Is Disney Tearing Families Apart?

Posted by Brian C. Gibson (brian@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 6, 2006

The term for a traditional family structure is a “Married Nuclear Family”. This family structure is currently the minority in America. The fastest growing family structure in this country is a non-traditional “Single Parent Family”. I have the utmost respect for any man or woman who is raising a child by themselves. Some consequences are completely out of a person’s control, but why is this trend in America’s families exploding? Disney has been making films for almost a century, and has created some of the most memorable characters that have touched the lives of generation after generation of parents and children. Disney films have had a somewhat disturbing trend or theme that has echoed throughout America’s youth for nearly 70 years. Why have so many single parents appeared over the last 20 years though? Why has it become ok to abandon a woman and leave her to take care of your child? Why has it become acceptable for people to divorce instead of spending time to work on their marriages instead of their golf swings? These things have become acceptable in society because society has allowed it to become the norm. This norm has been stamped into our culture by Disney.

“By not having a complete family, it represents a catalyst or a dramatic turning point that forces the character to grow up. . . . It’s that crossroads where we all have to decide if we’re going to mature or remain a kid forever. And the thing that gets that going in many of our stories is the absence of a parent or the death of a parent.”

– Don Hahn, Disney Producer

This quote is an excellent representation of how Disney places the aspect of single parent families into a state of practicality over a traditional family. Try and think of the last Disney film you have seen that features a protagonist that has both parents throughout the entire feature. There are truly some discrepancies with this trend such as The Incredibles or Hercules, but the numbers that support this idea are alarming. Disney films traditionally highlight three types of family structures:

I’m sure the list is larger, due to the fact that I haven’t seen every Disney film. I’m not anti-Disney. On the contrary, I love most Disney films but I am alarmed by this trend. If these single parent scenarios are being used as a vehicle to show maturation into adulthood, then wouldn’t most children see that having both parents isn’t exactly required? Not saying that having both parents is required, but that is the ideal situation for growing up. Disney quickly refutes the idea of an ideal family situation by offering a myriad of situations that depict a boy/man or girl/woman who is stronger now without both parents and never longed to have both. This trend is just like any other, experts say abuse in childhood is much more likely to cause abuse during parenthood. If violence breeds violence, abandonment breeds abandonment, and abuse breeds abuse, what is so different to say that the idolization of characters from broken families wouldn’t breed broken families? Children of broken homes are much more likely to lead a broken home. Single parenthood is an exploding trend, and little boys and girls have seen success stories that feature broken families for years. Isn’t the saying ‘Monkey see, Monkey Do’?

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