Something that I think is a valuable skill to have in life is being socially aware of different practices and cultures. Disney has done a good job in this area; racially diverse princess', geographically accurate to a specific region, historically correct mythological events, and even the food is factual. What makes Disney special is that they have done a great job in making the settings in movies, shows and books in different parts of the world with different kinds of people, places, species, and things! I think the most obvious and probably well known example would be of Mulan, throughout the movie I learned about spouse selection, gender roles, religious beliefs, and family values.
In the first few opening scenes, you see Mulan getting ready to meet a "matchmaker" for Mulan to be placed with the man she would later call her husband. I learned that in Asian culture men look for certain aesthetic features that would normally be strange in America such as pale skin. You also see Mulan's mother and grandmother putting different fortuitous items on or under her clothing all in hopes that she will find, "the one." Her attire is loose fitting and traditional to Asian culture, face caked with makeup, and she carries an umbrella.
Another old fashioned cultural difference that I noticed in the movie is a man and woman's role in society, and family values. The first and most apparent difference is that people are needed to fight in the war, but women cannot enroll, only men are allowed, restricting Mulan from stepping in place for her father who is elderly an disabled. This obviously did not stop Mulan, but her circumstance was not the norm. Mulan's family felt ashamed of her, and felt that her family would be dishonored because Mulan crossed the line into unknown and unwelcomed territory for a woman. In addition to men being the only people in the army, they were usually the bread winners of the family, while the mother stayed home to cook, clean, and take care of children and basic other household duties.
Religion, or spiritual belief throughout this movie is very prominent in that Mulan visits her families tomb to talk to the spirits and pray and the start and the end of the movie. In the movie I learned that they do not believe in a God, but the spirits of their family, and great leaders, and their powers to protect and punish them accordingly. Mulan's deceased family protected her with Mushu, the dragon who helped her make great decisions, and face the unfamiliar.
Disney has opened my eyes to cultural adversity, and allowed my interest to grow in learning of practices and beliefs all around the world!
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
Monday, September 28, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Unrealistic High School Expectations
As a child, I, and many other children from my generation, worshiped the worldwide phenomenon, High School Musical 1, 2, and 3. Most people, myself included, could quote, sing, and dance alongside Troy, and Gabriella. What we did not know, was the heartbreak that was included in this elaborate misconception of false hope.
The first and most blatant lie throughout the entire movie series:
Celebrating? Song and Dance!
Sad? Passive aggressive song and violent actions toward walls and imaginary people!
Meeting for the first time? You guessed it, song and dance!
Lunch time? Song and Dance!
Didn't get the part you wanted in the play? Revenge song and Dance!
Conflicted? Why not song and dance it out?!
Although I love these movies, they gave me a false hope in the realm of high school. Coming into freshman year, I was unhappily stunned with the lack of enthusiasm, more or less music that was not echoing though the halls. I am still waiting for the day that we jazz square and skip down the halls to an upbeat pop song.
Second lie throughout HSM:
Super talented (and attractive) jock boy is conveniently a super great singer, who just so happens to get the super smart, beautiful girl who also happens to be vocally gifted.
This was one of the more devastating realities of Kennedy high school, that no super hot, athletic, vocally gifted male would go for a girl who is smart and actively involved in music. Being that I associate myself as one of these girls, it came as a real shock that high school was not in fact as fantastic as everyone made it seem, more specifically, how High School Musical made it seem.
Finally the amount of social time throughout the day/week:
Always just chilling in the halls
Never doing anything after school except hanging with friends, or your girlfriend
Constantly late to class due to plotting revenge against someone
Super fun and relaxing lunch with appetizing food choices<-- very important difference
The last few misconceptions of high school may have been some of the more disappointing parts of my career. Me personally never have time to chill in the halls unless I have some sort of death wish due to the overcrowding, smelly, and slow moving pace at which people choose to move. Afterschool, the things I would do to be able to nap, or hang out, after school, but unfortunately the reality of this is far from the truth. in the after hours of school I am, working, doing homework, studying, at practice for soccer or show choir, in a quartet rehearsal for chamber, or performing other humanly functions required in a days time, I do not have time to hang with friends. If I were late to class I'd get a detention so that's incorrect and stupid, and it was not appreciated. Lunch is stressful and filled with homework because I don't want to do it when I get home, so it's basically the exact opposite of everything the movie was. Plus the food is gross and looks regurgitated.
I do love Kennedy, and the high school experience, but Disney may need to do a little bit more research next time they are doing a movie based on high school, because as far as I'm concerned, its filled with minimal sleep, lack of food, cramming, a wee bit of fun, and a lot of memories good and bad. High school rocks, but get your facts straight Disney!
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
The first and most blatant lie throughout the entire movie series:
Celebrating? Song and Dance!
Sad? Passive aggressive song and violent actions toward walls and imaginary people!
Meeting for the first time? You guessed it, song and dance!
Lunch time? Song and Dance!
Didn't get the part you wanted in the play? Revenge song and Dance!
Conflicted? Why not song and dance it out?!
Although I love these movies, they gave me a false hope in the realm of high school. Coming into freshman year, I was unhappily stunned with the lack of enthusiasm, more or less music that was not echoing though the halls. I am still waiting for the day that we jazz square and skip down the halls to an upbeat pop song.
Second lie throughout HSM:
Super talented (and attractive) jock boy is conveniently a super great singer, who just so happens to get the super smart, beautiful girl who also happens to be vocally gifted.
This was one of the more devastating realities of Kennedy high school, that no super hot, athletic, vocally gifted male would go for a girl who is smart and actively involved in music. Being that I associate myself as one of these girls, it came as a real shock that high school was not in fact as fantastic as everyone made it seem, more specifically, how High School Musical made it seem.
Finally the amount of social time throughout the day/week:
Always just chilling in the halls
Never doing anything after school except hanging with friends, or your girlfriend
Constantly late to class due to plotting revenge against someone
Super fun and relaxing lunch with appetizing food choices<-- very important difference
The last few misconceptions of high school may have been some of the more disappointing parts of my career. Me personally never have time to chill in the halls unless I have some sort of death wish due to the overcrowding, smelly, and slow moving pace at which people choose to move. Afterschool, the things I would do to be able to nap, or hang out, after school, but unfortunately the reality of this is far from the truth. in the after hours of school I am, working, doing homework, studying, at practice for soccer or show choir, in a quartet rehearsal for chamber, or performing other humanly functions required in a days time, I do not have time to hang with friends. If I were late to class I'd get a detention so that's incorrect and stupid, and it was not appreciated. Lunch is stressful and filled with homework because I don't want to do it when I get home, so it's basically the exact opposite of everything the movie was. Plus the food is gross and looks regurgitated.
I do love Kennedy, and the high school experience, but Disney may need to do a little bit more research next time they are doing a movie based on high school, because as far as I'm concerned, its filled with minimal sleep, lack of food, cramming, a wee bit of fun, and a lot of memories good and bad. High school rocks, but get your facts straight Disney!
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Remembering Your Roots
I think that for too often people become too much of what they say they will never be, or of their hobbies and lifestyle, instead of staying connected to things that ground you and make you, you. For me, Disney has always been apart of my life, these movies, shows and concepts that Disney is revolved around have in some ways shaped who I am today. Although some of Disney's ideals are outdated, and unrealistic, I've learned to take away the good from these messages and learn from the bad.
A common theme throughout the majority of Disney movies occurs when the main character becomes confident, or cocky, and starts to show off, and distance him/her/itself from their roots, or their backstory. An example would be like Troy Bolton in High School Musical 2, when he starts to get recruited from a basketball group, and gets a great promotion in his summer job, he starts to blow off his friends, forgets about dates with his girlfriend, and overall becomes an arrogant jerk leaving him single and friendless.
To me this is a very important lesson to learn in life because you need to stay humble and remember where you came from to make the journey life takes you on more extraordinary. If you get handed everything in life without having to work for it, you don't appreciate things, you know no value because you've never had to earn anything. Disney has an approachable way of coming back to reality and remembering what's important in life.
So many days even I get to stressed about my job, or show choir, and school, and I forget that life really isn't about this. I have to remind myself that I am doing a good job, or maybe I need to be a little kinder, and just take a minute to look at how I've grown as a person, and be proud yet humble. After all, growing up is a humbling experience, and I think that whatever path you may choose, we all tend to get a little sucked into whatever is consuming your life, and when this happens, just remember where you came from along with how far you've come. Remember the little fish that said, "...just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming ,swimming, swimming...", although she couldn't decipher between "Fabio and Nemo", she could always remember who she was; she knew her TRUE self.
A common theme throughout the majority of Disney movies occurs when the main character becomes confident, or cocky, and starts to show off, and distance him/her/itself from their roots, or their backstory. An example would be like Troy Bolton in High School Musical 2, when he starts to get recruited from a basketball group, and gets a great promotion in his summer job, he starts to blow off his friends, forgets about dates with his girlfriend, and overall becomes an arrogant jerk leaving him single and friendless.
To me this is a very important lesson to learn in life because you need to stay humble and remember where you came from to make the journey life takes you on more extraordinary. If you get handed everything in life without having to work for it, you don't appreciate things, you know no value because you've never had to earn anything. Disney has an approachable way of coming back to reality and remembering what's important in life.
So many days even I get to stressed about my job, or show choir, and school, and I forget that life really isn't about this. I have to remind myself that I am doing a good job, or maybe I need to be a little kinder, and just take a minute to look at how I've grown as a person, and be proud yet humble. After all, growing up is a humbling experience, and I think that whatever path you may choose, we all tend to get a little sucked into whatever is consuming your life, and when this happens, just remember where you came from along with how far you've come. Remember the little fish that said, "...just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming ,swimming, swimming...", although she couldn't decipher between "Fabio and Nemo", she could always remember who she was; she knew her TRUE self.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
Monday, September 21, 2015
Realistic Ideals
When you think of Disney, you think of mystical magical fairy tales that ALWAYS have a happy ending(with the exception of Frozen) between and boy and girl. You think of a long, beautiful romance story with tragedy and huge obstacles that had to be overcome to end a beautiful love story, when in reality that's not at all how life works. With the exception of Disney's most recent princess movie, Frozen, every Disney story has had an unrealistic ideal of how you should meet your "true love" and live "happily ever after."
Up until recent years I didn't find anything wrong with this until you think about all of the things that could possibly get in the way of a perfect love story. Aside from the fact that to me there isn't really ever a perfect love story because everyone's love story is different, making it perfect in its own way.
My first issue with Disney's ideal love story:
•Love at first sight
My problem with this is that I(grantedI've only been alive for 16 years)have never seen or heard of anyone saying, "Yeah, I saw my husband mowing his lawn once, and from the moment our eyes met, we were in love."
•Ariel(love her) was very young, as were most of the other Princess'
Nowadays is very much frowned upon to be married at a young age because older generations like to tell us that we have no idea what love is this young blah blah blah, yet they are the ones who were married SOOO young! For example, Ariel, she was sixteen when she was in love with Eric, traded voices to make him fall even more in love with him, and then, you guessed it, they got married. Now don't get me wrong, love is love, whatever way you look at it, but I think that it's a bit of a stretch for someone, take me for example to get married based on little to no prior information about the person!
•True love can only be found in a spouse
I agree with the statement to a certain degree, but having 4 older sisters, a niece, the best mom, and working at a daycare, I'd say that any Real love, can be found in lots of different people, or places. True love is found when you would go out of your way to make these people happy, and to care for them, most importantly to show how much you care, and to me that doesn't only have to be your spouse.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
Sunday, September 20, 2015
LILO and Stitch
I know I have a total bias opinion because I don't see anything bad when watching Disney movies because I refuse to even believe such a thing exists. Something that my mind has been reminded of about Disney movies is just how stinkin' funny they are. Have you ever seen Lilo and Stitch? If you haven't then you are missing out. I mean it's not like a total Adam Sandler comedy movie but many parts in it are HILARIOUS. I dare you to go rent that movie and not laugh! If you say you didn't, well, you are lying.
So I wouldn't say I really have a point in emphasizing the funniness of Lilo & Stitch, I just happened to run across it this weekend and I just had the best thought, "HEY! I smell a gooooooood blog a cookin'!" Not really, but now thinking about it that would be a pretty cool thing. That is thinking about a homework assignment during the weekend. ANYWAY, I just am really promoting this movie because I think it was really over-looked when it came out, like people just thought it looked stupid so they didn't even bother with it. The "people" being the parents of these innocent kids who were robbed of a HUGE part of their childhood. Alright, so it is really not that big, but I am sure those kids would have enjoyed life even a little more if they saw this great movie!
I am not going to take the time and tell you about this movie because that would just ruin the surprise and I am not about that life. What I can do though, is tell all the girls out there with older or younger sisters, this movie could pretty much explain your life with your sister! I am telling you, I have four older sisters, and let me tell you, the relationship between Lilo and her older sister honestly sums up mine and my sisters relationship a lot of times.
This movie also appeals to whole families in the sense that Lilo doesn't really have much of one. It could really bring a family together in realizing what they have. I think all Disney movies do that in some sense because they all have a little message that hits you in an emotional way. They are very family oriented, and I promise will do nothing but good for families. So just take a hour and a half away from your hectic life and sit down to watch Lilo & Stitch with your family, and in the end tell them all you love them. OHANA.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
So I wouldn't say I really have a point in emphasizing the funniness of Lilo & Stitch, I just happened to run across it this weekend and I just had the best thought, "HEY! I smell a gooooooood blog a cookin'!" Not really, but now thinking about it that would be a pretty cool thing. That is thinking about a homework assignment during the weekend. ANYWAY, I just am really promoting this movie because I think it was really over-looked when it came out, like people just thought it looked stupid so they didn't even bother with it. The "people" being the parents of these innocent kids who were robbed of a HUGE part of their childhood. Alright, so it is really not that big, but I am sure those kids would have enjoyed life even a little more if they saw this great movie!
I am not going to take the time and tell you about this movie because that would just ruin the surprise and I am not about that life. What I can do though, is tell all the girls out there with older or younger sisters, this movie could pretty much explain your life with your sister! I am telling you, I have four older sisters, and let me tell you, the relationship between Lilo and her older sister honestly sums up mine and my sisters relationship a lot of times.
This movie also appeals to whole families in the sense that Lilo doesn't really have much of one. It could really bring a family together in realizing what they have. I think all Disney movies do that in some sense because they all have a little message that hits you in an emotional way. They are very family oriented, and I promise will do nothing but good for families. So just take a hour and a half away from your hectic life and sit down to watch Lilo & Stitch with your family, and in the end tell them all you love them. OHANA.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
Friday, September 18, 2015
Disney Music
If you are a die hard Disney lover like I am or used to be, you will know that every Disney movie has the greatest music and songs in them! Everytime I ever watch one of the movies I sing every single word to it! They put me in the best mood ever and they are just fun to sing to! I want everyone to hear all the Disney songs. They do not even have to watch the movie it is from. JUST LISTEN TO THE SONGS!! I know that most people will remember a large number of them if they ever watched the classics as a kid.
For guys, they may not be as interested because I think for the most part it is girls who keep in touch with their little kid side for awhile longer and more in depth than guys do, but I would like boys to at least give it a try. Go to YouTube and type in 'Disney Classic Songs' and I guarantee you that the songs you used to love as a kid will come on and you will fall in love all over again!
A little off topic, but, if you are one of those people who say they know a song and like mumble the words like you know it, well don't. No one likes those kind of people and if I am around you and you do it do one of my jams (a Disney song) you best believe I will call you out and embarrass you for disgracing the Disney name! Like who do you think you are? What did Disney ever do to you to mess something up like that? I get that it isn't really THAT big of a deal, but, if you are going to sing a Disney song, sing it right please. :)
If I were to recommend a movie to watch with great songs it would most definitely have to be The Little Mermaid or The Lion King. Those songs are seriously so much fun and some of the most popular! Everyone has to love them and if you don't well then you are just crazy! So do us, or well me, a favor and please please please, at LEAST go watch those two movies or listen to the songs because you will LOVE them! And if you do not, well then you suck. You're welcome.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
For guys, they may not be as interested because I think for the most part it is girls who keep in touch with their little kid side for awhile longer and more in depth than guys do, but I would like boys to at least give it a try. Go to YouTube and type in 'Disney Classic Songs' and I guarantee you that the songs you used to love as a kid will come on and you will fall in love all over again!
A little off topic, but, if you are one of those people who say they know a song and like mumble the words like you know it, well don't. No one likes those kind of people and if I am around you and you do it do one of my jams (a Disney song) you best believe I will call you out and embarrass you for disgracing the Disney name! Like who do you think you are? What did Disney ever do to you to mess something up like that? I get that it isn't really THAT big of a deal, but, if you are going to sing a Disney song, sing it right please. :)
If I were to recommend a movie to watch with great songs it would most definitely have to be The Little Mermaid or The Lion King. Those songs are seriously so much fun and some of the most popular! Everyone has to love them and if you don't well then you are just crazy! So do us, or well me, a favor and please please please, at LEAST go watch those two movies or listen to the songs because you will LOVE them! And if you do not, well then you suck. You're welcome.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
Monday, September 14, 2015
Ariel and I
I believe that throughout the entirety of Disney movies there's a message that gets looked over because it's a "kids" film, but I believe in the Disney movies, because your never to old to learn something you never knew. This film may be over looked by a five or six year old, but as you grow older and learn from reality, come back and revisit, because as a 16 year old, I still let things such as appearances and physical boundaries hold me back from something I hold near to my heart. Ariel pushes the envelope and believes in herself, which is more than most people can say. Ariel has and always will be someone important to me, because she showed me how to be myself and to go as far as you need to (within reason, after all she was a mermaid gone human) to reach your goals.
For most of my life, or any young child's life for that matter, I've always identified with some sort of character, may it be fiction or a real person. I grew up feeling a relation with Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid, I think since we both had red hair, and because of that being so rare I just idolized everything about her. Her long hair and free spirit inspired me everyday to go out and not be afraid to be myself and prove others wrong, and most importantly to never let a physical flaw separate me from something or someone that I care about.
Sometimes I think the simple things in life are missed, a good movie, a cool swim on a hot day, or an inspiring message that keeps you going. Disney brings you back, allows you to get away and find yourself again, and reminisce on your childhood hero.
Whenever I think of Ariel, I think of this image, because she looks happy, and like she has no worries. To me she embodies self love, confidence and inner beauty; a difficult characteristic to poses. So being or wishing to be like Ariel doesn't make me childish or immature, it makes me have expectations of myself, and set goals, and most importantly, makes me read between the lines, and never forget where it all started.
"...it all started because of a mouse." -Walt Disney
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