by Cyndi Li

Created on: May 27, 2009

Subliminal messages are an integral part of society. While some are intentional, many are simply part of the fabric of the genre they are found within, and are not intended to train the mind to think one way or another. Disney films are no exception.

The question of whether Disney films have subliminal messages hidden within their story lines could be debated. One group of individuals may see none at all while another would agree whole heartedly that they exist, and many of them at that. This writer is part of the latter group. For instance, let's take a look at the Walt Disney film, Peter Pan.

At one point in this classic Disney tale, Tinkerbelle, Peter Pan's tiny fairy friend, is dancing on a hand-held mirror that's laid on the top of a chest of draws. As she care freely spins around in circles she glances down into the mirror and sees the reflection of her tiny figure. She suddenly stops her dance, and places her hands on her hips as if measuring the width of them. The expression that appears on her face tells the movie watches that she is not happy with the size of her hips. Apparently, she feels she is overweight. Not only is she not overweight, she is clad in a skimpy green dress that accentuates her dainty little curves and shows more skin that was expectable during that era of time. (1950's)There is a subliminal message sent to both little boys and little girls within this scene.

The message to girls is that they are fat if they don't have slim, trim bodies. It tells them to be conscious of their outer image in a way that is unrealistic. For decades the mainstream media has been accused of perpetuating these sort of false images on society, and rightly so. But, this Disney story, adapted in 1953 from the original Peter Pan character introduced to the world in the novel, The Little White Bird, which was written in 1902, would have to take the unfortunate honor of portraying this unrealistic image long before the unrealistic images of today's mega media industry presented them as correct. And the message to the boys isn't much better.

Basically, this scene sets the stage for what boys should consider attractive. In fact, if one were to review other classic Disney films, they would find this slender, female image portrayed in many, if not all, of them. And, adding to the myth is the fact that, in the majority of instances, these slender beauties are almost always the nice girls, while the evil and vicious females are seen as ugly or, at the very least, the least attractive of the female characters. This couldn't be further form the reality.

Ugliness, evil or vileness has nothing to do with outer image. There are plenty of 'beautiful people' that are without a doubt some of the nastiest, ruthless individuals found within society. The real question would be, are these messages intentionally place within these stories? I think not.

It's not likely that anyone at the Walt Disney Studios sat down and concocted these images with any negative undertones. Quite the contrary, these images are, and probably were, a sign of the times. Which would have to make one wonder , exactly when and where did these ivory-tower images infiltrate our world, and begin to cause the unhealthy upheaval they have wrought on our society today? We may never know the answer.

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