Last blog asked, “What kind of heroines did Walt Disney’s vision create with the classic 6 princesses?” From comparing their dreams with their parents’ plans, we saw that these Disney princesses want love and/or a new life. Now we look closer at the Disney princesses by the paths to their dreams starting with Snow White and Cinderella.

Both girls dream of love because they are denied it at home. Neither girl makes an effort at first to achieve this dream, but they don’t just sit and wait either. Their reduced status as servants doesn’t allow them! Instead they sing to make the work a more pleasant task and dream to escape mentally.

Snow White differs from Cinderella by being thrown out into a new life. The fact that Snow White doesn’t dream of the prince anymore confirms that what she actually wanted was a life with people who love her.

We could say that Snow White’s prince shows up only when she needs saving, but he didn’t appear when the huntsman had intended to kill her. The prince saves her by waking her up from cursed sleep.  Unfortunately, the story ends before Snow White can choose to be a different kind of queen from her stepmother.

Cinderella, on the other hand, has a second dream. She wants to attend the royal ball, which is open to all young women including those in Cinderella’s lowered status. So she dreams for this moment of being equal to every other girl including her stepsisters.

For this dream, Cinderella makes great effort with help from her mice friends. Cinderella’s stepfamily is the obstacle for both dreams. After she proves she has time for the ball, they lower her self-esteem too. Thankfully, the fairy godmother appears as an alternative maternal support by equipping her with not only fashion and transportation, but encouragement too. The positive support empowers Cinderella to achieve both of her dreams.

Before Snow White and Cinderella achieve their dreams of romantic love, they both find comfort from friends. Love from friends is shown as essential too then. Why are none of the friends their peers though?

Of the two Disney princesses, Cinderella is the stronger heroine because of her efforts, especially because they were during the hard times. Her attempts lead her to find positive support and more enduring strength. Snow White only stayed positive. But both girls need to be remembered as more than princesses finding a happy ending with a prince.

Despite newer Disney princess movies, little girls still dress up as the classic characters. One reason they are iconic is because they all come from an existing story. Some children think Walt Disney invented fairy tales. What kind of heroines did his vision create?

Each teenage heroine has a dream so strong that they even sing about it! Cinderella’s song “A Dream Is a Wish” sounds like a Disney princess needs a dream to carry on:

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true

 

 Let’s compare their parents’ plans and the Disney princesses’ dreams.

The classic Disney princesses want love or a new life.

Of course Snow White and Cinderella want a new life with people who love them. Despite their lowered status, they keep positive and sing to turn work into a pleasant task. Aurora doesn’t know her true identity, but she has no complaints. She just seeks romantic love.

Ariel is one of many daughters, but she gets more of their father’s attention.  Ariel also does what Jasmine wants to do: explore outside home and abandon duties. Nothing under the sea would satisfy Ariel probably because all of it is still her father’s. The duty Jasmine dreads most is marrying a man she doesn’t like for the sake of the kingdom.

And finally Belle enjoys her home with her father, the inventor, but nothing extraordinary happens outside the house. Belle wants life to be less predictable.

Walt Disney’s vision created heroines who want more than their homes provide. Children may get the wrong idea. Because the classic Disney princesses look like they escape home, children may falsely think chores and rules are neglect. The classic Disney princess movies don’t show how parents teach their children to rely on themselves and be reliable so they can make their place in society.

Another reason why Disney princesses stay popular is because they are success stories. Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine thirst for more in life before dreaming of love, but romantic love is still shown as the path to a girl’s dreams and happiness. A love story should not be the only success story for girls.

In the next blog we will look closer at how these classic Disney Princesses try to achieve their dreams and overcome obstacles. What are your impressions of the classic ones?

Autism can be explained by the concept that individuals who are autistic see and react to the world differently. What some people perceive may be different from those who without autism. Signals and signs can become confusing and cause dishevelment. Some people with autism find it more complicated to make and maintain friendships throughout their life. Socially interacting with other members of society can be challenging because emotions and feelings on topics can vary, sometimes upsetting one person and causing great discomfort in and around social settings. A good way to explain autism is to imagine sitting in a chair and feeling the coldness to the ninth degree, while having someone blast a fan, turn on a strobe light, pinch you repeatedly and talk in circles; sensory overload is a huge aspect of what individuals who are autistic feel. Many people have a tremendous amount of talent in one specific arena of life, be it knowing all 50 states and each capital, state bird, color and motto, or having the ability to accurately predict what day of the week May 16^th of 2059 will lie on. Although life with autism can be difficult, they just want to maintain a lifestyle as normal and uninterrupted as possible. With that being said, the rest of us need to find innovative ways to understand the facts of autism and remember that everyone is just trying to be happy in life.