Disney Movies and show anti-family??

[starflyer59]

I don't know if Anti-family if the correct word to use. Please forgive me if this has been covered already. We are Disney freaks and our tv stays on Disney channel. We were talking about the lack of two parents in so many disney movies and tv shows.

It seems like show after show after show only has ONE parent and sometimes no parents.

What does Disney have against a two parent family?

We started watching Hannah Montanna last week and noticed once again...only one parent???

This is not a bash on disney. Just wondering what the deal is on why disney makes so many shows and movies with only one parent.

 

[jesserin]

Probably because in this day and age it is "normal" for a "family" to only have one parent - Disney reaches kids in todays world - not just kids from 2 or 3 generations ago... and in today's world... some kids only know their family as one parent. That would be my guess... - but who knows...

 

[Connor002]

"Normal" families don't make good television.
*Shrug*

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Welcome to children's literature.

You will very rarely find an intact family in any story aimed at children.

Not just Disney, but classic fairy tales:
Goldilocks -- where ARE this kid's parents? Would you let your little girl wander around in the woods?

Cinderella -- her mother is dead, and her father has re-married and conveniently disappeared, leaving her (evil) stepmother to raise her

Little Mermaid -- father only

Wizard of OZ -- Dorothy lives with her aunt and uncle


TV:
My 3 Sons -- Dad and Uncle Charley; no mom
Bonanza -- lots of boys and Hop Sing; no mom
Brady Bunch -- presumably both parents are widowed, because there is NEVER talk of weekends with Dad

Experts tell us that the #1 childhood fear is loss of a parent. By incorporating this fact into kiddie lit, children are given a safe place to explore those fears and ultimately deal with them.

 

[Victoria]

Probably because in this day and age it is "normal" for a "family" to only have one parent - Disney reaches kids in todays world - not just kids from 2 or 3 generations ago... and in today's world... some kids only know their family as one parent. That would be my guess... - but who knows...

This theory is also the same one I have come up with for why Disney my be doing this. I don't think that they are against families necessary, I think they are just trying to provide a broader definition of what a family can be. I, personally, grew up with just my mom and as a child I was often frustrated by shows that always had two parents. I sometimes wished for shows that acknowledged that not all families are the same.

I think it is great that Disney is willing to acknowledge all these different varieties of families. I think they do it for very much the same reason doll makers create African-American, Hispanic, and Asian varieties of dolls in addition to the casucasian ones. They are just trying to teach children about diversity, which I happen to think is a very valuable lesson evey kid needs to learn. Ok, I am getting off my soapbox now.

 

[Little Mermaid]

I think that the Disney Channel shows and movies show a good mixture of families. Hannah Montana and The Suite Life's Zack and Cody may come from one-parent families; but Kim Possible (and Ron, too), Lizzie McGuire, Raven Baxter, Ren and Louis Stevens, Phil Diffy...all come from two-parent households. Life with Derek shows a blended family.

I agree with what others have said. Disney is trying to appeal to all different types of children and all different types of families with their programs.