DAVID LEE MUNDY writes:

During our recent trip back to the states, we made a visit to Disney World. Of course my young daughters wanted to meet the princesses. Not all the princesses, mind you, since they’ve never seen “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Mulan,” etc. We explained, to the consternation of our immediate family, that we don’t watch those movies because those girls are not modest and don’t obey their fathers.

The line to meet the princesses was surprisingly short. The longer line was for meeting the fairies. To one unfamiliar with the fairy phenomenon, it was shocking. Who would want to meet a fairy over a princess? But apparently that’s the way these days.

I asked my immediate family, “What sort of role model is a fairy?” They flit capriciously about pursuing their own self interests. They aren’t burdened with responsibilities or any concerns beyond the moment. Princesses, meanwhile, are expected to marry princes as well as to bear and raise offspring.

I tried to explain in greater detail but was pointedly told to shut up and enjoy the ride. And, I guess that about sums up our impression of America after a four-year absence.

Laura writes:

Hmm, this is serious.

Fairies may be enchanting and beautiful. They can be useful, especially when you need someone to collect dewdrops from the yard. But they are also moody, mischievous and sometimes downright dangerous. If a human being gets too close to a ring of dancing fairies, he can be drawn into the circle and end up dancing non-stop for seven years. I have occasional problems with household fairies who spin cobwebs in the corners, plant weeds in the garden and throw flour in my face when I am cooking. Though fairies sometimes bestow good luck and make people fall in love, I agree they are not good role models for your daughters.

Brian Froud, author of the excellent book Faeries, writes realistically of the realm of these supernatural creatures, who are all too often romanticized by modern dunderheads who have never lived close to a fairy mound or been stalked by a brownie. Froud writes:

The real faerie experience is very different from the general view of faerie built up by clouds of sentimental fiction with legions of happily-ever-after endings. The world of “Once Upon a Time – “, delightful as it is and highly as we value it, is not the real world of Faerie. Faerie represents Power, magical power, incomprehensible to humans, and, hence, inimical. It must always be remembered that though the world of Faerie is to a large extent dependent on humans, faeries are alien creatures with values and ethics far removed from mankind: they do not think, and most notably, they do not feel,  the way that humans do.

This is precisely the core of much of their envy of mortals and the source of a good deal of the trouble they cause, for faeries are themselves creatures of the raw stuff of life and are ceaselessly attracted to all forms of creativity and particularly moments of high emotion in which they seek to be participants. 

The last thing you want is for your daughters to be participants in high emotion, at least not any more than they already are. Princesses may be dull by comparison, but they are much more predictable.

                                                                                  — Comments —

Steve writes:

• “Ariel, a sixteen-year-old mermaid princess, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world.”  This is an-all-too-common reality.  Teenage girls become dissatisfied with the life they know, and curious about other patterns of life, especially those antithetical to their current situation.  Witness the prevalence of “good girls” drawn to so-called “bad boys.”
• “Ignoring the warnings [I would say commands or instructions] of her father (King Triton) and court musician (Sebastian the crab) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden… Ariel still longs to be part of the human world”  Teenage girls are willful, and romanticize the Other, even when commanded by lawful authority or advised by trusted counselors. 
• “Triton furiously confronts Ariel in her grotto, using his trident to destroy her collection of human treasures. After Triton leaves, a pair of eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, convince a crying Ariel that she must visit Ursula the sea witch, if she wants all of her dreams to come true.”  This is a lesson to both fathers and daughters: if the father administers a punishment in anger, one that is more about displaying his power than about correcting his child, his daughter will rebel against him; on the other hand, a rebellious child is much more vunerable to temptation, especially when sold under the guise of fulfilling her “dreams.” 
• “Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days….  Within these three days, Ariel must receive the ‘kiss of true love’ from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula. As payment for legs, Ariel has to give up her voice”  The “deals” offered by temptation may seem to guarantee your happiness, but they are always frauds, completely stacked against you. 
• The prince “…initially suspects that she is the one who saved his life, but when he learns that she cannot speak, he discards that notion, to the frustration of both Ariel and Max (who knows the truth).”  Reality is harsh, especially when set against the rosy glow of false promises.
• “Realizing that Ariel was the girl who saved his life, Eric rushes to kiss her, but the sun sets and Ariel transforms back into a mermaid. Ursula reverts to her true form and kidnaps Ariel.”  Even when “your dreams” seem about to “come true,” harsh reality and the machinations of evil can utterly deny your happiness and imperil your life.
• “Triton appears and confronts Ursula, but cannot destroy Ursula’s contract with Ariel.”  Fathers can’t always extract their daughters from the consequences of their daughters’ bad choices and bad behavior.  
• “Triton chooses to sacrifice himself for his daughter, turning into a polyp”  True and loving fathers sacrifice themselves for their daughters, no matter the cost to themselves, especially when their daughters imperil themselves through bad choices and bad behavior.  
• “Just as Ursula is set to use the trident to destroy Ariel, Eric turns the wheel… and runs Ursula through the abdomen with the ship’s splintered bowsprit, mortally wounding her….  Eric escapes to shore in time…. after seeing that Ariel really loves Eric and that Eric also saved him in the process, Triton willingly changes her from a mermaid into a human using his trident. She runs into Eric’s arms, and the two finally kiss.”  This is multilayered: Yes, romantic dreams can come true.  However, the daughter’s intended must prove to Daddy that he’s willing to protect and defend Daddy’s little girl, even in danger of his own life, and once Daddy’s convinced that the suitor and his daughter truly love one another.  And please note: Daddy (King Triton) is the one who makes their romance possible, unequivocally. 
• “In the final scene, an unspecified amount of time later, Ariel marries Eric in a wedding where both humans and merpeople attend.”  The end of romance is marriage.  They don’t just ride off into the sunset, they get married.

The fairies have been busy.

Steve writes:

Drina’s interpretation is interesting. I took that last line as merely flippant Disney repartee. I interpreted Sebastian’s comment as nothing more than the storytellers’ means of illustrating Sebastian’s inherent character as a toady, who was following this faulty line of logic:

1. In practice, King Triton both allowed and enabled his daughter to follow her heart
2. Therefore, King Triton must believe that children “got to be free to make their own choices”
3. Ergo, Sebastian will toady up to King Triton by verbally adopting the King’s new perspective, but voice it as his (Sebastian’s) own opinion

I took King Triton’s response, “Like you always say?” as a veiled verbal chastisement of Sebastian’s fair-weather hypocrisy, not as a ratification of the sentiment. With all the other wholesome messages I extracted from the film, this exchange at the very end of the film, with the film’s buffoon character voicing the politically correct sentiment and then being treated with ironic courtesy by the father figure, didn’t impress itself on my awareness at all. 

Thanks for the viewpoint; I will be now prepared to counter it, if the time comes.

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