Board 8 > I've had to write two papers on The Little Mermaid in the last two weeks

(+) Yeah! (+)

Why am I paying for college again?

I'm so sorry.

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Yoblazer wants to take your course.

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You could have asked me for help. I already have some things written on The Little Mermaid (Disney's version).

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PartOfYourWorld posted...
You could have asked me for help. I already have some things written on The Little Mermaid (Disney's version).

I thought about it, but I have a pretty strong aversion to plagiarism. Do you have anything on the gender stereotypes?

Also, if you'll recall, I recorded myself singing "Part of Your World" for some contest you did. When we watched it in class, I had to resist singing along.

What course is this? I wish I could take it.

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gender stereotypes?

you're taking a feminism class.

brb, gotta vomit.

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i had to write an essay on how to make pancakes once. i feel your pain

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I don't have anything archived in the educational system, so no need to worry about getting caught (unless your worries are moral). I've written some stuff about PoYW (the song itself) and have some of Karma Hunter's writings about the characters themselves. I can send you those; doubt KH would care after like five years.

I'd also love to read the papers.

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Mr Lasastryke posted...
gender stereotypes?

you're taking a feminism class.

brb, gotta vomit.

Indeed, it's Women's Studies. Basically a class on feminism. I really had to bite my tongue today when we were talking about differences between male and female brains.

One of the papers was an in-class essay as a response to the movie; I don't have access to it. The other was a short online journal entry about gender stereotypes. The instructor is a pretty staunch feminist and I wanted a good grade, so I BS'd a fair amount:

The gender stereotypes in Disney's The Little Mermaid were both obvious and persistent. We can start by discussing the physical characteristic of the characters. Ariel and his sisters are portrayed as the 20th century's version of the perfect female: large breasts and lips, impossibly small waists, and seductive voices and mannerisms. The primary antagonist, also a female, was given all the traits that conventional knowledge tells us are undesirable in a female: horribly overweight, a gruff voice, and a pronounced deformity on her face (her mole). The males are stereotyped just as extremely. Triton as the father figure is outrageously muscular and aggressive, while Eric possesses broad shoulders, a sharp jawbone, and an unwavering demeanor of confidence.

The behavior of the characters is no better. Ariel's sole desire is to be part of Eric's world and to do whatever is necessary to win his favor; never is she given any ambition of her own. Ursula is on the opposite end of the spectrum. She is portrayed as devious, malicious, and sneaky. Worse yet, her primary objective is to undermine the authority of King Triton and usurp his position as the leader of the sea, something the movie tells us is completely unacceptable. Triton is the consummate overbearing father. He feels that it is his duty to protect Ariel from the negative influences of the outside world at any costs, even going so far as to destroy her prized possessions in a fit of pernicious rage. Eric is the ideal man: intelligent, adventurous, and confident, and at the same time caring and protective. In the end, Triton concedes to Ariel's desire to be human only when it is clear that another man will assume the duty of caring for her.

The songs in the film also contribute to its strict defining of gender roles. "Part of Your World" is a beautiful sonnet that perfectly describes Ariel's dissatisfaction with her own life and her overwhelming desire to experience the world above. I can see how this song can be understood different ways. In one sense, it is the only feature of the movie that gives Ariel her own independence and ambition. She knows what she wants, and she is going to get it regardless of the suppression of her father. On the other hand, the fact that her eventual motivation for wanting to join the terrestrial world is Eric makes it seem like her life is incomplete until she finds him. "Kiss the Girl" is a song with cute lyrics, but the underlying message is that it is the male's responsibility to initiate romantic or sexual encounters with female, and that a woman should wait passively until a man finds the courage to make his advance.

Together, these factors form a very rigid definition of what each gender is expected to do. The contrast between Ariel as skinny, beautiful, and good and Ursula as fat, ugly, and evil is stark and undeniable. It suggests that for a woman to be desirable and good, she must display similar traits as Ariel and avoid acquiring any of Ariel's traits. It also gives us a clear picture of what Disney expects family life to be like. The father is basically a dictator, and what he says is law. I don't know how much these facts actually subconsciously influences children who see the movie, but I do recognize that they are dangerously subtle, as I never noticed any of this when I was a child. In reality, I simply accepted it as the way the world was, and perhaps that is exactly the point.

I would not post any essay you turn in on here.

Ariel and his sisters are portrayed as the 20th century's version of the perfect female

she must display similar traits as Ariel and avoid acquiring any of Ariel's traits

typos

interesting read, though, even if I do hate feminism

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Contradiction.

Ariel chasing a man is seen as not having ambition, yet Eric's role in initiating the kiss is giving him unfair responsibility?

^ got 'em

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I wrote that 20 minutes before it was due.

These journal entries were public, and mine was by far the best. Would you like to see some of the other students' entries?

Sure.

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Okay, Chief, take 'em away. I'm gonna go home and sleep with my wife. ~ Mr. Green
Enjoy the silence.

i think its excellent

but its me so yeah

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Not trying to give you a hard time or anything if you had to do it.

Feminism is just dumb that's all.

Mermaids belong in the kitchen.

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but they can't even stand up in a kitchen

they don't even have legs!

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From: facepaImer | #021
but they can't even stand up in a kitchen

they don't even have legs!

Pardon me.

MUTE Mermaids belong in the kitchen.

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Nice essay! I enjoyed the read.

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Post the worst essays

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Yeah feminism just sucks. Women having rights and men and women being treated equal is awful!

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Dude. Best college ever imo.

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ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Yeah feminism just sucks. Women having rights and men and women being treated equal is awful!

I don't dislike feminism, I dislike feminist teachings given in colleges and universities (I study television myself, and feminism is very important for this subject, so I have some basis to say this). Having to write a paper on "gender stereotypes" in The Little Mermaid is a good example of why I dislike them.

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