Wednesday 17 June 2009

Good grief... (potty mouth rant)

Watching a stupid fucking bitch on stupid fucking morning show stupid fucking thing and the stupid fucking bitch was whinging about princess movies. She wants to ban them. Yep, FUCKING PRINCESSES. Snow White is apparently feeding her glorious biological little perfect princesses misrepresentations of reality and how life actually works in regards to men and love....OMFG.....SHUT UP.

You'd be tempted to laugh this crazy fucking mole off, but a round of "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep", anyone?.

12 comments:

  1. Tell her to go do some fucking parenting instead of relying on society to parent her children. Fuck's sake. The world is full of non-ideal situations and anti-fairytale realities. Parenting is all about teaching your kids how to deal with all that without sheltering them from it so they can't. THAT'S THE JOB. Whether it's princess movies or dodgy sportsmen as supposed 'role models' - it's not their job to teach your kids morals, ethics and standards of behaviour. IT'S YOURS AS A PARENT.

    Rant over. Breathe, Yob. Breathe.

    In reality they've probably got her on the show to elicit exactly this sort of response from people tbf.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Look, you're probably going to kill me here... but I kinda feel similar about Disney films myself.

    I have numerous girlfriends who are waiting for their "Prince Charmings" and turn down other blokes because they're not good-looking/rich/etc enough.

    Of course it's anecdotal, but Disney films (and romantic films in general) do tend to paint a glowing "happy ever after" picture, where all the hard work is done BEFORE the inevitable marriage, and everything after that is just peachy. And we know that in real life, things tend to be just the opposite.

    The princesses in the films aren't "human" - they're all generally dear, sweet girls who are put upon, or even abused by relatives - think Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel from the Little Mermaid.

    The Princesses don't really have character flaws beyond being too trusting or naive - or occasionally stubborn, like the cleverer characters Mulan or Jasmine from Aladdin.

    Male characters in contrast are generally given more interesting character traits - vanity, pride, jealousy, ambition - things that the princess comes along and "cures" with her innocence, wholeness and purity.

    I'm not saying that watching these films is going to directly influence all young minds. I do understand that for many people - particularly young girls - these films are pleasant escapism.

    I also agee with Dr Yobbo that parents have a role in what their children watch, and how they interpret it.

    I guess what I'm saying is that it would be good to see some more dimensions to some of these princesses, to show little Susie or Jenny that they don't have to always be kind, generous, pretty, soft and loving to be a good person.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hallelujah, Naut. Can I get a Fucken A?

    That's not to say that Disney movies aren't crap. They are. Turgid, venal, bottom-feeding, by-the-numbers bilge which probably DOES give kids a distorted view of reality, if they buy into it - one which, I'd very strongly hope, they'd figure out was profoundly bogus by the time they went through puberty. But banning them because they're not representative of society's true expectations of male-female dynamics? JFC on an inflatable tricycle.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ GC et al

    I think whether ambitious women like it or not there is a certain amount of truth in the traditional role of women. If they want to have a kid and give that kid a grounded start in its existence it needs a parent to guide it through and begin its education before it's five years old and heading to school.

    Yep, it ain't that easy these days, and yep studies say blah blah blah...

    I think half the trouble with kids these days is the lack of family and its traditional role in the upbringing of a kid. Yes, a single mum with no extended family can raise an intelligent, well rounded, smart kid, but I bet THAT mum doesn't blame Disney for its faults.

    In the end Disney is there to make money and direct escapism is how they do it. IF a young girl IS being directly affected long term by movies then I'd suggest the fault lays with the parent who uses tele as a baby sitter.

    There's bucket loads of shows on tele where the a woman is depicted as other than kind, generous, pretty, soft and loving but still being a good person. Sex and The City, Greys Anatomy, Private Practice yadda yadda

    Should they ALL be?...

    ReplyDelete
  5. GC: personally, I think the Western myth-construction of "True Love" is maybe the single most destructive element of our society short of religion. But banning princess movies is fucking stupid. You ban princesses, and shortly thereafter you find yourself banning a long, long list of equally stupid and fucked-up constructions.

    Pop culture reflects and refocuses social order. The way to fix this is not to ban chunks of it, but to work with your kids. Sit down, watch the movie with them, and ask 'em what they think. Question them. Question the ideas they get from the movies. Throw some what-ifs in. Ask why Snow White can't get an Uzi and sort the witch out for herself.

    Banning shit like this assumes that people are stupid. And the more we go around assuming people are stupid, the stupider our people will be, since there will be nothing to challenge them, and nothing for them to learn from. This is Orwellian, Big-brother propaganda bullshit, and the dim bitch should pull her fucking head in.

    I have a three-year-old daughter who loves princesses. She's currently watching "Godzilla: Final Wars", because she also loves her some giant monster goodness. I don't anticipate too many troubles with the "princess" meme in the future, y'know?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey guys! Good chats. But just to clarify:

    I did not say that I want these films banned. I think you'll find while I get hot under the collar about certain issues, I remain reasonably libertarian. Banning doesn't solve anything - and as I pointed out, I really do agree with both Moko and Flinthart that parental influence is the most important thing.

    I didn't watch a huge amount of Disney as a kid - I much prefer reading Enid Blyton tales about flying wishing chairs, magic trees and girls mystifyingly named Fanny. But I certainly didn't end up with huge misconceptions about "happily ever after", and I would certainly agree that girls are generally NOT f***ed up by princess movies, any more than boys are f***ed up by violent video games, for example.

    Moko - I agree that kids need good grounding in early life, but I do dispute that it has to be a woman. A woman generally needs to be there for the first few months for breast-feeding purposes, but I would argue that as long as they're a good person, either sex will do well at dedicated parenting. It's just a social construct that's existed for a few thousand years, ergo it's easy to believe it's inbuilt.

    I think, Flinthart, what I mean by seeing other things onscreen, is that it would be nice to see film-makers being a bit more subversive with traditional gender roles themselves. Pixar does some charming stuff along these lines - but even a movie like "The Incredibles", with a great story and characters, maintained the Dad character as the one who worked, and Mum the one who stayed home to look after the kids.

    And yes, I know, it's meant to be familiar for the kids, it's the typical nuclear family... etc etc ;)

    Finally - I do think this is happening, slowly... and I honestly think it will happen precisely because parents want more variety of entertainment for their kids. We live in a world of media - I don't think it's really a choice that you can STOP your kids watching stuff, or at the very least WANTING to watch stuff - but I don't think we should just sit back and let Disney throw non-stop princessey guff at us all the time.

    I hope I make sense. I've had about 3 hours' sleep and then worked a 4am shift, so apologies if I'm slightly loose with my arguments. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's the hard part about discussing a topic with someone SO versed in the media. There's ALWAYS a back door in everything they say. lol

    Thanks heaps for your input, it's V MUCH appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Here's just a thought from you know, a mum, my daughter watches Disney and just about anything else, does she have a distorted view on life? NO! She is quite able to seperate fantasy from reality, as she has a mother who takes the time to talk to her about the difference. I have found she already has a very clear view on how to act and how to be treated. Let's not forget, kids are not complete idiots, they can and do make very wise decisions, as long as the ground work is laid by the parents.
    Let's give kids a bit of a credit here, they aren't as dumb as they look.

    ReplyDelete
  9. For fucks sake, why dont they ban all music, movies, television, toys etc. burn it all! obviously these lazy arse fuckin parents cant do their job and reiterate the fact that this is merely a FAIRY tale, something of make believe. there is a defference between this and reality, its an emotional utopia for christs sake. GAH! fairy tales wont turn you into a pain in the arse high and mighty princess, tv doesnt make you fat and stupid and heavy metal will NOT make you a psychopath as long as you can identify the difference between fiction and reality. GAH!...

    i hate humans...

    :D

    ReplyDelete

Please leave your name/handle with your comment. It's important to stand next to our thoughts.