I’m beginning to think this issue may actually be just another one of those “pseudofaketroversies” you hear about so often these days.
I never saw Brave, but I know what they’re getting at. I was rather annoyed when I wanted to get a Sergeant Calhoun action figure, and the closest offering was a $100 limited edition doll that didn’t look at all like the character.
I believe Kimstu already said what I wanted to say.
Thanks for some great comments, Kimstu.
People react in weird ways to Disney, as if the company is somehow not subject to the established laws of capitalism. I’ve read at least two books by authors absolutely on-fire outraged over DisneyCorp doing things… that pretty much every corporation does.
Another me-too for Kimstu.
The marketing department at Disney made a mistake. Someone made a choice thinking that those who buy the Princess line are all interested in hyperfeminine role models and totally missed that the market appeal, the niche, of this particular princess was that princesses can be pretty without being hyperfeminine, can be fully female while successfully competing with males, can wait to be sexual creatures until they are ready for it. There is a market demand for that female image and it was the image demand this character was created to meet. The Princess line person did not get that, or did not believe that there really is a sizable market segment for that image, and the public reacted in a way that demonstrated that yes there is. A hyperfeminine Meridian just wouldn’t sell as well as it is too far off what is attractive about the character.
Successful companies make marketing mistakes; they just correct them as soon as they realize they are made.
No question. And since many parents like you want to help their children choose positive role models, and vote with their pocketbooks, Disney is right to want to provide what parents want to choose.
You may be on to something there. Disney isn’t so much a corporation as a cultural institution which keeps making money (despite, at times, its best efforts to fall apart).
Oh, I’m sorry. I thought Disney pulled Mierda. That would have been a shitty thing to do. But I see I mis-read. My eyes are loafing this morning. I’ll make a notation in my log. Carry on. I’ll be on my stool.
Essentially the parents are saying, dammit, Disney, let us have one “princess” whose admirable deeds are not in the past and done with and is not now in the about-to-live-happily-ever-after-with-her-man mode.
I think it would be good business to go for that niche. If they insist on continuing to expand their “princess” concept beyond the strictly fairytale ones, that is.
(BTW been wondering since the movie came out, would “Merida” have been really a period-appropriate Gaelic/Scots name?)
As a new parent of a one year old girl who is a little nervous about and mildly suspicious of kids’ media and associated products, I appreciate this discussion. Nice post,** Kimstu**.****
It’s important to keep Disney from going the Bratz route. You know, the hypersexualized pedophile’s wet-dream teen dolls which elevated their level of depravity to ninth-circle-of-hell level with Bratz Kidz and Bratz Babyz.
Disney pulling a Mierda is what they often do with the direct-to-DVD “sequels” to their animated hits.
:eek: The Hell…
…Do “Bratz Babyz” come with a sold-separately Trashy Stage Mom doll who’s the one tarting them up to appear in kiddie pageants?
I’d think that remains to be seen. We don’t exactly have sales figures yet for Merida dolls, lunch boxes, backpacks, etc vs versus those with other Disney Princesses on them (or the Tinkerbell fairy figures). Could be most girls prefer the more traditional looking princesses, anecdotes not withstanding.
I am totally behind the objections to the way Disney changed the character, and am glad they listened to their market and changed.
However, I agree completely with Shawn1767.
It is possible to choose a method of child-rearing that doesn’t put you and your kid at the mercy of a marketing team for a particular franchise.
In the words of Lucius Fox, “Good luck.”
It’s probably easier to eat vegan at McDonalds.
Such won’t inform whether or not a hyper feminine this character would sell better than one consistent with the movie character. Cinderella, Ariel, and the like will sell. The question is whether the lack of this sort of character leaves a segment untapped
I assume there’s already stock Brave merchandise out there with the untouched version of the character. So I guess you’d compare the princess version to that. Did girls go crazy for Brave lunchboxes and make-up kits and bow & arrow sets? I really have no idea but I don’t remember seeing it as a “thing”. I don’t have a young daughter though so I could have missed it.
Sure - it’s called homeschooling.
Barring that, it’s impossible. Even if you control everything they consume at home, it won’t prevent them from seeing their friends’ backpacks and notebooks. Once your daughter’s friends start playing at being princesses, don’t you think she’ll want to join in?
Not any more than locking them in a forest tower is an answer.
Homeschooling to produce a superior education is one thing. Homeschooling simply to control the ideology settings is another. Kids have to be taught, above all else, to learn to deal with the world as it is, not as religious/political/vegan/feminist/nutball parents want to condition them to see it… or not-see it, to be more accurate. Ideological homeschooling is about fitting the tightest possible blinkers.
We had no trouble getting our kids to see things like Disney marketing campaigns for what they were, and they learned to absorb the fun and entertaining parts and reject the marketed BS very, very early.
My prior comment was about things like, say… wrapping paper. Try and find gift wrapping paper that is (1) reasonably priced; (2) suitable for a child; (3) of sufficient quality to do the job (heavy enough to fold and wrap without see-through or tearing, and preferably non-smudging ink) and (4) not bearing a licensed character. Multiply by virtually everything in the kid and toy spectrum. You can do it, yes, but only with endless and excessive effort.
We have a disney-free home. We do not own a single Disney toy or book, our child is strictly limited on TV time (Saturday mornings, Nat-Geo only). Luckily she’s that type of girl, with little patience for “girlish” things, an avid reader, and currently obsessed with biology.
But if you think she lives a Disney-free existence you are wrong. She seems to be the only girl in her class not to be obsessed with princesses and sparkly things. Unless I plan to keep her home at all times, there will be exposure to the Disney (and others) marketing machine. Sad really.