Princess Makeovers Treat Low Self-Esteem? Um . . .

I must say, I’d love to spend an afternoon at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, preferably with my fourteen-year-old son. But I can’t imagine recommending it as a cure for low self-esteem, as the Disney Insider does in today’s article, “Huge Self Esteem Boost for Girls.”

Over the past year she is, of course, obsessed with the idea that she is a real Princess. However, she also is happier, more self assured, and no longer intimidated by her big brother. Many thanks, Fairy Godmothers!!!!

I tend to think that self-esteem is over-rated, in and of itself. I’m a lot more concerned about whether girls stay involved in math and science, whether they learn how to negotiate salaries, what skills they develop for mutual partnerships in their romantic lives. And while self-esteem may be correlated with these skills, nobody’s proved causality. (Harvard Medical School also questions certain assumptions about the importance of self-esteem, so it’s not just me.)

But for the sake of argument, let’s assume that self-esteem is intrinsically valuable. I’m still not sold on the idea that princess makeovers are the answer, especially given that most of the Disney princesses don’t display the sort of agency I’d like girls to know they can have. (I can make an exception here for Mulan and Tiana though . . . and arguably Belle too. I’ve got my fingers crossed for Brave.)

Shall I suggest an alternative? Check your local listings for a Women’s Flat Track Derby Association team. (It’s not your grandmother’s roller derby — while there’s certainly still plenty of bling and cleavage, nobody’s throwing any chairs.) I’ve seen a few girls’ eyes light up at the sight of strong, tough, sexy women engaging in this fast-paced, high contact sport. Kiss those body image issues good-bye; women of many shapes and sizes are celebrated; strength, speed, and strategy are all more important than perfect hourglass figures. And stop waiting for that prince to come. . . if he’s worthwhile, you’ll meet him on your travels, not while you’re sitting around wishing.

Disney Parks Blog WTF? Eww.

I could have sworn I just saw a set of poop snowmen on the Disney Parks blog.

And why yes, I sure did. No, I’m not including the image. Here is a cuteness chaser instead:

I Was Gonna Write a Review of Tron: Legacy, but . . .

I was gonna write a review of Tron: Legacy.  I mean geez, I haven’t been blogging at all for ages, but then the internets are going insane about how much they hate the movie, and I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around how to respond. So then I notice today that Geoff Carter has basically taken care of the whole thing with his review, “In Defense of Tron: Legacy.”

I do still have a couple small things to add, though:

• To whomever it was that said the 3D didn’t work: I don’t know what was wrong with your theater, but that’s gotta be a technical issue. The 3D worked fine at the IMAX where I saw it, and enhanced the action sequences quite nicely. The lightcycle race would have been a lot tricker to follow without it.
• What’s up with comparing this film to A New Hope, aka the original Star Wars? I’m not seeing it. Any thematic similarities are shared with a truckload of other stories (ie, daddy issues), and the use of black-and-white color schemes just don’t make it a Star Wars clone.

And well, yeah. The role of women in Tron: Legacy? Problematic at best, and perhaps most amusingly represented by the woman in an early board-room scene who simply introduces the president of the board, then sits down quietly. I’ll join Geoff in hoping that Quorra plays a more fully-realized role in any further sequels.

Gift Ideas for the Disney’s Hollywood Studios Fan

Christmas holiday shoppers, you’ve still got a week to go! So, this week on StudiosCentral, I’ve put together a list of gift ideas for the Studios fan. One sample:

Footlight Parade: Sure, you’ve rolled by those motionless audio-animatronics for years in The Great Movie Ride, but have you actually seen the film? It’s a Busy Berkeley tour de force! Plus, being made shortly before the Hays Code means that certain plotlines and jokes are surprisingly edgy.

Head on over to StudiosCentral to read the rest.

And while we’re at it . . .here’s the trailer for Footlight Parade:

“As long as they’ve got sidewalks, you’ve got a job!” Whoa.  Makes me want to go back and re-watch Golddiggers of 1933.

And what is up with my fascination with the Hays Code, anyway? Clearly next time I go back to graduate school, I’ve got to find a topic for a Masters thesis that really lets me dig into that.

Epic Mickey: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

My son and I rushed home from GameStop on Tuesday night to spend a little quality time with our new purchase, a game we hadn’t played before. By sometime Thursday night, we’d beaten the game, and had an absolutely fabulous time doing so.

Am I talking about Epic Mickey? No . . . actually it was Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, which is a far better game than it has a right to be. But we did pick up Epic Mickey as well, and share our opinions with you in this week’s Jentasmic column at StudiosCentral. Here’s some of the good stuff:

Epic Mickey is like a scavenger hunt for fans of Disney animation, especially of the vintage variety. Even in the early levels we’ve worked through, there are worlds themed on Steamboat Wilie, Clock Cleaners, and other vintage Mickey hits. We can only hope that our Oswald favorites such as Trolley Troubles will be included in later worlds, or perhaps an Alice comedy. In our wildest dreams, perhaps we’d see a little of a controversial reference, and let Mickey fight Adolf Hitler in a variation on Der Fuhrer’s Face.

The controls are relatively simple, which will appeal to people like Mom: Old-school video gamers who misspent their youths beating the early Mario games, which required the use of only a few controller buttons. Modern video games frequently have far too many controls for this group’s liking, as they have a hard time remembering such a wide variety of combinations (“what does it do again when I hit A and Z and + all at the same time?).

Many of the aspects of game design seem to suggest that Disney is trying to appeal to novice, middle-aged, and very young videogamers. Unfortunately, as we’ll see below, this may interfere with their appeal to teenaged boys, which the marketing would suggest Disney’s trying to reach as well (and is notably unsuccessful with, generally speaking).

Unfortunately, it’s not all good . . . head over to StudiosCentral to read the full column, with plenty of the bad and the ugly.