I knew Disney was up to no good!

09/16/2004 04:05:01 AM · #1

"Lunatic Toons" by Neil Parmar. Published in Psychology Today Oct.2004

From dim-witted Dopey in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the "psycho" in Aladdin, Disney classics may be teaching children to laught at and fear the mentally ill, according to a study in the Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry.
Researchers analyzed 34 full-length animated Disney films and found taht 85 percent of them denigrate mental illness by portraying cartoon characters as "crazy", "mad", and "nuts". Movies such as Beauty and the Beast, where Belle's father in hauled off in a "lunacy wagon", features some of the worst stereotypes the study found.
Andrea Lawson, study author and social psychologist at the University of Calgary in Alberta, concedes that fairy tales lack subtlety and that children don't necessarily take them to heart. Nevertheless, she says, "it's important that parents are critical of what their kids watch." Asking children how they feel about negative stereotypes in movies and on television "allows them to develp their own critical thinking skills," she says.
Bambi, notes Lawson, was one of the only Disney films free of negative references toward mental illness.

Although Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, I have to agree with the study, even more so when I know how they COMPLETELY changed the story. Kids movies sometimes have comments directed to the adults watching it and that kids wont get, but something like stereotyping a group of people, in my opinion, will stick with the kids. I was in line at the store once and there was a woman with a kid that was obviously a Down Syndrome kid but no one made any comments...until a little girl maybe 4 years old ask the mother loudly, pointing to the Down Syndrome kid, "Mommy, why does he look like that? What's wrong with him?". Kids will say the darnest things...and now we know where they learn them.

June

09/16/2004 04:16:56 AM · #2

I'm not quite sure where you're going with your anecdote on the down syndrome child. Why *would* anyone comment? In most line-ups I've been in, people don't say much of anything unless it's general discussion with the people they're with.. so why would anyone pick a down syndrome child, (or any other person that is a little "different" for that matter), to comment on? As for the 4 year old.. kids are naturally open, curious, and vocal. A 4 year old doesn't ask why a down syndrome child looks different because they are viewing negative portrayals of mental illness on disney.. they ask because they see something they haven't seen before, and want to know why. It was a perfect opportunity for the mother to calmly explain why he looks different and leave it at that, and it would have satisfied the 4 year old, I'd bet my life on it.

I mean.. you might know all that already, and I'm just mis-reading what your intent was.. but the anecdote just didn't seem to fit the rest of your post is all, so I'm a bit confused.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/16/2004 04:36:36 AM · #3

Well, we all look different. I have yet to hear a kid ask the mother why that lady has black hair or why that man is so tall. However, I've heard kids ask about people with obvious mental retardation or physical defects on more than one occasion. I'm not saying Disney is directly responsible for this or that they are solely to blame, all I'm saying is that they're not helping. Also makes me wonder wether being discriminative towards people with mental illness or physical defects, and let's face it, we are, is cognitive or a learned behavior. Since the dawn of time, the mentally ill have been treated with scorn and abuse. We've claimed they were possesed by the Devil and put them in mental asylums perhaps to help them....perhaps to isolate them.
By the way, the title of the post was meant as a joke, I don't think Disney has done any of those thing on purpose.

June

Message edited by author 2004-09-16 04:37:22.

contestguru

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09/16/2004 04:39:46 AM · #4

Though I understand your concern regarding the depiction of the mentally ill. Disney has been getting bad raps for years, so this study just adds to dozens of others. Disney (and others) anthropomorphizes animals to the point where many adults have problems remembering that wild animals are WILD and dangerous.

I agree with Artyste regarding your link to the Downs Syndrome child. You don't even know that the 4 year old has seen ANY Disney movies, so blaming Disney is a pretty big leap. Young children also poke at pregnant females bellies and ask why they are so fat. They have to learn somehow.

I actually think we have become a world of non-reactors and people are definitely not permitted to say what they think anymore. Too bad. So sad.

Thanks goodness for Michael Moore.

leaf

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09/16/2004 04:43:33 AM · #5

Originally posted by Artyste:

Well I agree with you artyste. Kids are curious and they will see something that they see as different, or haven't seen before and ask why it is like that. So i don't agree with chiqui74 for saying that the kid was 'picking' on the downsyndrom kid. If the kid had only seen blond haired people and then saw a black haired lady he WOULD ask why she was different. People with downs, are visually identifiable, and this little kid was curious about it. end of story.

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09/16/2004 04:50:17 AM · #6

Originally posted by chiqui74:

Well, Height, to a child's perspective, isn't like it is for us.. so they don't really see the differences as easily. I have seen, on more than one occasion, extremely frank questions from young children regarding race, weight, freckles, eye glasses, wheel chairs, canes, funny hats, bright colored clothing, physical postures, and ways of walking. Also, try to keep in mind that things like weight, race, and physical attributes (eye/hair color) are so *commonly* different, that questioning it doesn't always happen, because children grow from the start *expecting* it.. unless they grow up in a predominant culture, and *then* you should see the stares and questions if they see someone different.. (blonde haired men/women/children who visit South America, Asia or Africa often get *mobbed*.) However, mental/physical defects *aren't* as common, and a child could go almost their entire childhood without encountering someone with a specific defect.. thus, when they are encountered, they inevitably question it.

It's *OK* for children to question. It's healthy, it's a part of the learning process. Where it becomes a problem is when people with mental/physical defects/challenges/handicaps, however you like to say it, are turned *into* "special" people.. and continually gawked at, or fussed over (beyond what is needed for their abilities), or pointed out. Then the child begins to *think* that they are that much different.. instead of being just another person, who is different in just another way.

This is where depictions in movies like Disney's, or in TV Shows, et al. start to become worrisome. It's not that they are causing children to question something they already *would*.. it's that it is enforcing the differences as something to be frightened of, worried about, or saddened by. Of course, the proper depictions can also help children simply understand. It's such a fine line, and every child, of course, will be different in how the interpret what they see.

So, after long winded typing.. lol.. We come to basically the same conclusion, just against different principles, and seperate thought processes :)

David.C

09/16/2004 04:53:00 AM · #7

Hehe. That is a pretty funny read -- we can always count on psychologists to take a perspective so far out there that its only value is humour.

The arguement against the study is the same as it is against any work of fiction. If the individual has a grip on reality they have nothing to fear from fantasy -- if they do not have a firm grip on reality, reality is a fantasy to them and they are likely quite terrified.

I really wish people would take a bit more responsibility for their own actions and stop looking for new and inventive ways to 'blame' someone else.

As for a child asking an honest question about something they are not familiar with -- that's what children do! It is a perfectly normal, healthy thing for them to do (adults too, for that matter); and is to be encouraged at every opportunity.

David

09/16/2004 04:55:06 AM · #8

Originally posted by Britannica:

lol. Pretty much what I said in my latest post, I just took a hell of a lot more blah blah blah to get there.. haha.

09/16/2004 05:08:54 AM · #9

Originally posted by Britannica:

A "grip on reality" is what kids lack. They have a hard time separating fantasy from reality. If you read my second post a little more carefully, I clearly stated that I wasn't saying Disney was to blame and that I didnt think any of which they are being accused of in the article was done on purpose. Had you been the parent of that Down Syndrome kid, would you have encouraged the other kid to ask about him? Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question.

June

09/16/2004 05:13:35 AM · #10

Originally posted by chiqui74:

Originally posted by Britannica:
Hehe. That is a pretty funny read -- we can always count on psychologists to take a perspective so far out there that its only value is humour.

The arguement against the study is the same as it is against any work of fiction. If the individual has a grip on reality they have nothing to fear from fantasy -- if they do not have a firm grip on reality, reality is a fantasy to them and they are likely quite terrified.

I really wish people would take a bit more responsibility for their own actions and stop looking for new and inventive ways to 'blame' someone else.

As for a child asking an honest question about something they are not familiar with -- that's what children do! It is a perfectly normal, healthy thing for them to do (adults too, for that matter); and is to be encouraged at every opportunity.

David

A "grip on reality" is what kids lack. They have a hard time separating fantasy from reality. If you read my second post a little more carefully, I clearly stated that I wasn't saying Disney was to blame and that I didnt think any of which they are being accused of in the article was done on purpose. Had you been the parent of that Down Syndrome kid, would you have encouraged the other kid to ask about him? Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question.

June

It shouldn't be a rhetorical question. I've worked with down syndrome children, and just about *every* parent of a down syndrome child, (save those that are extremely uncomfortable or ill-prepared), greatly encourage other children to ask questions, to become involved, and to learn more about their child. This helps the children become more comfortable, friendly, and easy going with the down syndrome child and gives a base for relationships to build.

I guess you know what parents of physically/mentally challenged children would want because you've spent a great deal of time around them?
Oh wait, don't answer that, it's rhetorical.

09/16/2004 05:25:08 AM · #11

Artyste, I can't say I've spent much time with parents of Down Syndrome kids, but if I was one, I wouldn't want others pointing it out. However, I do have some experience on the physcial defect subjet. My 10 year old sister is crossed eyed, even after multiple surgeries. She gets very uncomfortable around other kids because she has been made fun of before. She knows she's that way, we know she's that way, the last thing we need is someone pointing it out and making us all feel uncomfortable because she feels like crap. I only meant to mock Disney and the article in my original post, but I guess it got misinterpreted, my apologies!

June