The Disney Princesses’ Facebook page presents its princesses
in a slightly different light than Orenstein described in her novel. For the
most part, I noticed one main difference and one similarity.
First and foremost, the biggest difference between Orenstein’s
and Disney’s message is that Disney views its princesses as empowering. Unlike
Orenstein’s assumption that Disney promotes the idea that a girl must rely on a
man to be happy in life, the “Dream Big, Princess” campaign focuses on the good
within each princess and seeks to inspire girls to be like them. As I scrolled
through the Facebook page, I came across some featurettes of each princess their
characteristic strength. For instance, one featurette focused on Merida’s
courage. Another touted Rapunzel’s strength, saying “never underestimate the
power of a good swing.” Another celebrated Mulan’s determination with “never
stop climbing.” One post celebrated Tiana’s work ethic, which showed an Olympic
soccer player with the caption “She was inspired by Tiana,” referring to her hard
work to get where she was. Another called Ariel a world-class swimmer. Another
featurette wove real girls’ dreams into the lyrics of “I’ve Got a Dream” from Tangled, showing that every girl has a
dream. Each featurette fit into the campaign’s message that “For every girl
that has a dream, there’s a princess that shows her it’s possible.”
Orenstein also criticizes Disney for ultimately supporting
old conservative ideals that a woman needs a man to live happily ever after.
The Facebook page shows otherwise. A post about Elena said, roughly translated
from Spanish, “whoever believes the first Latina Disney Princess would be a fragile
damsel who waits for her prince is in for a surprise…she is tenacious, valiant,
compassionate, and intelligent.” This shows that Disney actively promotes the
idea of a strong, not passive, girl. Belle is kind and sees the good in
everything even if it is not apparent. This idea contrasts drastically with
Orenstein’s view of Belle. Orenstein sees her as a tool the Beast uses to turn him
from an angry beast to a charming prince. So, according to Disney, one should see
the good in every princess, which is in stark contrast to Orenstein’s cynicism.
However, one point Orenstein made in her novel about Disney
was also represented on their Facebook page. Some posts supported Orenstein’s claim
that Disney promotes consumerism. As a part of the “Dream Big, Princess”
campaign, Disney channel stars are reimagining classic Disney songs, and one
post promoted the new “Dream Big, Princess” album, telling people to Pre-order
Today! This is another attempt to milk the brand for all its worth. I looked at
the songs on the album, and there wasn’t anything new, just old songs sung by new
people. And according to some people in the comments, the singers weren’t that
good.
Not only was consumerism promoted in children, but also in
adults. There was a post about Disney princess themed tennis racket covers, and
in the comments, many adults expressed that they wanted to buy some as well,
either for their children, or lamented that Disney didn’t have the product when
they were younger. These posts confirm that, even though it is an influential
force in teaching children social values, Disney is still a business built on capitalizing
on children’s innocence and parents’ protective instincts for their children.
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