Introduction: Once Upon a Time
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2024
Summary
There is change here, because in the end, we are changed by what we see, just as we are changed when we are seen.
ITV 2019Growing up, I always wanted to be a Disney Princess. My mother introduced me to them when I was just a few months old, and as each princess film was released, the more infatuated I became. When I asked her what I liked so much about them, she told me that the princesses created a fantasy that I could escape to, I loved the colours on the screen, and as I got older, I loved the songs and the dresses. I could dress up to be Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Jasmine when I was younger. One of my earliest memories of wanting to become a Disney Princess was when I was four. I used to dream that a horse drawn pumpkin carriage would arrive and take me to my prince, just like Cinderella. When I was six, I wanted to be a mermaid like Ariel. When I was eight, I would paint with all the colours of the wind, like Pocahontas. I was completely lost in the princess world, I had the dresses, the tiaras, the shoes, everything I needed to emulate my heroines. My mother told me that as Cinderella, I would dress up and pretend to go to the ball, as Jasmine I would pretend my favourite teddy was Rajah the tiger, and as Belle I would pretend to be studious and read books. The princesses enabled me to develop my imagination and be a different person in a different world. This experience is echoed by Emily Zemler (2022) who wrote Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara, a book sanctioned by Disney. She explains:
As I began to pay more attention, I saw the influence of the Disney Princesses everywhere. They have impacted our experiences at the Disney Parks and Resorts, the toys we play with, how we dress for big events, and how we communicate with each other on the Internet. Their influence is greater than any living celebrity, not only because they’ve endured for so many decades, but because they continue to grow and change along with us. And a Disney Princess is so much more than a character on a screen.
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- The Disney Princess PhenomenonA Feminist Analysis, pp. 1 - 12Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2023