The Little Mermaid is E-----VIL

My eyes have been opened. I thought I had a safe childhood. I thought I was decently protected from the degrading messages that the world sends to women, especially young girls. I played sports. My dad (a man) cried in movies. I was never exposed to doctrine that would tell me that I was worth anything less than I really was. Haha. Who was I kidding??? Apparently if I watched Disney, or any form of media, for that matter, I was being sent subliminal messages that I was a girl - and everything that this implied in a world run by men. Today I realized that even what used to be my favorite Disney movie, a movie filled with a cute and comical seagull and a beautiful princess, was really just one more mark against everything I am.
Arielle may have been on my shoes (and on my underware, for that matter) but she was also a girl who was on a quest for romantic love and placed its importance above everything else in her life. She went to Ursula because she wanted her to help her win the heart of the pretty-faced prince (whom she hadn't even met, might I add). What does Ursula say? She says that in order for her to do this, she would never be able to be with her family again. Arielle makes the brilliant observation that if she becomes human, she would have to leave her father and her sisters for good, to which Ursula replies, "That's right. But you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?" Apparently not in Arielle's world. She, like we all know, chooses the man over her life. Ursala's help does not come without a price, however. She requires the one thing that Arielle cherishes above all -- her voice. From a feminist point of view, this is something that all women cherish and that has been fought for. It represents opinion, freedom, a vote, value. The woman's voice represents equality and power. And if Arielle wants to get her man, she has to give it up. But how will she win her man if she can't talk, she asks, in dismay? Wise Ursula again has an answer:

"You'll have your looks, your pretty face.
And don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!"

She continues:

"The men up there don't like a lot of blabber
They think a girl who gossips is a bore!
Yet on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word
And after all dear, what is idle babble for?
Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue who get's a man."

Apparently the propaganda works on the redhead because after agreeing to leave her family behind and give up her voice, she ultimately changes even her body to be able to have a chance with this sap up on dry land. Thus, a five-year old watching will learn the following the lesson: To get the boy, I need to forget my family,keep my mouth shut, and alter my body to fit what he will want. Great! That's exactly what I want my daughter thinking.

When Hans Christian Andersen wrote the original fairytale, he wished to teach a lesson to young girls, that maybe being frivolously stupid (pardon the bluntness) isn't such a good thing. In his story (which Disney so conveniently changed to make people "happy") the Little Mermaid goes up to land, only to have her dashing young prince fall in love with a real human and marry her, breaking the Mermaid's heart. She thinks of all that she has given up and of all the pain she has suffered. Ultimately she throws herself into the sea, ending her life. But now, we wouldn't want our children to be subjected to such tragedy and despair! We merely want them to go through life miserable, mistreated, and victimized so that they can experience the pain and suffering later on in life. But happiness sells tickets.

Now, I may be going overboard in analyzing a seemingly simple and harmless Disney cartoon. Maybe I am being too cynical. But hey! I'm a sociology major! Tonight at tutoring I asked the little girl I was working with what her favorite Disney movie was. She of course replied, "Arielle!" I just smiled, shook my head, and told her how cool Mulan was. In the end she came around. I think she'll be okay. As for the others who were innocently exposed to the wrath of the sea urchin so many years ago...poor unfortunate souls.