Sunday, February 22, 2009

Princesses

So, in the past few weeks I've talked to you viewers about bad guys and good guys. This week were going to talk about what most of the arguments between those two types of guys are usually about...the girls. Yes, that is correct. We will be talking about princesses, damsels in distress, and heroines.

My favorite out of all of the Disney princesses is without a doubt Belle from Beauty and the Beast. In my opinion, she was the most realistic. She wasn't weak and she wasn't afraid to put the Beast in his place. She knew what she wanted, which to me is a very admirable quality. At the same time she was still open to new things and ideas. She was also very bright and educated, even though it was less than popular.

One character that was referred to as a damsel in distress but showed that she was her own person was Meg from Hercules. She was one opinionated lady but she could also be sweet when she felt comfortable enough. She also had Hercules...lucky! She dealt with Hades and she looked fierce. She was quite something...even if she was a fictional cartoon character.

The best heroine I can think of, from the movies I've seen, is Mulan. She started out weak and timid but eventually became something great and powerful. She brought her family honor and got the guy! She was worried about fitting in with the guys and learning what they were trying to teach but in return she taught them so very important lessons as well. She also got some pretty great friends out of it.

Not all of the princesses are up to snuff. For example, Arial from The Little Mermaid was kind of a little snot. Think about it, she disobeyed her father constantly, ran away, talked to the evil sea witch, and ended up abandoning her family for Prince Eric who she knew for about all of three days. Maybe it's just me but that relationship and choice seems a little bit rushed.

Well, I know i'm not the only one that feels this way, so tell me who your favorite leading ladies are or about which one's really get under your skin! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

Monday, February 16, 2009

The Good Guys

Hey there,

So last week we discussed a few villains of Disney and I tried to have you take a different look at them. After all, perhaps some of the villains are just misunderstood? With that thought, are "Good Guys" really as good as they seem?

To me they're as good as they seem, I just wanted to put that thought in your head. In this blog I'm going to be talking about some of my favorite heroes; Hercules, John Smith, and Tarzan.

All of the heroes and good guys have wonderful qualities but my favorite is Hercules. The best part about him is that he's so innocent. He doesn't understand that people aren't alwasy honest and good. However, this is probably his downfall as well! He's also forever faithful to Meg. I mean, he gave up Mount Olympus for her! He was strong and brave without being boastful and he was quite modest. All-in-all, he was a pretty great guy.

Next on my list of awesomeness is Tarzan. Tarzan may have been very naive but he had such a good heart, no matter what. He loved Jane and his friends...even his "step-father" although he didn't like him much. I can't think of one bad thing Tarzan has ever done. Although he's not the ideal type of hero, he turns out to be one of the best. He's there for his family, for Jane, for his friends, and he still makes time to fly around the jungle.

Last but not least, I will be talking about John Smith from the movie Pocahontas. When thinking of heroes one doesn't always think about John Smith but in fact he was quite a good guy. He wasn't open-minded at first but the more he hung out with Pocahontas the more open he became. He fought for the Native Americans and for their land. Through his experiences he became a better person than he was before, which seems to be the way it goes with...everybody!

Well, hopefully this blog brought you back to your childhood a little bit and helped you remember what good guys are all about. So, til next time, have a great week!

Courtney

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Disney Villains

Hey there ya'll,

This week were are going to get to know a some of the best Disney villains. Some of the best are Malifecent (Sleeping Beauty), Cruella DeVille (101 Dalmations), Jafar (Aladdin), and Ursella (Little Mermaid).

We only see these people as being bad. We never think about why they act and react the way they do. Maybe they had sad childhoods or were abused! Disney is the first time we experience in our lives that it's okay to not get both sides of a story and to judge without guilt.

We don't know why Cruella DeVille despised animals so much...or that she despised them at all! Maybe, just maybe, she had such a strong affection for them that she wanted them around her all the time which is why she wears fur all of the time. If she did despise animals, maybe it was for a just reason! Perhaps she was attacked by an animal as a child which caused her to have a fear of alive animals!

Malifecent is a villain who never gets much street cred. She had a good plan that was very well thought out. However, she did make a bad choice when she decided that Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) should die. This may be way out there but maybe Malifecent and Aurora's dad had a little something something going on! If you really think about it, and I mean think about it hard, Malifecent kind of helped Aurora out. If she hadn't have put that spell on her then the fairy godmothers wouldn't have had to hide her in the forest and the Prince would have never found her! Also, he had to kiss her to break the spell which helped her know that he was her soul mate!

Last but not least, I'd like to draw your attention to Hades from Hercules. If you were in his shoes i think you'd be a little cranky too! If you had to deal with dead people and the after life and chill in a super hot place every day for your entire life I bet you wouldn't be chipper.

I'm not justifying the villains actions here, i'm just asking you guys to take a different approach to looking at them. Just because they're different and maybe a little scary doesn't mean that they're all bad. Sometimes in life all you need is a friend. :)

Well, for now, Goodbye and have a great week,
Courtney

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Disney and low self-esteem

Hey, hey, hey,

So this week i'm going to tell you all about how Disney plays a part in our self-esteem.

As children we admire the princesses and other heroine figures we see in the Disney movies...but why? What about them draws us in? Is it their beauty, their clothes, fancy life styles? Maybe it's all of the above? What children don't understand, though, is that their minds are being programed to be set for high exceptions.

Most children, along with me, when they first saw Pocahontas thought, "Wow! She's really pretty and thin and her and John Smith really love eachother." However, in real life Pocahontas was not thin, not too clean, and she never ended up with John Smith. Nobody ever told us that though!

You have to wonder, "Why didn't Disney portray Pocahontas they way she really was?". Why is that? Is it because "thin is in"? Is it because if Pocahontas was thin she would have more sex appeal, and let's face it, sex sells!

We don't know for sure but we can guess. If Pocahontas would have been a "full-figured" girl in the movie would the movie have had such success? In many movies in order for their to be bigger people in them those people have to be the humorous side-kick.

In this day-and-age things are constantly changing, do you think we could have a romantic, full-figured, female lead in a movie? Probably not yet...but i'm keeping up hope. After all, many thought we would never have an African-American president.

Well, hopefully this didn't leave you all to depressed or angry. I was just trying to shine some light on this topic.

So until next time, have a great week!

Courtney