Blog post 7: " The Little Mermaid": Message and Influence

On my first blog, I told you that "Little Mermaid" is one of my favorite Disney movies.  Even though it's a good movie for me and for others, other people thinks that this animated film is not a good movie especially for the kids.

The film's message

       We all know that "The Little Mermaid" is a film that its goal is to entertain children and learn a  good lesson from it. But, there is something wrong with the movie. It seems that it have a bad message and can influence children. From the article entitled "Why My Kids Will Not Be Watching The Little Mermaid" from the site huffingtonpost.com, Hilary Sheinbaum says that the moral lesson from the movie is, change what you really are so that people can accept and love you. In other words, being true to yourself can be a bad thing. It's awful right? Being rejected by others because they don't accept the way you do things, the way you act, the way you talk, the way you dress, etc... is such a painful thing. She said also that it portrays men as physically judgemental, only caring about the way a woman looks, bats her eyes and smiles -- that they do not consider any thoughts, feelings or concerns.

     Behind its good story and message that we all know, we didn't know that it has also bad message. Messages that can change our thoughts and our minds the way we think. It also tells us that men are attracted to those women who looks good and does sing perfectly.--- some will think like this. And when somebody thought of this, then eventually she will change herself to something she's not so that maybe someone can be attracted to her.

Influences to children
     

       When children watch tv expect that it can influence them. They might do the same thing from the movie they're watching. I've read an article, a mother is complaining about her daughter's attitude. In the article entitled, "I Regret The Day I Let My Daughter Watch ‘The Little Mermaid’"

from the site mommyish.com, Sarah Bregel, a mother, says that she made a mistake to let her child watch "The Little Mermaid". She regret it, because her 2 year-old daughter is obsessed with princesses and marriage, that for her it sounds strange. And also this is the first she heard her daughter to shout "I'm not a child anymore!" and she thought it was weird and mildly hilarious but, she realized that it was from the Disney movie film's "The Little Mermaid" line. 

       So this is one of the influences of "The Little Mermaid" movie to the children. Children are easily influenced by things they hears and sees, because they are still small and the way they think are different from the elders. They think that those things they see and hear are good, so they are easily influenced by it. So, every time children will watch television, make sure that they will be guided by adults. Don't just leave them alone watching inside the room.