How does this effect the viewers?
Children tend to view themself based on how their gender is perceived in real life or in movies which is why Disney movies (a classic) have a huge effect on how children view themselves and everyone around them. Disney princesses specifically are always portrayed as calm and helpless and many children will assume that is the role for all girls.
Role Models Can Be A Movie Character Too...
Children are influenced by Disney movies on how to act as their gender and how to interact with other people from the other gender. The Disney movies impact many children's actions and beliefs.
Almost all Disney movies portray the princess as calm, submissive, and helpless. The problem with this is the children who are growing up and watching and like to mimic the movie characters because that's what they know.
A study shows that girls ages 4-7 have watched Disney princess movies and then proceeded to take on the traits of their favorite princess.
Social Cognitive theory proves that children who repeatedly watch the movies with set gendered expectations WILL take on the act. This is done with modelling and direct tuition. Modelling is the idea that children will learn the most from someone who is the same gender as them. Direct tuition is when children are rewarded for acting a certain way. In this case they are being rewarded from the disney movies for acting in the same way as the characters.
Disney movies also impact young boys. They get the idea from Disney movies that if they want a happy ending they have to be strong and silent.
As time goes on, media is only becoming more important in our every day lives. It is important for parents to analyze these movies with their children. Without guidance, children who repeatedly watch these movies will gain strong beliefs which may not be the correct way of viewing things. Therefore, as kids are watching the films, we need to have discussions with them and answer their questions of "why are all the Disney characters dressed like that?" and more. Disney movies are great and can even be helpful in educating children, so we need to make sure that they can maintain this healthy balance with the kids watching and learning from them. Additionally, therapists actually sometimes use Disney movies as an example in therapy. It actually helps because everyone is familiar with the story lines and characters, so together with the patient the therapist finds ways to change the story to help the patient. For example, a woman was feeling pressure to match the social expectations, so her therapist helped her rewrite Cinderella to a version where she stands up to her step mother for being abusive, and actually waits six months to marry the prince to see if the relationship works well. They made Cinderella into a strong, independent woman, and it really helped the patient see things in from a new lens.
