11 Disney Life Lessons

We've all heard about what Disney teaches us through its animated films. How about what Disney seems to teach in recent TV series and movies? This is merely my take on Disney shows, and what catches my attention as I am analyzing them. Now, some of what I'm writing is sarcasm, and I'm sure there are some counter-arguments. But perhaps we could take a closer look at these TV series and movies that keep children glued to the screen. After all, childhood is a fundamental time of development in an individual's life.

1. If you're a girl, your best friend should also be a girl. If you're close friends with a boy, then you will only get to know him when your best girl friend spends time with him, too. Wizards of Waverly Place's Alex and Harper. Hannah Montana's Miley and Lily - and Oliver. Shake It Up's CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue - and Henry Dillon and Tyler Joseph Blue. Good Luck Charlie's Teddy R. Duncan and Ivy Renee Wentz. That's So Raven's Raven Lydia Baxter and Chelsea Ophelia Daniels - and Eddie Thomas. Your child can't have multiple social circles. Or, your child must introduce a girl friend in order to befriend a guy friend.
2. Moms think that they're teenagers, and overly obsessed with their looks. Wizards's Theresa thinks that she looks exactly like her teenage daughter Alex. Theresa is seen dressing up in dolled outfits on several occasions to emphasize her obsession with seeming young. In addition, she is seen waiting tables wearing one of Alex's childhood skirts as a shirt to look younger. Disney message seems to be that the younger you are, the more attractive you are if you are a mom - and that moms care a lot about looking young because they're "old." This teaches our children that when you get older, you think that you probably don't look beautiful anymore (even though the actresses who portray the moms are very pretty), and reinforces women's obsession with looks, and society's narrow-minded definition of beauty.
3. Dads just eat. And they're never scrawny. Why is it that the dads in Wizards, Hannah Montana, and Good Luck Charlie are never scrawny? The dads in Wizards and Good Luck Charlie have round bellies. The dads in all three shows love to eat. When Teddy imitates her dad in Good Luck Charlie, she says, "Who eat the last donut? Dad, you did." Jerry, the dad in Wizards, loves to eat so much that he is willing to fetch food from the garbage can.
4. There needs to be at least one airhead in every family or group of friends. The Suite Life on Deck's rich heiress London Tipton acts like a spoiled, illiterate, unmotivated airhead to keep the plot interesting and amuse the audience with her selfishness, confusion, and silliness. Woody Fink also helps with the entertainment by being disgusting and uneducated so the audience can laugh at his grossness and stupidity. Wizards's Max also keeps the show interesting by making remarks that illustrate just how unaware he is of the world. What? I guess we need an airhead everywhere we go. Hope your child isn't that airhead, or that he doesn't surround him- or herself with just airheads.
5. The college admissions process includes applying to only one college because you're most likely to get in. Hannah Montana's Lily and Miley only talk about Stanford. The Suite Life's Bailey and Cody only talk about Yale. In most cases, they only apply to one school, and only have one dream school. On one hand, this teaches children to focus on one dream, but also teaches them to lay all their eggs in one nest.
6. Girls can get boyfriends by acting (or being) dumb. When The Suite Life's Bailey wants to get over ex-boyfriend Cody by dating other boys, London suggests that Bailey has to dumb herself down. In the process of flirting with other guys, she talks about interesting and perhaps somewhat too scientific or uncommon topics that end up scaring the guys away. Although occasionally, Zack dates a few attractive girls who are also smart, he primarily hunts for girls who are attractive and somewhat dumb, like a girl who believes that he is an astronaut. Skyler from Good Luck Charlie snags a boyfriend named PJ. Although PJ is perhaps just as clueless, Teddy makes up for this by saying, "Isn't she [Skyler] pretty?" which implies that it's okay that Skyler is clueless because her beauty makes up for her cluelessness.
7. Smart girls are not as attractive as dumb girls. In another episode of The Suite Life in which Bailey enters a beauty pageant competition, she receives no support from the audience when she talks about a topic that she feels passionate about. However, the audience members fall asleep and only wake up when she tells them that she loves puppies. Some people argue that Shake It Up's CeCe is physically more attractive than Rocky. Why does CeCe have to be the dumb one? Was it so that each girl has one of the characteristics - being smarter or prettier? It's a shame that Bailey, one of Disney's smarter (and prettier) characters, is mocked by London because of Bailey's "ugliness," and her old farming lifestyle in The Suite Life on Deck. Why does Bailey have relatively few boys interested in her, unlike London (especially in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody)?
8. Your dad will show how much he loves his daughter by not letting her learn to drive, fly a magic carpet or perform at a concert by herself. Wizards' Jerry and Good Luck Charlie's Bob do not fully support their daughters' driving lessons (in Alex's case of being a wizard, she wants to fly a magic carpet). To the fathers, driving symbolizes independence, which is understandable. But both fathers have a hard time watching their daughters grow up. The fathers didn't seem to have a problem teaching their sons how to drive or fly a magic carpet. Similarly, Hannah Montana's Billy Ray has a hard time letting his daughter take a plane and perform at her concert by herself because he does not want her to grow up. Perhaps this is normal in some societies, but I didn't grow up in such. When I noticed this - what I thought was a "strange" - relationship between the father and the daughter, I immediately thought of the Electra complex in which the daughter is psychologically, emotionally, and perhaps even psychosexually tied to her father rather than her mother - the reverse situation of the Oedipus complex (Oedipus sleeps with his mother). Daddy's little girl? This seems to reinforce patriarchal views in which the father "owns" the daughter, especially her sexuality, which is demonstrated by the rising popularity in purity balls in which the daughter makes promise to her father not to have sex until she is married (which is mostly when he lets her). Jerry, Bob, and Billy Ray all seem to be dealing with issues of not being needed anymore as the daughter's sole "protector," reflecting patriarchal views on a young female's relationship to "the man."
9. An attitude makes you cool. Wizard's Alex has an attitude. Hannah Montana's Miley has an attitude. Shake it Up's Rocky has an attitude. And these are Disney's "it" girls that are being capitalized, and marketed as role models.
10. Every child can sing and/or dance. It's interesting how all these main Disney stars can sing - of course, with the help of some Autotune but the kids watching don't know that. Hannah Montana's Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment (who plays Lily), Mitchel Musso (who plays Oliver) all have CDs. Bridgit Mendler from Good Luck Charlie can sing too. Skyler can sing too. PJ, Emlett and Gabe have competed as a band. Shake It Up's Rocky and CeCe can dance. Viewers don't see the hard work, digital editing and talent that is needed for them to sing and dance well. High School Musical, Lemonade Mouth and Camp Rock are two other examples of movies that show that all kids can sing and/or dance. All these viewers see is that their role models can all sing and dance, and can all make it big if that's their dream. This can be Disney's way to empower children to achieve their goals. But why does it usually have to be about singing? Sure, that's what kids want these days - to have stardom. But don't exploit these dreams to make money. Why not also show the glory of other dreams as well? Yes, Disney does show some different dreams but compared to the dreams of being a star, it's not enough to represent other dreams. And why not? Because that's not what kids want? Well, some kids do have other dreams. And it's a good idea to keep young minds open.
11. Friends must go to college with each other. Cody and his good friend and ex-girlfriend Bailey in The Suite Life on Deck both plan to apply and go to Yale University together (that is, until Cody found out that he did not get in). Hannah Montana's Miley and her best friend Lily both plan to go to Stanford together. Suddenly, it seems that college is not about personal growth and education as it is about having fun with a friend. Yes, you can growth and become educated with a friend by why base your choice to go to college on a friend? When Hannah Montana's Lily is accepted into Stanford but Miley did not, Lily is willing to attend a community college with Miley just so they could go to college together. Then, when Miley gets accepted into Stanford after revealing that she is Hannah Montana - and is then offered a role in a movie, Lily agrees to go to Europe with Miley to shoot the movie while postponing college for a year. However, Lily comes to her senses and enrolls in Stanford while Miley goes to Europe by herself to film. But then Miley changes her mind because she wants to attend college with her best friend. Sweet. But this just seems to reinforce society's growing loneliness. We're physically close, living in cramped places especially in urban areas, but not emotionally so there's this longing to have a companion. Sure, it's sweet how best friends go to college together but it's not realistic. What are the chances that both friends get into the same - "competitive" - school? And what happens if they do? They would just stick together, leaving little room to fit other "best friends" into their lives anyway. Going to college with a best friend can be touching in the series but it's unrealistic and teaches very little about making sacrifices, going after our own unique and individual dreams, and thinking for ourselves. So when your kid goes to college, he or she better choose whatever school the best friend chooses to attend because that's how kids roll these days.