOR. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
Brunette, Libby, Claudette Mallory, and Shannon Wood. "Stereotypes & Racism in Children’s Movies."
Web. 24 Apr. 2012.