Does Disney Have a Negative Effect on Kids?

What is the difference between a Disney movie and an action movie? Well, chances are the action movie has some sort of violence, maybe a little bit of foul language, a scene with teenagers doing mind altering drugs, and probably a naked woman or two. A Disney movie, on the other hand, will most likely not have any swear words, even mild ones. There will be no sexual content or nudity at all (they're quite touchy about that). In fact, there probably won't even be a subtle sexual reference. There won't be any drugs, unless they are trying to get the message across that drugs are bad, and the violence will be minimal, something that wouldn't bother a kid or, more importantly, a parent. They seem like the perfect parent figure, shielding kids from harmful influences, right?

You cannot deny, Disney seems to have taken the idea of political correctness and given it a whole new ball park. In fact, I bet that if you look up political correctness in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Walt Disney, or maybe even a Disney logo. But are they really protecting our kids? Or are they shamelessly bending to the will of the overprotective parent? I believe Disney started this whole mess with good intentions, but have taken it too far. They wanted to protect kids from the harmful effects of a cruel reality, but may have made them more vulnerable to it.

Allow me to explain that last statement, which probably has some people scratching their heads and wondering if I am on drugs of some sort. By shielding kids from reality, which I will not deny is cruel and unfair, Disney has unwittingly made them more vulnerable to it's effects. Kids are not learning that there are more bad people in the world than they think. They aren't learning about the curious feelings and changes that puberty has given them. They foolishly believe that the world is a fairy tale world where nobody is mean to others. They go out into the world and it becomes very easy for con artists and thieves to take advantage of them. They aren't prepared for life's challenges.

Smart and responsible parents see this negative influence in Disney's films and help their kids to understand that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows. Despite the fantasy world that Disney projects onto kids, parents still take the initiative to explain to their kids that although violence, murder, and rape do not happen in their beloved films, they still happen in real life, sadly, and that even though most people in these films have good hearts and kind spirits, many people in the real world do not and will take advantage of them the first chance they get. However, a big problem among the negative Disney film influences is that some parents insist on promoting this fantasy world that Disney has created. They, like Disney, have good intentions at heart but still end up making things worse.

No sources were used for this article.