The queasy Disney effect

Posted by Maggie January 10th, 2007 at 01:19pm In Special Events

Excuse me while I rant and tell a personal anecdote. 

I don't mean to harp on this High School Musical thing (too late!), but I just read the New York Times review of the traveling stage show, and I'm deeply disturbed. Not by the trampy costumes and the suggestive dancing. Not by the blatant marketing and the spin-off CDs. These things are gross, but in the end, I tend to side against the horrified parents in most cases. Horrified parents are impossible to talk to, and they frequently can't see reason, like republicans. Kids dressing like prostitutes, listening to swear words, and using technology just doesn't bug me, because most of the time parents are totally overreacting. 

An example: During my fabulous stint as an employee of a video store in high school (seriously, best job I've ever had, and probably ever will have, except for the fact that it went out of business my senior year), I sometimes watched movies in the store. Like I said, best job ever. I was working after school one day and put on Strictly Ballroom. If you haven't seen it (netflix that bad boy), it's about a bunch of Australian ballroom dancers who want to dance new steps. It's awesome, and it's rated PG. Then a woman came in with her kid, who was around 5-8 years old.

I don't really know what happened next, because pent-up anger about this incident has been clouding my brain for nearly ten years. Maybe it was the Australian accents. Maybe it was the colorful costumes. Maybe it was Baz Luhrmann's quick-cutting style. I couldn't really tell you. All I know is that the woman came up to me and asked me to turn it off. "My son is here. I can't believe you'd play this," she said with disgust. Instead of slapping her in the face, stealing her poor child, and running off to Canada, I turned off the movie in shock. I was only sixteen. She was furious. What could I do? (And now I'm shaking with anger again. Mustn't. Yell. At. Work.)

So immediately I'm put on guard by the NYT review's mildly offended tone. Was the concert to loud for you? CHILL OUT, LADY! I wanted to say, on behalf of Strictly Ballroom. If she'd seen High School Musical (and no doubt she had, as a parent of a female child), she would have noticed how sexually neutered all the characters were. Even the so-called romantic leads. There's no kissing. No declarations of affection. Only the occasional hand-holding, and that's only if they're in a hurry and need to run someplace.

That bugs me. 

With a show that repressed, no wonder the actors have to resort to skimpy clothes and gyrating. The house style says that ANY SEX IS BAD, but the fact is the audience still has a desire for sexiness — obviously the fans want there to be something between Troy and Gabriella — so they're forced to show it other ways.  It's Disney's mixed messages we should be pissed about. It's okay to dress like a slut, but not to be one? What does "slutty outfit" even mean when you aren't allowed to so much as kiss another person?

Maybe if Disney had a little bit of flexibility in the way they show teenage relationships — maybe if Troy and Gabriella could be allowed one little kiss, or at least be able to admit out loud that they like each other — maybe then the actors wouldn't dress up like hookers to sing in New Jersey. It's a jarring combination of repression and exhibitionism, and it's confusing. What does it mean when you look one way, but you act totally different?

Reading this over, it appears I have taken the position that there should be more sex in children's television. Not sure how I got here. Feel free to discuss.