How 90s movies, particularly Disney animated movies, made the world love itself again

John F. Kerry · 07-06-2009, 09:48 AM

think about the world today ,

its so interconnected and people are so much more empathtic to people in other places then they ever have been in history (even if not perfectly).

worldwide this seems to be the case , with only a few exceptions the world seems to be largely comming to the conclusion that we have a lot to gain from other cultures- even ones that are "primitive" in certain senses....

my own take is that the cultural things we had in the 90s and 80s layed the groundwork for what is today a flourishing world wide culture.

take for one example, disney animated movies.

in the 90s u had pocohantas, mulan, aladdin, etc etc etc... each one of these movies took a foreign culture, and made the "bad aspects" of that culture ROMANTICIZED- so u get indians as noble savages, arabs as good hearted and loving, and japanese as family oreinted and caring about their families - INSTEAD of indians as savages, arabs as terrorists, and japanese as backward people who forced their women to be married to whoever the dad choose.

Disney has a huge part to do with this IMO, but many other companies did similar things along similar lines.

the point is that now my generation is all interested in travellening around the world and eco tourism and all that stuff- I think this comes from the fact (besides drugs of course

) that we grew up learning about the "good" parts of these cultures and thus we have a romanticized impression of what world cultures are.

this bodes well for future global understanding and empathy, what it doesnt bode well for tho is dealing with those few countries that dont seem to care about their own people but nonetheless have a noble culture (china, persia , etc)...

like the question is: maybe disney could make a movie about china that would glorify it - but then would that really be good or NOT? because its kinda glorifying the regime that cracked down in tianenman etc, even tho what it was really trying to do was glorify a 5000 year old culture that has nothing to do with communism and marxism.

anybody have any thoughts on any aspect of this idea?

The Rev · 07-06-2009, 05:10 PM

I think the Internet, and the ACTUAL connectedness between people that came with it, deserves more credit than big corporate media like Disney.

The Rev

Canuck Wisdom · 07-06-2009, 05:21 PM

I very much agree Rev.

J, I agree that those movies highlight the good in people despite cultural boundaries. However there are still taken for granted, western assumptions about what is the good, and what is proper social behavior that does not mesh with all cultures.

Also, I too think there is a global culture emerging, but I would like to see it be more of a global culture, multi-culture sharing, and less homogenizing under the society with the largest cultural output (because of money/military/power supremacy).

Some values are good to homogenize and come to a shared agreement upon, but we should be careful in assuming what they are.

Oh and glorifying and romanticizing are not the best ways to gain understanding imo. Disney often plays on archetypes and goes far to create the sort of shared understanding among new generations of what they expect out of life (even if its unrealistic romance [prince/princess love at first sight instead of working on it etc]) and what is the good life. Whether they intend that or not.

Ego Tripping · 07-06-2009, 05:33 PM

I 3rd Rev's post. While Disney movies warm the heart for a couple of hours, the Internet has given us tangible, sometimes visceral experience in true connectedness with other people around the planet. We haven't even begun to see the ramifications of what this 'generation 'net' will have upon human nature and more specifically, compassion for one another.

kameelyun · 07-06-2009, 07:51 PM

And indeed, the internet can help us share more freely some of those wonderful cinematic moments from those two prior decades.

Not Disney, but this film made me love myself again after a certain period of self hate, esp the ending which gets me every time:

Bearsy · 07-06-2009, 08:37 PM

American Beauty was a life changing movie, IMO.

Good choice, Kam.

07-06-2009, 09:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
John F. Kerry Weiner-stache Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,734 Thanks: 1,831 Thanked 497 Times in 355 Posts	How 90s movies made the world love itself think about the world today , its so interconnected and people are so much more empathtic to people in other places then they ever have been in history (even if not perfectly). worldwide this seems to be the case , with only a few exceptions the world seems to be largely comming to the conclusion that we have a lot to gain from other cultures- even ones that are "primitive" in certain senses.... my own take is that the cultural things we had in the 90s and 80s layed the groundwork for what is today a flourishing world wide culture. take for one example, disney animated movies. in the 90s u had pocohantas, mulan, aladdin, etc etc etc... each one of these movies took a foreign culture, and made the "bad aspects" of that culture ROMANTICIZED- so u get indians as noble savages, arabs as good hearted and loving, and japanese as family oreinted and caring about their families - INSTEAD of indians as savages, arabs as terrorists, and japanese as backward people who forced their women to be married to whoever the dad choose. Disney has a huge part to do with this IMO, but many other companies did similar things along similar lines. the point is that now my generation is all interested in travellening around the world and eco tourism and all that stuff- I think this comes from the fact (besides drugs of course ) that we grew up learning about the "good" parts of these cultures and thus we have a romanticized impression of what world cultures are. this bodes well for future global understanding and empathy, what it doesnt bode well for tho is dealing with those few countries that dont seem to care about their own people but nonetheless have a noble culture (china, persia , etc)... like the question is: maybe disney could make a movie about china that would glorify it - but then would that really be good or NOT? because its kinda glorifying the regime that cracked down in tianenman etc, even tho what it was really trying to do was glorify a 5000 year old culture that has nothing to do with communism and marxism. anybody have any thoughts on any aspect of this idea? Last edited by John F. Kerry; 07-06-2009 at 11:14 AM.

07-06-2009, 05:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
The Rev Clear Light Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In my head, somewhere. Posts: 17,864 Thanks: 5,015 Thanked 5,419 Times in 2,864 Posts	I think the Internet, and the ACTUAL connectedness between people that came with it, deserves more credit than big corporate media like Disney. The Rev __________________ Budforce - My Friend August 29, 1973- May 25, 2012

07-06-2009, 05:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
Ego Tripping Are you in? Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 13,468 Thanks: 229 Thanked 665 Times in 443 Posts	I 3rd Rev's post. While Disney movies warm the heart for a couple of hours, the Internet has given us tangible, sometimes visceral experience in true connectedness with other people around the planet. We haven't even begun to see the ramifications of what this 'generation 'net' will have upon human nature and more specifically, compassion for one another. __________________ God appears, and God is light, To those poor souls who dwell in night; But does a human form display To those who dwell in realms of day.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)