by Mojico, Ana & Trenti, Andrea
“Tell me what you have and I’ll tell you who you are”. This seems to be the essence of what is called the consumer society. Jean Baudrillard claims that this is a type of society in which consumption is not simply associated with fulfilling necessities, but with creating meaning. Having certain products is a way of belonging to some specific group or keeping a particular social status. That is, through compulsive shopping, we do not only acquire objects but also signs. The real value of goods does not lie in their capacity of use but in their capacity of representation. Therefore, consumption creates identity from the moment we are born.
Having, instead of using, seems to be the underlying premise in Toy Story I, the first computer animated film, produced in the USA in 1995. Beneath children that accumulate too much and play too little, and toys that are afraid of being replaced by new toys, the childhood built in Toy Story I is consumerist.
Standing on top of a tin and holding a plastic microphone, Woody, the leader of the toys, reminds his friends: “It doesn’t matter how much we are played with, what matters is that we are here for Andy when he needs us, we were made for that, right?” Through this brief speech he summarizes the basis of the consumer society, as if he were a well-known economist: toys are not produced to be played with, what matters is to own them.
Andy accumulates electronic cars, attractive board games, big dinosaurs, talking dolls, magic boards, and even an enormous and sophisticated circuit for races. All of them seem to wait, hopefully, to take part in a funny adventure. However, they spend their days in a wooden box, fearing the threat of being pushed down by more modern toys. The accelerated obsolescence characterizes the consumer society, in which people are persuaded, through advertising, of the necessity of a new product almost from the moment they unwrap the one they have.
Consumerism is also expressed in the film through the promotion of merchandizing. Once Andy is given the latest and most fashionable toy, Buzz Lightyear, he begins to consume products whose main function is to advertise that toy and not to fulfill a real necessity. Despite having a warm and colorful cover, he replaces it by one that shows a big image of the new toy.
So, what is the real value of that object? Image. Just the appearance of something. Products are signs attached to meanings and stereotypes that shape identity and lifestyle. What really leads people to buy is not a physical need but the symbolic need of creating an image. By having certain kind of toys, Andy keeps his mid social status. On the one hand, an imposing house, a modern car and the habit of eating fast food in a fashionable place, contribute to build that social status in the film. On the other hand, the lack of these items is used to represent the evil and destructive identity of his neighbour, Sid, who has a few old toys in a small dark bedroom.
But, beyond image, what is the real difference between the two children? While Andy accumulates toys, Sid uses them. Sid combines the head of a doll with the legs of a spider to build a new toy. In the end, Sid’s toys satisfy a natural necessity of children: experimenting. His identity is built by doing and not by having. Only in a consumer society can accumulating be worthier than creating.
Oct 16, 2013
The lion’s den
by Pires, Aldana and Vincenti, Nicolas
The reissue of ‘The Lion King’ as a 3D film, and its subsequent 3D Blu-ray release back in 2011, brought the film back into discussion. It definitely stands as one of the most successful and well-received Disney’s classics of all time: it ranks 2nd in the list of the highest-grossing animated films, and 20th in the list of the highest-grossing films of all time. Moreover, the film has an overall approval rating of 90%, and thus, its re-release was not a surprise.
Its success can be partially justified by the apparent messages to children: on the one hand, the idea of being willing to obey parent’s orders, and on the other hand, the notion of growing up and, as a consequence, of being responsible. But the question is, are these the only messages of the film?
Certainly, there’s something really important to consider that needs to be brought into focus. The Lion King does not only encourage being obedient and assuming responsibilities, but it also stands for the notion of white supremacy and black segregation.
The golden lions from the royal family depict what is good and civilised, while the antagonist, Scar, being a lion from the same family himself, has a darker tone. This representation of evil characters as the ones whose fur colour is non-golden also applies to Scar’s hirelings: the hyenas. The indicated latent fact may look silly and irrelevant, and it may be called an exaggeration, but these little details are by no means innocent and do carry a strong sense of ideology within them.
Undoubtedly, the choice of the cast lacks innocence as well. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, two well-known black actors, were chosen to interpret two out of the three hyenas. Jim Cummings completes the trio, and as Goldberg and Marin do, he pitches his voice to portray the way in which the afro-American cultural groups speak. The three of them use the typical vocabulary and pronunciation of the African American vernacular English. Most people would laugh at these impersonations, but taking a deeper view, they only keep on undervaluing the black cultural society.
Actually, if the same characterisation had been imposed to all the members of the cast, there wouldn’t be any problem as the story is set in Africa, but, as far as it can be observed, none of the golden lions speak as the hyenas do.
Apart from their sounds and their previously mentioned dark colour, the feliforms were also fashioned with misshapen bodies and clumsy movements. To make a clear contrast, the amber lions carry an emblematic-shaped body and an elegant demeanor. In this sense, the visual aesthetic is added to the degradation and discrimination of black ethnic groups making them look hideous.
As if this wasn’t enough mistreatment for black cultures, the hyenas, the ones who represent what’s wrong and uncivilised, are out of place. They can not occupy a place in the kingdom, and therefore, they are segregated to the elephant graveyard, where they suffer from hunger and misery. This could be compared to black ethnic communities that live in ghettos located near great cities.
All these offenses cannot be ignored when deciding if it is good to bring back this classic into our lives. ‘The Lion King’ has been good in its time, but nowadays our society is much more conscious as regards tolerance to diverse ethnic groups. The underlying notions of racism in the film give enough reasons to question its revival.
The reissue of ‘The Lion King’ as a 3D film, and its subsequent 3D Blu-ray release back in 2011, brought the film back into discussion. It definitely stands as one of the most successful and well-received Disney’s classics of all time: it ranks 2nd in the list of the highest-grossing animated films, and 20th in the list of the highest-grossing films of all time. Moreover, the film has an overall approval rating of 90%, and thus, its re-release was not a surprise.
Its success can be partially justified by the apparent messages to children: on the one hand, the idea of being willing to obey parent’s orders, and on the other hand, the notion of growing up and, as a consequence, of being responsible. But the question is, are these the only messages of the film?
Certainly, there’s something really important to consider that needs to be brought into focus. The Lion King does not only encourage being obedient and assuming responsibilities, but it also stands for the notion of white supremacy and black segregation.
The golden lions from the royal family depict what is good and civilised, while the antagonist, Scar, being a lion from the same family himself, has a darker tone. This representation of evil characters as the ones whose fur colour is non-golden also applies to Scar’s hirelings: the hyenas. The indicated latent fact may look silly and irrelevant, and it may be called an exaggeration, but these little details are by no means innocent and do carry a strong sense of ideology within them.
Undoubtedly, the choice of the cast lacks innocence as well. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, two well-known black actors, were chosen to interpret two out of the three hyenas. Jim Cummings completes the trio, and as Goldberg and Marin do, he pitches his voice to portray the way in which the afro-American cultural groups speak. The three of them use the typical vocabulary and pronunciation of the African American vernacular English. Most people would laugh at these impersonations, but taking a deeper view, they only keep on undervaluing the black cultural society.
Actually, if the same characterisation had been imposed to all the members of the cast, there wouldn’t be any problem as the story is set in Africa, but, as far as it can be observed, none of the golden lions speak as the hyenas do.
Apart from their sounds and their previously mentioned dark colour, the feliforms were also fashioned with misshapen bodies and clumsy movements. To make a clear contrast, the amber lions carry an emblematic-shaped body and an elegant demeanor. In this sense, the visual aesthetic is added to the degradation and discrimination of black ethnic groups making them look hideous.
As if this wasn’t enough mistreatment for black cultures, the hyenas, the ones who represent what’s wrong and uncivilised, are out of place. They can not occupy a place in the kingdom, and therefore, they are segregated to the elephant graveyard, where they suffer from hunger and misery. This could be compared to black ethnic communities that live in ghettos located near great cities.
All these offenses cannot be ignored when deciding if it is good to bring back this classic into our lives. ‘The Lion King’ has been good in its time, but nowadays our society is much more conscious as regards tolerance to diverse ethnic groups. The underlying notions of racism in the film give enough reasons to question its revival.
Two princesses in one
by Gimalsky Marilú & Moni Noelia
“By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm until you find true love’s first kiss and then take true love’s form.” This is Fiona’s curse in Shrek. Is it the norm that women should change to be loved? Someone who supports the idea that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men can be considered a feminist. There are not written laws about how men should live their lives. If Fiona were a feminist, she would not even consider her curse to be valid, because she wouldn’t even think in changing because of love. She would feel complete without the company of a man and, in any case, she would be next to a man that loves her as she is.
As we know to meet true love does not mean to change. Feminists are not ready to leave everything because of love, we are not ready to change our lifestyles or what we like doing because of love. Therefore, we can say that Princess Fiona does not fit the stereotype of women from a feminist view.
From a feminist perspective women consider themselves complete without needing a couple. This is not what Fiona believes in . Since we were children we listened to the story of the blue prince that would come to complete our lives and because of that we have internalized this conception of love. As John Lennon said, “they made us believe that each one of us is the half of an orange, and that life only makes sense when you find that another half.” But we know that this is a misconception. Lennon continued his idea telling us that we are born as a whole and that we do not need another person to fulfill our lives expectations. As regards Fiona, she is an incomplete princess who only expects to find her other half through a kiss. She cannot think of her life without a man, she has no other expectation more than staying next to a man to be like him.
Nowadays women have a lot of interests. They are more interested in their personal realization. They work, study, and even have children without the company of a couple. This does not mean that they do not want to fall in love, but it means that they do not want to change as Princess Fiona does. Women no longer believe in the story of “The half orange”.
Fiona needs to kiss her true love, not any man. So she depends on a man´s love and his kiss. She has to wait for them to break up her curse. Clearly, this is portraying how dependent Fiona is. She is not free to change her life as she wants. In a way, love is part of being a man´s prisoner. Nowadays, women know that freedom is a right we are born with. We can choose to change to be whatever we want without the approval of our couple. It is not that we have to change because of him or to fit with his own nature. Thus, there is no point in waiting for the love of our lives or even a kiss as Fiona does, because nothing should be transformed except our feeling of happiness.
Above all, what we can see in the story of Princess Fiona is that she depends on someone else to change and in this way, fulfill her life’s ambitions and dreams. She needs “his other half” as women have listened since we are born and through our childhood and adolescence as well. She doesn’t dare to be herself without a man beside her, so she is not in tune with the feminist view of women.
“By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm until you find true love’s first kiss and then take true love’s form.” This is Fiona’s curse in Shrek. Is it the norm that women should change to be loved? Someone who supports the idea that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men can be considered a feminist. There are not written laws about how men should live their lives. If Fiona were a feminist, she would not even consider her curse to be valid, because she wouldn’t even think in changing because of love. She would feel complete without the company of a man and, in any case, she would be next to a man that loves her as she is.
As we know to meet true love does not mean to change. Feminists are not ready to leave everything because of love, we are not ready to change our lifestyles or what we like doing because of love. Therefore, we can say that Princess Fiona does not fit the stereotype of women from a feminist view.
From a feminist perspective women consider themselves complete without needing a couple. This is not what Fiona believes in . Since we were children we listened to the story of the blue prince that would come to complete our lives and because of that we have internalized this conception of love. As John Lennon said, “they made us believe that each one of us is the half of an orange, and that life only makes sense when you find that another half.” But we know that this is a misconception. Lennon continued his idea telling us that we are born as a whole and that we do not need another person to fulfill our lives expectations. As regards Fiona, she is an incomplete princess who only expects to find her other half through a kiss. She cannot think of her life without a man, she has no other expectation more than staying next to a man to be like him.
Nowadays women have a lot of interests. They are more interested in their personal realization. They work, study, and even have children without the company of a couple. This does not mean that they do not want to fall in love, but it means that they do not want to change as Princess Fiona does. Women no longer believe in the story of “The half orange”.
Fiona needs to kiss her true love, not any man. So she depends on a man´s love and his kiss. She has to wait for them to break up her curse. Clearly, this is portraying how dependent Fiona is. She is not free to change her life as she wants. In a way, love is part of being a man´s prisoner. Nowadays, women know that freedom is a right we are born with. We can choose to change to be whatever we want without the approval of our couple. It is not that we have to change because of him or to fit with his own nature. Thus, there is no point in waiting for the love of our lives or even a kiss as Fiona does, because nothing should be transformed except our feeling of happiness.
Above all, what we can see in the story of Princess Fiona is that she depends on someone else to change and in this way, fulfill her life’s ambitions and dreams. She needs “his other half” as women have listened since we are born and through our childhood and adolescence as well. She doesn’t dare to be herself without a man beside her, so she is not in tune with the feminist view of women.
“Brave” wild heart
by LAURA PICEDA AND ELIANA ROMERO
Freedom is the condition of being free of restraints. This word represents the most important right in our lives. “Brave”, the American film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2012, is a story which shows us the importance of being free. This movie breaks the mold of classical fairy tales. All of us are accustomed to see a princess who waits for the perfect prince to reach her dreams and to live happily ever after. Despite the fact that in previous fairy tales the issue of liberty was taken into account, for the first time a princess fights for her own freedom, not depending on a saviour, the eternal “Prince Charming”.
Merida, the protagonist of Brave, is definitely not a typical princess. She reflects a princess archetype that looks like a real girl with real dreams and wishes. She is not the “perfect” princess, she is not afraid to show the imperfections that make her such an unique and appealing character. She wants to take control of her own destiny regardless of the obstacles in her way, just as most women do in our days. She fits the principle of freedom of our times, and her hopes belong to the category of the “ideal” ones for the majority of the female population. Without doubts,”Brave” portrays the change in women´s desires in the 21st century.
For centuries, princesses were the ideal of thousands of girls, they were the perfect models to follow. The standards of beauty were based on a pale white skin, a thin body and a flawless appearance. A woman had to be confined to “feminine” duties, such as sewing, cleaning or cooking, and never dare to touch a sword or a bow. And, as mentioned before, they seemed to be incapable of saving themselves, their own families or beloved ones. They just had to wait for their saviour, their prince, and never aim to anything else than to be married to him.
But Merida breaks the rules showing us a different reality, our reality. She is presented as a natural girl full of dreams and goals who does not think in the future that was already set for her. She does not care about what she has to do according to her status or about what the others expect from her. Her life is based on what her heart dictates. She wants to be eternally free, and what’s more, she sees marriage not only as something undesirable but also as the end of her beloved freedom, her only husband.
It’s no surprising the fact that most girls or women feel identified with this revolutionary princess. Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Her wild spirit and her “innovative” desires are those that the majority of women share nowadays. Even though some women still long for their “Blue Prince”, now it is generally accepted that kind of events only happen in Fairy Tales. Women have to save themselves, no matter if there is or isn’t a prince. Now they know that they are the only ones that are able to fight for their wildest aspirations. And that’s what Merida actually does. She makes her own trouble and then she gets herself and her family out of that trouble without the help of anybody else. Merida and her mother Elinor argue due to her refusal to get married. Thereupon Merida tears the family tapestry and Elinor throws Merida's longbow into the fire. Merida then storms out in tears and rides into the forest, where she follows the wisps to the hut of an elderly witch posing as a woodcarver. After some bargaining, the witch agrees to give Merida an enchanted cake to change her mother's mind. Merida returns to the castle and gives Elinor the cake, which magically transforms her into a black bear. Realizing that she has made matters worse for herself, Merida returns with Elinor, who still retains most of her human personality, to the witch's cottage but finds only a message left behind. They learn that unless Merida is able to "mend the bond torn by pride" before the second sunrise, the spell will become permanent. In the end, Merida realizes the true meaning of the witch`s riddle, and reconciles with her mother. The Queen is finally transformed back to her human form, and the family is happily reunited.
What’s more, the conflict between her and her mother is another point in which some girls or teenagers may feel identified. The constant confrontation between what the daughter desires and what their parents expect her to be is a recurrent issue in most women’s lives. The Queen´s expectations about her daughter creates an enormous distance between them. This generally occurs between parents and teenagers, and it's another example of why this movie portrays the change in women's desires during this century. Nowadays girls do not resign to the fate that their parents desire for them, but confront them in order to achieve their deepest wishes.
The idea of freedom in this film presented through Merida´s inner qualities and dreams may inspire moms and daughters around the whole world. Merida exemplifies the role of women nowadays creating a solid identity based on her deepest values. She and her mother learn together that the only way to be truly happy is to rely on their own will to reach their wildest desires and to fight for the liberty that has always belonged to them, but was secretly stolen. This innovative version of a princess transmits confidence, inner strength, bravery, and shows that is possible for a woman to stand by herself. But never forget that, as Merida shows us, if we want to achieve that solemn goal, we will surely need a brave, wild heart.
Freedom is the condition of being free of restraints. This word represents the most important right in our lives. “Brave”, the American film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2012, is a story which shows us the importance of being free. This movie breaks the mold of classical fairy tales. All of us are accustomed to see a princess who waits for the perfect prince to reach her dreams and to live happily ever after. Despite the fact that in previous fairy tales the issue of liberty was taken into account, for the first time a princess fights for her own freedom, not depending on a saviour, the eternal “Prince Charming”.
Merida, the protagonist of Brave, is definitely not a typical princess. She reflects a princess archetype that looks like a real girl with real dreams and wishes. She is not the “perfect” princess, she is not afraid to show the imperfections that make her such an unique and appealing character. She wants to take control of her own destiny regardless of the obstacles in her way, just as most women do in our days. She fits the principle of freedom of our times, and her hopes belong to the category of the “ideal” ones for the majority of the female population. Without doubts,”Brave” portrays the change in women´s desires in the 21st century.
For centuries, princesses were the ideal of thousands of girls, they were the perfect models to follow. The standards of beauty were based on a pale white skin, a thin body and a flawless appearance. A woman had to be confined to “feminine” duties, such as sewing, cleaning or cooking, and never dare to touch a sword or a bow. And, as mentioned before, they seemed to be incapable of saving themselves, their own families or beloved ones. They just had to wait for their saviour, their prince, and never aim to anything else than to be married to him.
But Merida breaks the rules showing us a different reality, our reality. She is presented as a natural girl full of dreams and goals who does not think in the future that was already set for her. She does not care about what she has to do according to her status or about what the others expect from her. Her life is based on what her heart dictates. She wants to be eternally free, and what’s more, she sees marriage not only as something undesirable but also as the end of her beloved freedom, her only husband.
It’s no surprising the fact that most girls or women feel identified with this revolutionary princess. Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Her wild spirit and her “innovative” desires are those that the majority of women share nowadays. Even though some women still long for their “Blue Prince”, now it is generally accepted that kind of events only happen in Fairy Tales. Women have to save themselves, no matter if there is or isn’t a prince. Now they know that they are the only ones that are able to fight for their wildest aspirations. And that’s what Merida actually does. She makes her own trouble and then she gets herself and her family out of that trouble without the help of anybody else. Merida and her mother Elinor argue due to her refusal to get married. Thereupon Merida tears the family tapestry and Elinor throws Merida's longbow into the fire. Merida then storms out in tears and rides into the forest, where she follows the wisps to the hut of an elderly witch posing as a woodcarver. After some bargaining, the witch agrees to give Merida an enchanted cake to change her mother's mind. Merida returns to the castle and gives Elinor the cake, which magically transforms her into a black bear. Realizing that she has made matters worse for herself, Merida returns with Elinor, who still retains most of her human personality, to the witch's cottage but finds only a message left behind. They learn that unless Merida is able to "mend the bond torn by pride" before the second sunrise, the spell will become permanent. In the end, Merida realizes the true meaning of the witch`s riddle, and reconciles with her mother. The Queen is finally transformed back to her human form, and the family is happily reunited.
What’s more, the conflict between her and her mother is another point in which some girls or teenagers may feel identified. The constant confrontation between what the daughter desires and what their parents expect her to be is a recurrent issue in most women’s lives. The Queen´s expectations about her daughter creates an enormous distance between them. This generally occurs between parents and teenagers, and it's another example of why this movie portrays the change in women's desires during this century. Nowadays girls do not resign to the fate that their parents desire for them, but confront them in order to achieve their deepest wishes.
The idea of freedom in this film presented through Merida´s inner qualities and dreams may inspire moms and daughters around the whole world. Merida exemplifies the role of women nowadays creating a solid identity based on her deepest values. She and her mother learn together that the only way to be truly happy is to rely on their own will to reach their wildest desires and to fight for the liberty that has always belonged to them, but was secretly stolen. This innovative version of a princess transmits confidence, inner strength, bravery, and shows that is possible for a woman to stand by herself. But never forget that, as Merida shows us, if we want to achieve that solemn goal, we will surely need a brave, wild heart.
Whistle While You Work
by Alejandro Tachile & Julio Servin
Big media corporations have an enormous impact upon their audience. The ideas and stereotypes that they present are going to be seen and consumed by millions of people. In a way, media corporations enculturate persons into accepted stereotypes hidden in innocent products like movies or songs. Essentially, what they do is to construct people´s identity. And if we take this to the infant audience, the matter is even much more delicate. Since products for them are enchanting and terribly attractive, children will not stop to analyze what they consume they just want to have fun.
One successful product of media corporation is the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When the movie was released in 1937 in California, only 6% of academic people were women. And the general image of women was one of submission with the dream of finding a man to please and serve. The movie is not far from the reality of the time because what is portrayed in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are notions about women´s role through ideas of submission.
Being happy while doing a miserable task is a feature that makes you a submissive person. And Snow White carries out this idea perfectly well. While running away from the hunter, Snow White encounters the messy house of the dwarfs. And with the help of a bunch of animals, she decides to clean the place and sings:” whistle while you work and cheerfully together we can tidy up the place so hum a merry tune” . In this way the character teaches the girls to be delight while performing an awful task. To make it clearer the song goes on: “ and as you sweep the room image that the broom is someone that you love”
Another element of submission is the idea of limitation. Not to see beyond the role that society imposes to each of us is also part of being a submissive subject. The whole movie is a clear example of this. Snow White makes obvious that women are supposed to be domestic and stay at home. The lesson learned in the movie is that there is no better role for women than to be a loving housewife, a lesson of limitation. As an indication of this, Snow White is innocent, optimistic, naïve and effective in house chores. For example, she explains to the dwarfs that the queen wants to kill her and she asks them to stay in their house she says: “ I can sew, I broom perfectly well and I make an excellent a wonderful stew.”
Not all the products that the media presents us should be consumed as harmless Entertainment. Although most of these movies are wrapped up in powerfully attractive worlds, they hide many strong and sharp ideas that not all parents would accept for their children. Sometimes media products can be enjoyed but just as examples of the cynicism all these corporations have.
Big media corporations have an enormous impact upon their audience. The ideas and stereotypes that they present are going to be seen and consumed by millions of people. In a way, media corporations enculturate persons into accepted stereotypes hidden in innocent products like movies or songs. Essentially, what they do is to construct people´s identity. And if we take this to the infant audience, the matter is even much more delicate. Since products for them are enchanting and terribly attractive, children will not stop to analyze what they consume they just want to have fun.
One successful product of media corporation is the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When the movie was released in 1937 in California, only 6% of academic people were women. And the general image of women was one of submission with the dream of finding a man to please and serve. The movie is not far from the reality of the time because what is portrayed in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are notions about women´s role through ideas of submission.
Being happy while doing a miserable task is a feature that makes you a submissive person. And Snow White carries out this idea perfectly well. While running away from the hunter, Snow White encounters the messy house of the dwarfs. And with the help of a bunch of animals, she decides to clean the place and sings:” whistle while you work and cheerfully together we can tidy up the place so hum a merry tune” . In this way the character teaches the girls to be delight while performing an awful task. To make it clearer the song goes on: “ and as you sweep the room image that the broom is someone that you love”
Another element of submission is the idea of limitation. Not to see beyond the role that society imposes to each of us is also part of being a submissive subject. The whole movie is a clear example of this. Snow White makes obvious that women are supposed to be domestic and stay at home. The lesson learned in the movie is that there is no better role for women than to be a loving housewife, a lesson of limitation. As an indication of this, Snow White is innocent, optimistic, naïve and effective in house chores. For example, she explains to the dwarfs that the queen wants to kill her and she asks them to stay in their house she says: “ I can sew, I broom perfectly well and I make an excellent a wonderful stew.”
Not all the products that the media presents us should be consumed as harmless Entertainment. Although most of these movies are wrapped up in powerfully attractive worlds, they hide many strong and sharp ideas that not all parents would accept for their children. Sometimes media products can be enjoyed but just as examples of the cynicism all these corporations have.
WOMEN’S BEAUTY THROUGH THE EYE OF DISNEY
by Rosario García
All along our lives we, women, have been wrongly taught through the media that if we want to be successful in life we have to be “beautiful”. We can find innumerable examples of this in Disney films such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Snow White’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and The ‘Little Mermaid’. They are some of the better known classical films where women’s beauty is a stereotyped one, according to the standards of beauty in different times.
Nowadays a great percentage of the girls in our society when choosing a toy, choose princess costumes, cosmetics, mirrors and castles. They love the idea of being “the most beautiful ones”. This is not just a coincidence, every time we turn on the television a new explicit or implicit message is sent to our brains and, in the case of almost every princesses films, the message is: (EXTERNAL) BEAUTY leads to SUCCESS. The pressures from our society are so high that most of us, consciously or unconsciously, respond to them many times drastically changing our appearance in the pursuit of the famous “success”. Lots of hidden messages are found in the films previously mentioned.
In ‘Cinderella’, if you are beautiful enough, you may be able to escape from your terrible living conditions by getting married to a wealthy man. While Cinderella’s beauty was hidden because she looked like a servant, dressed in rags, living with her step mother and her step sisters, the prince didn’t even know her existence. As soon as the prince looks at the beautiful Cinderella, with her beautiful dress at the ball, he deeply falls in love with her and finally they get married. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Similarly, in the case of ‘Snow White’, the princess’ beauty captivates every surrounding man. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
“Appearances don’t matter. What counts is what’s in your heart. Unless you are the girl”, is the message we can appreciate in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Everybody is in love with Belle and not any other girl because she is the most beautiful in town but, if Belle had been “the ugly one”, another would have been the story... (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Even though Aurora, in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, was sleeping and the prince did not know her, he fell in love with her, again, due to her beauty. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Ariel, from ‘The Little Mermaid’, gave up her family, friends, changed her tail for two legs and gave up her voice because she was certain that as soon as the prince saw her beautiful face, he would fall in love with her. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
I cannot avoid bringing to my mind the words ‘superficiality’, ‘objectivation’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘consumerism’ as if they were synonyms of beauty. This society we live in is permanently demanding female population to be “a beautiful thing”, what leads lots of women to buy all sorts of cosmetics, dye their hairs, put on diets, making all sort of surgeries and even developing illnesses such as bulimia or anorexia, leaving aside what is really important: our essence, our identity. Sadly this is what we consume and worst of all, what our children consume.
I think we are losing sight of what the idea of “beauty” really is. In fact, is there only one sense of beauty? Why do we all have to agree on one stereotyped beauty? What about our inner beauty? These are some of the questions I wonder whenever I watch any Disney film, and I always get to the same conclusion: "BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER".
All along our lives we, women, have been wrongly taught through the media that if we want to be successful in life we have to be “beautiful”. We can find innumerable examples of this in Disney films such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Snow White’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and The ‘Little Mermaid’. They are some of the better known classical films where women’s beauty is a stereotyped one, according to the standards of beauty in different times.
Nowadays a great percentage of the girls in our society when choosing a toy, choose princess costumes, cosmetics, mirrors and castles. They love the idea of being “the most beautiful ones”. This is not just a coincidence, every time we turn on the television a new explicit or implicit message is sent to our brains and, in the case of almost every princesses films, the message is: (EXTERNAL) BEAUTY leads to SUCCESS. The pressures from our society are so high that most of us, consciously or unconsciously, respond to them many times drastically changing our appearance in the pursuit of the famous “success”. Lots of hidden messages are found in the films previously mentioned.
In ‘Cinderella’, if you are beautiful enough, you may be able to escape from your terrible living conditions by getting married to a wealthy man. While Cinderella’s beauty was hidden because she looked like a servant, dressed in rags, living with her step mother and her step sisters, the prince didn’t even know her existence. As soon as the prince looks at the beautiful Cinderella, with her beautiful dress at the ball, he deeply falls in love with her and finally they get married. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Similarly, in the case of ‘Snow White’, the princess’ beauty captivates every surrounding man. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
“Appearances don’t matter. What counts is what’s in your heart. Unless you are the girl”, is the message we can appreciate in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Everybody is in love with Belle and not any other girl because she is the most beautiful in town but, if Belle had been “the ugly one”, another would have been the story... (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Even though Aurora, in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, was sleeping and the prince did not know her, he fell in love with her, again, due to her beauty. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Ariel, from ‘The Little Mermaid’, gave up her family, friends, changed her tail for two legs and gave up her voice because she was certain that as soon as the prince saw her beautiful face, he would fall in love with her. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
I cannot avoid bringing to my mind the words ‘superficiality’, ‘objectivation’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘consumerism’ as if they were synonyms of beauty. This society we live in is permanently demanding female population to be “a beautiful thing”, what leads lots of women to buy all sorts of cosmetics, dye their hairs, put on diets, making all sort of surgeries and even developing illnesses such as bulimia or anorexia, leaving aside what is really important: our essence, our identity. Sadly this is what we consume and worst of all, what our children consume.
I think we are losing sight of what the idea of “beauty” really is. In fact, is there only one sense of beauty? Why do we all have to agree on one stereotyped beauty? What about our inner beauty? These are some of the questions I wonder whenever I watch any Disney film, and I always get to the same conclusion: "BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER".
A trip from the conquest of the moon to nazism
by Del Valle & Panzita
In 2010 Universal Studios released “Despicable Me”, a film that seems to be a lovely and kind story for kids. Thousands of children enjoyed the adventures of Gru and his minion’s army. However, is it really an innocent story? The despicable main character, Gru, has many trends that can be compared to the evilness of Nazi Germans.
In the film, it’s clear the idea of doing anything you want to achieve your goal, without caring about other people’s feelings. This can be seen when the protagonist of the story adopts three orphans just to steal a weapon planning to abandon them after that. What is more, when he takes the girls to his house, he doesn’t show any respect for their necessities. He even serves them food and water on the floor as if they were animals. Germans had the same attitude towards Jewish people in concentration camps.
War weapons, torture elements and embalmed animals are the decoration of Gru’s house. Even when Margo, the oldest girl, tells him that place is not a proper environment for children, he doesn’t seem to care about her comment; in addition to that, there is a part in the movie where a simulacrum of a murder takes place. This happens when Edith gets into a box full of nails and a red liquid that looks like blood comes out of the box. The reaction of Gru and the girls is dramatically different. While Margo and Agness are horrified, Gru only thinks of the success of his plan which is stealing a shrink ray from Vector, another villain.
The lack of remorse that lays in Gru is almost the same in Nazi Germans. As Gru doesn’t care about what happened to the girl in the box, German soldiers didn’t care about what Jewish people had to go through in concentration camps. It’s really curious the success of “Despicable Me”, a film which is full of moments that portray the worst and criticized trends of Nazism, such as little respect for human life and social values.
The yellow and nice minions act like a real army of criminals. They all wear the same uniform with a letter “G” . In a way, it can be compared with the swastikas that German soldiers used to wear in their uniforms. Minions are depicted as brainless and stupid. They never complain or ask about what they have to do and in a way they are used to test the most stupid inventions of Doctor Nephario, the inventor of the team.
Doctor Nephario is the author of the most weird and stupid weapons ever seen. He lacks of scruples and does whatever he has to do to please his boss, Gru. In a way, Dr Nephario is to Gru what Joseph Mengele was to Hitler and the Second World War.
Although, in some parts of the film it can be said that love is present, the real lei motif of the film is to be the best villain of all times and to commit the best crime ever. The fact that at the end Gru keeps the three orphans, doesn’t mean he turns into an honest person. What is more, at the end of the movie, we can’t see Gru looking for a real job and living an ordinary life.
German Nazism was criticised by all societies worldwide. However, parents will buy tickets to “Despicable Me” without thinking about all these issues.
In 2010 Universal Studios released “Despicable Me”, a film that seems to be a lovely and kind story for kids. Thousands of children enjoyed the adventures of Gru and his minion’s army. However, is it really an innocent story? The despicable main character, Gru, has many trends that can be compared to the evilness of Nazi Germans.
In the film, it’s clear the idea of doing anything you want to achieve your goal, without caring about other people’s feelings. This can be seen when the protagonist of the story adopts three orphans just to steal a weapon planning to abandon them after that. What is more, when he takes the girls to his house, he doesn’t show any respect for their necessities. He even serves them food and water on the floor as if they were animals. Germans had the same attitude towards Jewish people in concentration camps.
War weapons, torture elements and embalmed animals are the decoration of Gru’s house. Even when Margo, the oldest girl, tells him that place is not a proper environment for children, he doesn’t seem to care about her comment; in addition to that, there is a part in the movie where a simulacrum of a murder takes place. This happens when Edith gets into a box full of nails and a red liquid that looks like blood comes out of the box. The reaction of Gru and the girls is dramatically different. While Margo and Agness are horrified, Gru only thinks of the success of his plan which is stealing a shrink ray from Vector, another villain.
The lack of remorse that lays in Gru is almost the same in Nazi Germans. As Gru doesn’t care about what happened to the girl in the box, German soldiers didn’t care about what Jewish people had to go through in concentration camps. It’s really curious the success of “Despicable Me”, a film which is full of moments that portray the worst and criticized trends of Nazism, such as little respect for human life and social values.
The yellow and nice minions act like a real army of criminals. They all wear the same uniform with a letter “G” . In a way, it can be compared with the swastikas that German soldiers used to wear in their uniforms. Minions are depicted as brainless and stupid. They never complain or ask about what they have to do and in a way they are used to test the most stupid inventions of Doctor Nephario, the inventor of the team.
Doctor Nephario is the author of the most weird and stupid weapons ever seen. He lacks of scruples and does whatever he has to do to please his boss, Gru. In a way, Dr Nephario is to Gru what Joseph Mengele was to Hitler and the Second World War.
Although, in some parts of the film it can be said that love is present, the real lei motif of the film is to be the best villain of all times and to commit the best crime ever. The fact that at the end Gru keeps the three orphans, doesn’t mean he turns into an honest person. What is more, at the end of the movie, we can’t see Gru looking for a real job and living an ordinary life.
German Nazism was criticised by all societies worldwide. However, parents will buy tickets to “Despicable Me” without thinking about all these issues.
A message from the future
by Garay, Lucía Mariel & Laprovitta, Anahí
"Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, for strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, and hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea." — George Carlin.
Every now and then there is a naive belief that our civilization as well as life in earth is endless. A common picture of our days is to see people throwing litter on the street, pouring water carelessly or overusing means of transport as well as energy consumption. Something to highlight is pollution, which affects over a billion people around the world and it is one of the most dangerous ecological problems society has. Despite this, some seem to neglect what is happening around them as if they were immersed in some kind of nebula. Some people focus on superfluous issues like having the latest clothing or eating the food which is best advertised, rather than focus on a liveable earth or on a healthy life. It’s accurate to say that society is beginning to regret and will regret its careless actions. At present, rising awareness about ecological issues is an important matter. So, how to do it? How can society begin to create awareness about ecology or healthy lifestyles? Those questions were, in a way, answered when days ago we watched a movie called “Wall-E” that depicts some flaws of our chaotic time on a futuristic perspective. What the film portrays is what would happen to earth as a consequence of the lack of ecological awareness and how these would affect not only the earth as a proper place to live, but also the way in which humans interact among them.
Wall-E is a robot and the only inhabitant of the earth since humans were sent in a ship to space waiting for the earth to be habitable again. Its main function on earth is to clean up garbage that humans have left behind. Natural resources are gone and no life remains but tonnes of trash. The film shows what society has left behind after centuries of mistreating the earth. Meanwhile, miles away from this rotten earth a spaceship full of people are portray in the movie, as individuals absorbed by advertisements and technological devises. Communication among people doesn’t exist and they do minimum physical movements because everything is controlled through machines. People in “Wall-E” are depicted as lazy, fat and consumerists, features that remind nowadays society characteristic.
Following this further, have you ever thought about what consequences might have your actions? It is well known that pollution is a dangerous threat but have you thought what severe consequences derive from it? When talking about pollution’s effects, we are not referring just to trash and waste in our soil, we are referring also to what it does to our social and personal lives. So, let’s start by creating a parallelism between Wall-E’s reality and our reality. The world in the movie is full of unusable elements as result of over consumerism, for example one the most common things Wall-E stocks up is a firelighter of a particular trademark. Allow me to ask you how many times have we bought unnecessary items and then just throw them away? Times are changing and the thought can be easily summarized with a phrase of the author Vicki Robin’s “if you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
Moreover, the fiction world depicts humans as not able to communicate among each other, what make us wonder have you realized that nowadays it is more common to be in touch with others through mobile phones, e-mails, texts and so on, rather than facing other individuals in real communication? In the film this flaw is presented in an exaggerated manner. People in the movie speak using screens even when they are physically in the same place or next to each other. As regards communication, there is an overuse of information known is real life as information pollution. A perfect example of this issue is people constantly exposed to advertisements which make them feel as if their lives depended only on those things that are advertised. Does that kind of pollution ring you a bell? There are many wrong habits our culture has adopted like naturals, but it is time to inquire ourselves is it something worth doing?
The cute robot Wall-E provide us with the idea that a change must be done. People have to alter their way of living, change habits, take care of others, be in contact with others, enjoy nature and take care of nature. The most important thing is that people should listen to the wakeup call the earth is making to us. We should listen so that people wake up from what could be, in a time from now, the end of our society as we know it. The message in Wall-E is very clear, the key point relies on paying attention to the small things like the robot does, if we don’t amend our flaws, even a robot would be more human than a human itself.
"Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, for strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, and hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea." — George Carlin.
Every now and then there is a naive belief that our civilization as well as life in earth is endless. A common picture of our days is to see people throwing litter on the street, pouring water carelessly or overusing means of transport as well as energy consumption. Something to highlight is pollution, which affects over a billion people around the world and it is one of the most dangerous ecological problems society has. Despite this, some seem to neglect what is happening around them as if they were immersed in some kind of nebula. Some people focus on superfluous issues like having the latest clothing or eating the food which is best advertised, rather than focus on a liveable earth or on a healthy life. It’s accurate to say that society is beginning to regret and will regret its careless actions. At present, rising awareness about ecological issues is an important matter. So, how to do it? How can society begin to create awareness about ecology or healthy lifestyles? Those questions were, in a way, answered when days ago we watched a movie called “Wall-E” that depicts some flaws of our chaotic time on a futuristic perspective. What the film portrays is what would happen to earth as a consequence of the lack of ecological awareness and how these would affect not only the earth as a proper place to live, but also the way in which humans interact among them.
Wall-E is a robot and the only inhabitant of the earth since humans were sent in a ship to space waiting for the earth to be habitable again. Its main function on earth is to clean up garbage that humans have left behind. Natural resources are gone and no life remains but tonnes of trash. The film shows what society has left behind after centuries of mistreating the earth. Meanwhile, miles away from this rotten earth a spaceship full of people are portray in the movie, as individuals absorbed by advertisements and technological devises. Communication among people doesn’t exist and they do minimum physical movements because everything is controlled through machines. People in “Wall-E” are depicted as lazy, fat and consumerists, features that remind nowadays society characteristic.
Following this further, have you ever thought about what consequences might have your actions? It is well known that pollution is a dangerous threat but have you thought what severe consequences derive from it? When talking about pollution’s effects, we are not referring just to trash and waste in our soil, we are referring also to what it does to our social and personal lives. So, let’s start by creating a parallelism between Wall-E’s reality and our reality. The world in the movie is full of unusable elements as result of over consumerism, for example one the most common things Wall-E stocks up is a firelighter of a particular trademark. Allow me to ask you how many times have we bought unnecessary items and then just throw them away? Times are changing and the thought can be easily summarized with a phrase of the author Vicki Robin’s “if you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
Moreover, the fiction world depicts humans as not able to communicate among each other, what make us wonder have you realized that nowadays it is more common to be in touch with others through mobile phones, e-mails, texts and so on, rather than facing other individuals in real communication? In the film this flaw is presented in an exaggerated manner. People in the movie speak using screens even when they are physically in the same place or next to each other. As regards communication, there is an overuse of information known is real life as information pollution. A perfect example of this issue is people constantly exposed to advertisements which make them feel as if their lives depended only on those things that are advertised. Does that kind of pollution ring you a bell? There are many wrong habits our culture has adopted like naturals, but it is time to inquire ourselves is it something worth doing?
The cute robot Wall-E provide us with the idea that a change must be done. People have to alter their way of living, change habits, take care of others, be in contact with others, enjoy nature and take care of nature. The most important thing is that people should listen to the wakeup call the earth is making to us. We should listen so that people wake up from what could be, in a time from now, the end of our society as we know it. The message in Wall-E is very clear, the key point relies on paying attention to the small things like the robot does, if we don’t amend our flaws, even a robot would be more human than a human itself.
Savage Princesses
by Barros Paola & Gulin Rocío
Have you ever thought about being a member of the royalty who doesn’t behave as an expected one? Surely, most of the people have once dreamt of being a damsel, a prince, a King or a Queen. But they probably wanted to be like the stereotyped members of the royalty. That is to say that they pictured themselves looking extremely beautiful; behaving like a lady or a gentleman; marrying to a handsome prince or a gorgeous princess, who would have taken care of them unconditionally; and living happily ever after in a luxurious castle.
Instead of being faithful to themselves, blue blood people behave and act the way society expects. Therefore, they try to please everyone. This is not the case of the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown in a different and modern way. Thus, they do not follow the traditional stereotype.
These lovely and epic films intend to break the traditional expectations on women. In other films about crown princesses, they are portrayed as weak and dependent ladies who are rescued by a wonderful prince. But the opposite occurs in the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown as strong women. Eventually, Fiona, who is the main female character, is the main exponent of the outbreak of a new kind of princess. She is a strong independent woman owning a lot of talents and distinctive features: one of them is the ability of fighting. She can be seen combating in many scenes. In the first film, called “Shrek” she fights against the Merry men; in the second one, she knocks prince Charming; and in “Shrek the third”, she saves Shrek, her husband, from death. Also, Fiona and the rest of the blue blood girls give battle together to save the kingdom while men are kept in prison; lastly, in the forth film, she saves herself from the tower when reality had been changed by Shrek. Moreover, in the last film, she is the leader of all the ogres when trying to initiate a war against Rumpelstilskin since she became a warrior.
A remarkable Fiona’s feature is her behavior. Her manners are far from femininity for she acts naturally without giving importance to people’s opinion. Examples of her manners are presented in all the saga when she burps and farts. A funny and illustrative scene can be seen in the first film when Shrek, Donkey and Fiona are walking after having breakfast, and Shrek burps in front of them. He immediately apologizes; however, Fiona belches even louder, surprising both Shrek and Donkey.
The standards of beauty are the central part of the plot. In the first film, Fiona wishes to be rescued and kissed by a prince to break the spell on her, which makes her look like an ogre at nights. The surprise comes at the end of the film when she falls in love with Shrek and they kiss. So, she adopts the shape of her true love, an ogre. In addition, in the second film Fiona has the possibility to change her appearance through a potion, but she decides to remain the same, giving the message that love celebrates a victory over beauty. What’s more, not only does she resign her beauty but also her royal life. So that she embraces a simple life in a humble house in the forest.
“Shrek” films show a new transcendental version of princesses. They are valiant strong independent women who fight for their desires. Their behavior is not conventional, which makes them definitely a fresh present day referent of the new outbreaking kind of princesses in the 21st century.
Have you ever thought about being a member of the royalty who doesn’t behave as an expected one? Surely, most of the people have once dreamt of being a damsel, a prince, a King or a Queen. But they probably wanted to be like the stereotyped members of the royalty. That is to say that they pictured themselves looking extremely beautiful; behaving like a lady or a gentleman; marrying to a handsome prince or a gorgeous princess, who would have taken care of them unconditionally; and living happily ever after in a luxurious castle.
Instead of being faithful to themselves, blue blood people behave and act the way society expects. Therefore, they try to please everyone. This is not the case of the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown in a different and modern way. Thus, they do not follow the traditional stereotype.
These lovely and epic films intend to break the traditional expectations on women. In other films about crown princesses, they are portrayed as weak and dependent ladies who are rescued by a wonderful prince. But the opposite occurs in the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown as strong women. Eventually, Fiona, who is the main female character, is the main exponent of the outbreak of a new kind of princess. She is a strong independent woman owning a lot of talents and distinctive features: one of them is the ability of fighting. She can be seen combating in many scenes. In the first film, called “Shrek” she fights against the Merry men; in the second one, she knocks prince Charming; and in “Shrek the third”, she saves Shrek, her husband, from death. Also, Fiona and the rest of the blue blood girls give battle together to save the kingdom while men are kept in prison; lastly, in the forth film, she saves herself from the tower when reality had been changed by Shrek. Moreover, in the last film, she is the leader of all the ogres when trying to initiate a war against Rumpelstilskin since she became a warrior.
A remarkable Fiona’s feature is her behavior. Her manners are far from femininity for she acts naturally without giving importance to people’s opinion. Examples of her manners are presented in all the saga when she burps and farts. A funny and illustrative scene can be seen in the first film when Shrek, Donkey and Fiona are walking after having breakfast, and Shrek burps in front of them. He immediately apologizes; however, Fiona belches even louder, surprising both Shrek and Donkey.
The standards of beauty are the central part of the plot. In the first film, Fiona wishes to be rescued and kissed by a prince to break the spell on her, which makes her look like an ogre at nights. The surprise comes at the end of the film when she falls in love with Shrek and they kiss. So, she adopts the shape of her true love, an ogre. In addition, in the second film Fiona has the possibility to change her appearance through a potion, but she decides to remain the same, giving the message that love celebrates a victory over beauty. What’s more, not only does she resign her beauty but also her royal life. So that she embraces a simple life in a humble house in the forest.
“Shrek” films show a new transcendental version of princesses. They are valiant strong independent women who fight for their desires. Their behavior is not conventional, which makes them definitely a fresh present day referent of the new outbreaking kind of princesses in the 21st century.
E.T., the only alien in America?
by María Sabrina Vergara & Carolina Perez Cibez
“He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home”. This is the phrase that was in every promoting poster of Spielberg´s new film in the early ´80s. It seemed to be another science fiction movie but it became more than the simple adventure of an interplanetary creature and his human friend. E.T. was the biggest box office success in its gender in 1982.
In spite of being a blockbuster movie, that shows the difficulties that E.T. has to go through during his experience on the U.S., to be an Alien doesn´t necessarily mean that you come from another planet. Saying this, for the English speaking language ALIEN is a general purpose term normally used to refer to foreigners. Not any foreigner but those that live in America. You can also be an American Alien if you don´t share the same culture or religion which is established in society. This means that you can be an outsider in your own country with your pairs. E.T. feels this way when he´s left behind by his own mates. His stay on earth can easily be related to the real experience of a foreigner in the U.S. The Americans may see E.T. as a funny and lovable character with a few comical gags, but we can understand his loneliness in a strange land.
Luckily for him, E.T. is found by a kind child, who teaches him about friendship and trust. Even though all of this happens E.T represents the U.S intolerance to foreigners.
The film´s director felt this way during his childhood. When he was at school, Spielberg suffered of extreme violence from his school mates and of many acts of anti-Semitic prejudice because he is Jewish. To this day he remembers that painful time with great sorrow. But he didn´t let the pain to consume him. Spielberg used the personal experience and based the movie on it. In many interviews he said that E.T. is based on an imaginary friend he had during his childhood, and that he waited a long time to bring to him to life. With this idea in his mind he wrote the movie years later.
Besides E.T. another character taken from the director´s life is Elliot. He felt lonely and misunderstood until he found E.T. From the moment they met, Elliot had the instinct to protect E.T first from his family and then from the government. To do it, Elliot hid him in his bedroom. He was afraid of showing E.T. due to the many differences they had, such as physical features and language. By not being able to communicate with Elliot, to ask for help, E.T. tries to learn really quickly the language. Because he realizes that Elliot (who represents the American people), will not try to communicate in other way. Even though the foreigner knows the language they are still rejected because the misuse of it.
Another thing to have in mind, concerning what aliens have to go through, has to do when they are caught by the government. After being chased for several days, E.T. was finally captured and taken to a scientific facility, where he was locked and tortured with medical exams. After that he managed to escape with the help of Elliot and his friends. Not every alien has the same luck that E.T. has. If a foreigner is also caught, he is imprisoned and interrogated. He is also confined in solitary and many times he is starved until he surrenders to his capturers and accept the punishment. Most of them end up in deportation and the prohibition to go back to America.
ET, the great adventure of a friendly alien, shows us the reality of a foreigner in the U.S. They have to live and deal with intolerance every day. Many times this intolerance is transformed in episodes of great violence, installing a grand sense of fear. Fear to persecution, fear to jail and fear to be forced to go back to their country. E.T. portrays a situation that hasn´t change in thirty years and goes on. After all, nowadays, foreigners still go to America to pursue a better way of living.
“He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home”. This is the phrase that was in every promoting poster of Spielberg´s new film in the early ´80s. It seemed to be another science fiction movie but it became more than the simple adventure of an interplanetary creature and his human friend. E.T. was the biggest box office success in its gender in 1982.
In spite of being a blockbuster movie, that shows the difficulties that E.T. has to go through during his experience on the U.S., to be an Alien doesn´t necessarily mean that you come from another planet. Saying this, for the English speaking language ALIEN is a general purpose term normally used to refer to foreigners. Not any foreigner but those that live in America. You can also be an American Alien if you don´t share the same culture or religion which is established in society. This means that you can be an outsider in your own country with your pairs. E.T. feels this way when he´s left behind by his own mates. His stay on earth can easily be related to the real experience of a foreigner in the U.S. The Americans may see E.T. as a funny and lovable character with a few comical gags, but we can understand his loneliness in a strange land.
Luckily for him, E.T. is found by a kind child, who teaches him about friendship and trust. Even though all of this happens E.T represents the U.S intolerance to foreigners.
The film´s director felt this way during his childhood. When he was at school, Spielberg suffered of extreme violence from his school mates and of many acts of anti-Semitic prejudice because he is Jewish. To this day he remembers that painful time with great sorrow. But he didn´t let the pain to consume him. Spielberg used the personal experience and based the movie on it. In many interviews he said that E.T. is based on an imaginary friend he had during his childhood, and that he waited a long time to bring to him to life. With this idea in his mind he wrote the movie years later.
Besides E.T. another character taken from the director´s life is Elliot. He felt lonely and misunderstood until he found E.T. From the moment they met, Elliot had the instinct to protect E.T first from his family and then from the government. To do it, Elliot hid him in his bedroom. He was afraid of showing E.T. due to the many differences they had, such as physical features and language. By not being able to communicate with Elliot, to ask for help, E.T. tries to learn really quickly the language. Because he realizes that Elliot (who represents the American people), will not try to communicate in other way. Even though the foreigner knows the language they are still rejected because the misuse of it.
Another thing to have in mind, concerning what aliens have to go through, has to do when they are caught by the government. After being chased for several days, E.T. was finally captured and taken to a scientific facility, where he was locked and tortured with medical exams. After that he managed to escape with the help of Elliot and his friends. Not every alien has the same luck that E.T. has. If a foreigner is also caught, he is imprisoned and interrogated. He is also confined in solitary and many times he is starved until he surrenders to his capturers and accept the punishment. Most of them end up in deportation and the prohibition to go back to America.
ET, the great adventure of a friendly alien, shows us the reality of a foreigner in the U.S. They have to live and deal with intolerance every day. Many times this intolerance is transformed in episodes of great violence, installing a grand sense of fear. Fear to persecution, fear to jail and fear to be forced to go back to their country. E.T. portrays a situation that hasn´t change in thirty years and goes on. After all, nowadays, foreigners still go to America to pursue a better way of living.
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