We were talking over dinner the other night—the child, the husband and I, and the child mentioned that the Disney movies always seem to be absent a mother—she is either dead or missing or killed early on. And she is almost always replaced by a mean, wicked stepmother.
I said—I think it is is because they are following the old fairy tales—Cinderella, Snow White etc.
But then child said...”What about Finding Nemo where the mother is offed in the first few minutes? What about that?”
Good Point...
She said she thought it was time for a mommy lawsuit against Disney. I think so too. How many more movies are we willing to accept with this free and easy killing off of mothers?
Mothers of the Internet Unite! You have nothing to lose but that glorious 45 minutes of undisturbed time.
Winnie-the-Pooh looking for a mother
This is intended - children fantasize that their mom is dead! It is also horrible - remember Dumbo's mom - scene 1, otherwise known as the mad scene. So with that nagging mommy out of the way, the child hero goes on to adventure, loss, redemption, growth, etc. Sometimes helped out by a bunny or a cricket or a fairy or two. One school of thought says that fairy tales were invented to keep kids in line (Red Riding Hood ignored her mom and didn't stay on the path, now look what's happened, she's gotten grandma eaten by a wolf.) Really that still applies - part of the child's learning is to become his or her own rescuer - whether they start out as a good or bad boy or girl, if they don't pull themselves up by the bootstraps (and sometimes listen to Thumper or Jiminy Cricket) when they wake up in the morning they will be dead!
ReplyDeleteYou have a very insight and intelligent daughter. How about a minute of blogging silence for all the killing of Disney moms?
ReplyDeleteI love the minute of silence for all the murdered mommies in Disney movies. I also love Sheba's critque on fairy tales in general--I am just so surprised in this age of protecting the children that fairy managed to survive where as hand built tree forts, roaning the neighbor all day sans parents have all gone to wayside to keep children from harms way.
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