Taking Stock of My Work

1. I found all the work we did on paraphrasing to be the most useful tool for my analysis because it gave me a good base to work from. Learning how to paraphrase made understanding the subject materials much easier so I knew what I was talking about!
2. I just started by picking three adds that I could connect in someway and then used the tools we learned to summarize and paraphrase each. I used my paraphrasing as a outline and added analysis to connect each ad to my thesis.
3. I don't know that changing any of my organization would have made the essay easier to understand. I did not sort the commercials chronologically, instead I tried to organize them based on shared themes or tactics.
4. I didn't really have specific evidence besides my analysis. I probably could have done more research, but I think the analysis stands pretty strong on it's own.
5. I feel really good about my paraphrasing of each ad, especially since I had some trouble with the concept when we were practicing in class.
6. I could have done more work on the transitions between the ads and conclusions. I was finding difficult not to sound too repetitive with my transitions and analysis.
7. I did not use visuals, but I did my best to vividly describe each commercial. I thinking adding the commercials to my paper would have just been redundant.
8. Having other opinions on my essay really helped me narrow down the list of things I needed to work on. Some things that I felt needed work were received well by other readers, and other things that I thought were strong enough were pointed out as needing work.
9. I would probably look more into factual evidence about the type of commercial I was analyzing, try and provide some out side support instead of just analysis.
10. I am happy with my analysis, it definitely made me focus more on each detail of the commercials. I actually had fun looking for themes and hints within each ad. I found that I noticed a lot more themes related to my life, and cultural references that I did not see the first several times I saw the ad. I can't say this made me want to go out and study more car ads though.
11. I can see myself using more paraphrasing and summarizing in the future to ensure that I know what it is I am talking about. I think that will help a lot with analyzing many things in the future.

Final Analysis Paper

What You Drive or What You Deserve?

What kind of car do you drive? Whether the question is directed at you or not, this tends to be a fairly frequent concern in today’s society. A person’s status or character may be redefined in your opinion when you see what they drive.  Imported Italian sports car? Wealthy CEO. Minivan? Family man. 1941 Ford Pickup? Retiree with a hobby. These are relatively common assumptions made today. So wouldn’t it also be reasonable to assume that a specific car is advertised to target a specific group of people? Yes that’s reasonable.  As a result of this conclusion it is easy to ignore the flashy Jaguar commercial if you don’t think you fit in that demographic, but watch more closely. You may find that the advertisers are more inclusive than you thought. Luxury or not, car commercials do their best not to discriminate their audience based on a mere matter of money, instead they focus on a very broad target group; anyone who can drive.

Our first ad, the Nissan 2015 Super Bowl commercial, titled "With Dad", follows the life of a man as a father. Throughout the commercial, the man is forced to live his life divided between his car racing career and his family back home. After his son is born, the man finds it harder and harder to continue with his career and he begins to feel regrets about missing so much of his son's life while he is away. Also shown are pieces of the son's life as he grows up watching his father on the television instead of having him at home. It ends with the father retiring from his racing career and coming home to his son. When the father comes home and goes to pick up his son in their new Nissan, there is an overwhelming feeling of relief. The son is not only glad to have his father home, but also that he is safe, and the man is obviously relieved that he will no longer be missing out on life with his son. The company is very clearly stating that they are about more than just a car, they are invested in the consumer's life and values.

                Nissan is very clearly trying to reach out to anyone with, or planning on having, a family. It speaks to the average car owner, not just as a family man (or woman) but as a regular human being. True, most people don’t have such an exciting or dangerous job as a racer, but everyone, at some point_, feels like they miss part of their lives because of other obligations. This message is emphasized by the cast of the commercial. Everyone shown is a regular person doing regular things, there are no celebrities telling the viewers they can appear just as successful by driving this car. In the background, there is a familiar, melancholy song playing that perfectly parallels the emotions of the characters and those that any parent would feel as they watch their child grow up.

The next example, the Kia Matrix commercial from the 2014 Super Bowl, is a little less direct with their message, and a little sillier. It shows an attractive couple who, as they leave a date, meet the character Morpheus from The Matrix. He offers the couple the chance to compare old luxuries and new. At first the couple are content with what they have, they just want their car so they can leave, and like most people they seem a little dubious about a taking advice from a peculiar stranger. However, once they are in the new Kia, they experience a new brand of luxury and quickly realize that what they had before was not nearly as amazing as what they could have.

Though the term “luxury” is normally associated with success, the ad still does it’s best to entice an audience of regular people. It is safe to say that most normal people won’t encounter Morpheus just on the street, or have a stranger offer them such an extreme gift, but on average most people experience something similar to the emotions hinted at in the ad. It is fairly common to feel flustered, or maybe even tricked when trying to make a big decision like buying a car. No matter how many questions are asked, the seller may have left something out, and the buyer may then feel like they haven’t gotten what they really wanted. This commercial plays on that fear, it suggests that the audience has been deceived, and whether they were content in the past, they can only be dissatisfied now that they have been exposed to the truth. Regardless of finances, it is not unusual for people to want to feel good about themselves and their possessions, to want to treat themselves to a least some luxury in their lives.

Lastly, in looking at Matthew McConaughey’s 2014 commercial “Intro” for the Lincoln MKC, we again see the theme of self-satisfaction. While driving his Lincoln MKC, McConaughey talks about reflecting on life, knowing where you came from. He drives through a city at night. To no one in particular, he talks about "going back" and knowing where you came from. He mentions that some people think you shouldn't reflect on life, that that doesn't get you anywhere, but he disagrees. Looking back provides you with insight into who you are and by extension what you want. The whole commercial is about the viewer as an individual.

                Unlike the other two, this ad shows only a celebrity face, but that of a well-known actor that many people admire. Like the other two ads, though, the message is still for any viewer who can drive. The whole commercial talks about the person in the driver’s seat, never are the features or benefits of thee car directly mentioned. It is only suggested this car is great because a great person is driving it. It also suggests that that greatness is achieved not through heroic action or fame, it is reached through being your own person and living your life without regret. Similarly to the first commercial, Lincoln is trying to show the viewer that they care more about the individual’s values than about how great the car is. The commercial makes a very personal statement about and individual's life and values, showing this car is not about how much money you make, but what you want in life. It suggests that it’s not the car that makes the person great, but that the driver deserves something as great as they are, merely because they are their own person.

                Though the commercials may vary in themes or tactics, the main points they make are all the same. It’s not about the money, it’s not about the status, it’s about you being who you are and having what you deserve. What could be a more universal message than that? It will always be easy for people to judge others based on their possessions, or to categorize themselves into social groups because of how they appear. But, the fact that these car commercials have been advertising is not that we are separated, but that everyone has similar values, so everyone deserves these cars

Analysis Paper, Revised Draft

What You Drive or What You Deserve?

What kind of car do you drive? Whether the question is directed at you or not, this tends to be a fairly frequent concern in today’s society. A person’s status or character may be redefined in your opinion when you see what they drive.  Imported Italian sports car? Wealthy CEO. Minivan? Family man. 1941 Ford Pickup? Retiree with a hobby. These are relatively common assumptions made today. So wouldn’t it also be reasonable to assume that a specific car is advertised to target a specific group of people? Yes that’s reasonable.  As a result of this conclusion it is easy to ignore the Jaguar commercial if you don’t think you fit in that demographic, but watch more closely. You may find that the advertisers are more inclusive than you thought. Luxury or not, car commercials do their best not to discriminate their audience based on a mere matter of money, instead they focus on a very broad target group; anyone who can drive.

Our first ad, the Nissan 2015 Super Bowl commercial, titled "With Dad", follows the life of a man as a father. Throughout the commercial, the man is forced to live his life divided between his car racing career and his family back home. After his son is born, the man finds it harder and harder to continue with his career and he begins to feel regrets about missing so much of his son's life while he is away. Also shown are pieces of the son's life as he grows up watching his father on the television instead of having him at home. It ends with the father retiring from his racing career and coming home to his son. When the father comes home and goes to pick up his son in their new Nissan, there is an overwhelming feeling of relief. The son is not only glad to have his father home, but also that he is safe, and the man is obviously relieved that he will no longer be missing out on life with his son. The company is very clearly stating that they are about more than just a car, they are invested in the consumer's life and values.

                Nissan is very clearly trying to reach out to anyone with, or planning on having, a family. It speaks to the average car owner, not just as a family man (or woman) but as a regular human being. True, most people don’t have such an exciting or dangerous job as a racer, but everyone, at some point_, feels like they miss part of their lives because of other obligations. This message is emphasized by the cast of the commercial. Everyone shown is a regular person doing regular things, there are no celebrities telling the viewers they can appear just as successful by driving this car. In the background, there is a familiar, melancholy song playing that perfectly parallels the emotions of the characters and those that any parent would feel as they watch their child grow up.

The next example, the Kia Matrix commercial from the 2014 Super Bowl, is a little less direct with their message, and a little sillier. It shows an attractive couple who, as they leave a date, meet the character Morpheus from The Matrix. He offers the couple the chance to compare old luxuries and new. At first the couple are content with what they have, they just want their car so they can leave, and like most people they seem a little dubious about a taking advice from a peculiar stranger. However, once they are in the new Kia, they experience a new brand of luxury and quickly realize that what they had before was not nearly as amazing as what they could have.

Though the term “luxury” is normally associated with success, the ad still does it’s best to entice an audience of regular people. It is safe to say that most normal people won’t encounter Morpheus just on the street, or have a stranger offer them such an extreme gift, but on average most people experience something similar to the emotions hinted at in the ad. It is fairly common to feel flustered, or maybe even tricked when trying to make a big decision like buying a car. No matter how many questions are asked, the seller may have left something out, and the buyer may then feel like they haven’t gotten what they really wanted. This commercial plays on that fear, it suggests that the audience has been deceived, and whether they were content in the past, they can only be dissatisfied now that they have been exposed to the truth. Regardless of finances, it is not unusual for people to want to feel good about themselves and their possessions, to want to treat themselves to a least some luxury in their lives.

Lastly, in looking at Matthew McConaughey’s 2014 commercial “Intro” for the Lincoln MKC, we again see the theme of self-satisfaction. While driving his Lincoln MKC, McConaughey talks about reflecting on life, knowing where you came from. He drives through a city at night. To no one in particular, he talks about "going back" and knowing where you came from. He mentions that some people think you shouldn't reflect on life, that that doesn't get you anywhere, but he disagrees. Looking back provides you with insight into who you are and by extension what you want. The whole commercial is about the viewer as an individual.

                Unlike the other two, this ad shows only a celebrity face, but that of a well-known actor that many people admire. Like the other two ads, though, the message is still for any viewer who can drive. The whole commercial talks about the person in the driver’s seat, never are the features or benefits of thee car directly mentioned. It is only suggested this car is great because a great person is driving it. It also suggests that that greatness is achieved not through heroic action or fame, it is reached through being your own person and living your life without regret. Similarly to the first commercial, Lincoln is trying to show the viewer that they care more about the individual’s values than about how great the car is. The commercial makes a very personal statement about and individual's life and values, showing this car is not about how much money you make, but what you want in life. It suggests that it’s not the car that makes the person great, but that the driver deserves something as great as they are, merely because they are their own person.

                Though the commercials may vary in themes or tactics, the main points they make are all the same. It’s not about the money, it’s not about the status, it’s about you being who you are and having what you deserve. What could be a more universal message than that? It will always be easy for people to judge others based on their possessions, to categorize themselves into social groups because of how they appear. But, the fact that these car commercials have been advertising is not that we are separated, but that everyone has similar values, so everyone deserves these cars.

Rough Draft of Analysis Paper

 Very rough draft with no intro or conclusion:

In the first ad, the Nissan 2015 Super Bowl commercial, titled "With Dad", follows the life of a man as a father. Throughout the commercial, the man is forced to live his life divided between his car racing career and his family back home. After his son is born, the man finds it harder and harder to continue with his career and he begins to feel regrets about missing so much of his son's life while he is away racing. Also shown are pieces of the son's life as he grows up watching his father on the television instead of having him at home. It ends with the father retire from his racing career and coming home to his son. When the father comes home and goes to pick up his son in their new Nissan, there is an overwhelming feeling of relief. The son is not only glad to have his father home, but also that he is safe, and the man is obviously relieved that he will no longer be missing out on life with his son. The company is very clearly stating that they are about more than just a car, they are invested in the consumer's life and values.

                Nissan is very clearly trying to reach out to anyone with, or planning on having, a family. It speaks to the average car owner, not just as a family man (or woman) but as a regular human being. True, most people don’t have such an exciting or dangerous job as a racer, but everyone, at some point, feels like they miss part of their lives because of other obligations. This message is emphasized by the cast of the commercial. Everyone shown is a regular person doing regular things, there are no celebrities telling the viewers they can appear just as successful by driving this car. In the background, there is a familiar, melancholy song playing that perfectly parallels the emotions of the characters and those that any parent would feel as they watch their child grow up.

The next example, the Kia Matrix commercial from the 2014 Super Bowl, is a little less direct with their message, and a little sillier. It shows an attractive couple who, as they leave a date, meet the character Morpheus from The Matrix. He offers the couple the chance to old luxuries and new. At first the couple are content with what they have, they just want their car so they can leave, and like most people they seem a little dubious about a taking advice from a peculiar stranger. However, once they are in the new Kia, they experience a new brand of luxury and quickly realize that what they had before was not nearly as amazing as what they could have.

Though the term “luxury” is normally associated with success, the ad still does it’s best to entice an audience of regular people. True most people won’t encounter Morpheus just on the street, or have a stranger offer them such an extreme gift, but on average most people experience something similar to the emotions hinted at in the ad. It is fairly common to feel flustered, or maybe even tricked when trying to make a big decision like buying a care. No matter how many questions are asked, the seller may have left something out, and the buyer may then feel like they haven’t gotten what they really wanted. This commercial plays on that fear, it suggests that the audience has been deceived, and whether they were content in the past, they can only be dissatisfied now that they have been exposed to the truth. It is not unusual for people to want to feel good about themselves and their possessions, to want to treat themselves to a least some luxury in their lives.

Lastly, in Matthew McConaughey’s 2014 commercial “Intro” for the Lincoln MKC, we again see the theme of self-satisfaction. While driving his Lincoln MKC, McConaughey talks about reflecting on life, knowing where you came from. He drives through a city at night. To no one in particular, he talks about "going back" and knowing where you came from. He mentions that some people think you shouldn't reflect on life, that that doesn't get you anywhere, but he disagrees. Looking back provides you with insight into who you are and by extension what you want. The whole commercial is about the viewer as an individual.

Unlike the other two, this ad shows only a celebrity face, but that of a well-known actor that many people admire. Like the other two ads, though, the message is still for any viewer who can drive. The whole commercial talks about the person in the driver’s seat, never are the features or benefits of thee car directly mentioned. It is only suggested this car is great because a great person is driving it. It also suggests that that greatness is achieved not through heroic action or fame, it is reached through being your own person and living your life without regret. Similarly to the first commercial, Lincoln is trying to show the viewer that they care more about the individual’s values than about how great the car is. The commercial makes a very personal statement about and individual's life and values, showing this car is not about how much money you make, but what you want in life. It suggests that it’s not the car that makes the person great, but that the driver deserves something as great as they are, merely because they are their own person.

How did working in small groups prepare me for paper #3?

  It was nice to see what other people considered important in the analysis of their commercials. Even though it wasn’t all directed at one ad, seeing the different viewpoints is a nice sounding board for how to examine an ad and what to consider important. It was also helpful to be able to argue with group members, or have to explain what you see in the ad just because it acted as a trial run for my ability to describe my personal analysis, which will be useful in writing the description for my paper. I also find things to become clearer when I am able to debate subject with other people, and now I have a general idea about how easy my analysis skills are to understand to other people and not just myself, since I obviously know what I mean. I also liked having other people there to clarify the analysis process to me when I got confused.  

Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing

How in the World Do You Get  a Skunk Out of a Bottle? By Robert J. Connors

Summary:
Connors describes his encounter with a skunk trapped in a jar, explaining that the animal's safety was his responsibility because calling the police or Fish and Game would only do more harm than good.


Paraphrased portion:
Connors observed how throwing a rock at the jar would just do more harm than good. If he could manage to find a rock heavy enough to break the glass, Connors would not have been able to throw it accurately. Even if that weren't a factor, broken glass would most likely get in the skunk's eyes, or slash it's face. Also, should the jar break it would only leave the skunk with a jagged glass collar, that would inevitably kill the animal anyway.

Quotation:
After the initial encounter with the skunk, Connors took stock of the animal's situation, stating "By know I realize the skunk was my responsibility. The police would probably kill him in order to save him. Getting someone from Fish and Game would take hours. I am here, now"(157).

Advertisements R Us by Melissa Rubin

1.  Rubin describes the ad as appealing to some stereo typical values of the 1950's. She explained that the ad depicts certain social groups as a desirable part of a society, for example there are many working blue and white collar workers as well as military servicemen to suggest that the perfect society is hardworking and worth defending. There are a few women and no people of color, suggesting that the Coca-Cola company did not see either of those groups as being part of a perfect society. I agree with how she describes the company's tactics, but I don't necessarily I think such tactics would be effective, especially in today's society

2. Rubin talks about how the characters dress, as well as the racial and sexist inequality within the group of people depicted. She also mentioned how the ad may itself have been outdated when it was produced because it played on war time qualities but were coming to close. I think this historical evidence strongly supports her essay and makes it more believable.

3. A question that I would have would be how would this ad positively or negatively effect a younger population who is not yet fully entered into this "perfect society". Also, is this a depiction of what society considers perfect, or what it should consider to be right according to the company?

4. This Audi Q7 ad plays on the generalization that people today have a very adventurous spirit as well as the entitled feeling of freedom. This ad is much more focused on the singular person whereas the Coca-Cola ad focused on a society. This ad applies to the more basic, animistic natures of humans but at the same time is not specific to any racial or sexual group, it encompasses all people.

5. This ad focuses on today's social need for simplicity. People today always feel like their lives are over complicated in that they have no time for themselves. Again like the last ad, it is very self oriented and has no specific group of people targeted. It displays how today's society has become very cut off from one from one another. It also gives people a sense of importance, showing that their lives are so full of things that only they can accomplish. 

Pages 138 and 141

138.

Decision	Choosing not to apply to a four year college	Going through acupuncture treatment	Eating on the Paleo diet	Picking a community college to attend
Factors	Not knowing what I wanted to study made choosing between options very hard.   I wasn't sure that I felt comfortable leaving home after high school	It would help with my injury recovery, as well as my asthma and anxiety.   The reasons for not doing it would be there was a possibility it wouldn’t work, and though not nearly as important, I really hate needles.	There was a diet that went along with my acupuncture treatment that we never followed, the paleo diet seemed like a good compromise.	I live on Bainbridge Island, so any school would be a commute, but as much as I didn’t want to drive, I wanted to take the ferry even less.   I liked the range of classes I could get through Olympic, and that I was able to start off in Poulsbo.
How it affected my personal life	My mom convinced me other ideas were alright too, and we wound up going to France for two months instead of me starting at a university.	I am much more comfortable in my own skin and far less anxious about situations out of my control.	Planning out meals and snacks for a day. Now everything I time I think about food, it’s not just about if I'm hungry, but about whether I'm allowed to eat the snack in question.	I spend more time doing homework and I’ve met some interesting people.
How it affected my professional live	I had to take two months off work, not that I’m complaining.	I still have knee pain, but it no longer keeps me from being able to be on my feet all day at work	I am a food server at an event center where they make amazing food and the employees get to eat left overs, but most of the food they make is not on the diet.	I’m not available to work so many days out of the week.
How it affected my school life	I was taking classes at a language school. There was no credit involved for college, and it meant I had to start the year a quarter late. Again, not complaining.	Without suffering from anxiety or knee/neck/back pain, I can focus on just doing my best with my work and not so much about keeping a grade or missing a class.	You never know how much you just want to buy a snack out of the vending machine until you can’t.	I started gaining credit for college.

I guess this chart says that I want to stay on top of things, but not if that will interfere with my health or major life experiences.


141. Costco.com, looking through their furniture department, the website provides some specifications and details about the product and a visual representation. There is also a place for buyers to add their reviews of the product which is very useful for prospective buyers that seems generally unused. I would probably add reviews of other companies or similar products to provide a comparison for the buyer and more specific construction details.
Eddie Bauer's website seemed slightly more user friendly. They provide detailed information about the product with multiple visuals. They also have a place for buyers to post reviews, but they also have a chat option to talk with a "product specialist".

Narrative vs. Position Paper

I definitely had a harder time writing the position paper over the narrative. There was a lot more organization involved with writing the second paper than there was with the narrative. In writing the narrative, I was able to start with descriptions of events and fill in spaces with analysis. I had a natural framework of description to use. With the position paper it was more difficult to organize how everything fit together. I had to spend more time on transitioning from one idea to another because there wasn't a natural flow to the writing like there was with the first paper.

The process itself was also different because of the intended audience. The narrative was easier to write because it was about something real, a series of events that no one could dispute. But the position paper was different. I had no intended target audience in mind, but I also knew that there might be people who read it who already have opposing views, and I was trying very hard not to have the language sound condescending or contradictory. 

Another obvious difference was in my support. I didn't need to go looking for factual evidence to support my narrative because it all came from my life and my memory. My position paper, on the other hand, required that I go looking for other facts to support my opinion. I think the same can be said for addressing opposing arguments. I had a general idea about what other people would say on the topic of my position paper, but it was another case of needing specifics that I had to go looking for. Not necessarily for the argument, but I needed the evidence to back up my reasoning over theirs.

The Narrative seemed much easier to write because it was like telling and analyzing a story. I felt like writing the position paper was more of a battle, not that it was hard, but that there were more hoops to jump through and possibly more toes to step on.

One other big difference I found that was a little difficult to work around was the formality. Almost every paper I have had to turn in, with the exception of my narratives in this class and in others, have been written in a formal style. Trying to argue a position and be convincing about my argument while also attempting not to sound superior is much easier for me to do when there is less of a personal attachment. Writing a formal paper allows for a more unbiased feel, more like you are writing with a neutral voice, not your own. When writing my position paper, there were several moments when I felt either I was being too formal by force of habit, or I was getting too involved. Since I really didn't want the paper to sound like I was shouting at the reader, I was constantly trying to find the balance.

The combination of all these things made the writing process feel like more of a struggle in comparison with my narrative. That being said, it was a very nice change to feel comfortable arguing about something I care about without the fear of being shouted down. I really enjoyed writing my narrative, but I also get very tired of being so purely descriptive, since I do that a lot. The position paper was a nice change. 

Position Paper

Margaret MacKay

2/24/15

Disney's Big Switch 

Are Disney’s animated films really kid movies or family films, and is it childish to enjoy them as an adult? As an adult fan of Disney’s works, this is a question I am quite familiar with. Simply put, the answer is that the company’s animated movie franchise began as family entertainment, but throughout the decades, it has been slowly gearing more towards younger audiences. Since the change in animation styles, there has been a lowering in the depth of Disney’s animated films.

Though it has been a gradual change leading up through the nineties, for all intents and purposes, we are going to say the shift came in 2010 when the Disney Company all but abandoned 2D and hand drawn animation, leaving it solely for sequels and spin-offs such as Winnie the Pooh, and began their reign of 3D movies. This change followed the massive box office let down by The Princess and the Frog in 2009, and lead up to the company laying off nine of their animators (Amidi).The following year saw not only a change in animation style to 3D, but also a redesign of the character franchises.

Disney princesses have never really portrayed realistic female features, but I don’t see how having them turned into Barbie wannabes helped the cause.

Disney films have always been geared toward the modern audience of the time, but in more recent years they have been focusing more and more on a younger audience, children. I am not saying the new movies aren’t fun for adults, they most definitely are, however the fun feel of the movies play more on the nostalgic heart strings instead of an adult’s intelligence. Re-watching your favorite movies as an adult, you tend to notice a higher appreciation for the underlying humor, many characters make references to topics no child would understand. Point in case: The movie Hercules contain many examples of the characters displaying more adult intelligence. Perhaps most memorably when the demi-god compares his problems to Oedipus the King, hopefully not a context a child would understand. Today’s characters have been visibly dumbed-down. Yes this means your six year old will understand absolutely everything, but it also makes the character less interesting for you. It is clear to see that Anna from Frozen is a modern, rebellious woman, but we don't actually know what she does with her time, does she study or cook, or learn languages, or fish, what does she do besides be a princess and sing to ducklings? It’s cute and all, but for an adult, this could be kind of boring.

I know many people would argue that Disney movies have always been intended for kids, after all they have changed some of the most gruesome fairy tale tragedies to give them happy endings. This is true but I would say that this argument suggests there is no cross over between children’s and adult’s stories. Disney movies have a tendency to have a cheerful finish, however they also manage to keep the balance between what captures a child’s intrigue and an adult’s. It is also true that older Disney films have a G rating, the first to receive a PG rating was Black Cauldron in 1985(“Trivia”), and for good reason. I would challenge people to think of what other reasons there might be for this particular fact to be true. One may be that all animated movies were rate G simply because they were just that, animated. Another may be that it was harder to score a PG rating in former years than it is today. As Forbes contributor Scott Mendelson puts it, “we’ve gone from animated and/or family films being rated PG for having kid-sized heroes killing henchmen in battle (The Incredibles) to animated films getting PG ratings for the equivalent of a fart joke and a few near-miss escapes.”(Mendelson)

In the past, Disney has always tried to make the leading characters more relatable to current viewers. True Cinderella may seem somewhat helpless and not too intelligent to the women of today, but in the fifties being able to attend to so many things such as cleaning and cooking were highly valuable skills that require brains. And, when comparing Cinderella vs. Snow White, You can see that though they demonstrate a similar skill set, the Cinderella of 1950 is far more ambitious with her goals and more intellectual with her attitude than Snow White, whose movie was made thirteen years before.

If we turn the tables and put Cinderella on the other end, we would expect to see much the same results, and if you compare her to heroines such as Meg from Hercules, Jane from Tarzan, or even Belle from Beauty and the Beast, you can see the change in focus as the audience changes, but in a side by side with Tangled, it is easy to see a certain shadowing that practically screams nostalgia. Both involve evil step mothers, however Lady Tremaine is arguably more villainous since Mother Gothel’s over the top flamboyance makes her feel less like a serious threat and more like comic relief. Also, songs such as “When Will My Life Begin” and “I See the Light” though inspirational, echo the tunes like “A Dream Is a Wish” and “So This Is Love.” So even with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider’s very modern attitudes, many of the ideals seemed pulled directly from previous decades, out dating the heart of the movie for its older audience who grew out of such ideals when they were ten.

So far, when referring to “older movies” I tend mostly to name movies from the last thirty years. This is, of course, because younger generations weren’t around when these movies were new. As a result, the eighties and nineties is now becoming known as the years of Disney’s “classics.” I explain this distinction now because I am going to talk about music, this is the time most people associate with Disney Musicals. During this era, the company was notorious for creating music tracks that were comprised of great songs, each of which could hold its own against the other. Today movies are advertised with a hit song, go see Frozen featuring hit song “Let It Go”! Compared to Aladdin which not only had three hit songs, but also won both at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for best original score, as well as being nominated for best comedy/musical (“Awards”).

Sticking with the Frozen theme, it would be good to notice that aside from the inspirational award winner “Let It Go”, the other songs tend to be lacking in the wit department, “Fixer Upper” and “For the First Time In Forever” are most definitely charming and great fun to listen to, but the obvious meaning behind the lyrics leads anyone over the age of eight to wonder if it would have been possible to make the plot any more obvious. Of course this is not to say that all the songs in the older movies were chock-full of meaning, some of them were definitely just added for the fun factor, but that also does not mean that they fall so flat on the quality meter.

I think we can agree that characters such as Baymax from Big Hero 6 and Pascal from Tangled are meant to give the movies a more comfortable feel, mission accomplished. But there was a time when Disney was not afraid to make even the protagonists less perfect. Older animation was also accompanied by the embrace or scarier content, or at least darker ideas that would not be understood by children. Take Peter Pan for example, Peter himself is rather arrogant and narcissistic, not to mention a play boy. If that weren’t bad enough, Tinker Bell fully intended to have Wendy killed by the lost boys. Alice in Wonderland‘s colorful characters displayed suggestive signs of drug usage. And let us not forget that the biggest musical number in Dumbo, “Pink Elephants on Parade,” was brought about by drunken hallucinations.  All these things would not be apparent to a child.

Here again we see that The Princess and the Frog was a last revival attempt as it contained more of the darker content that has been lacking recently. The art style and depth of villainy gave the whole movie a much scarier, creepier feel, much like the Black Cauldron, that could arguably be unsuitable for kids.  The newer animation villains, though they maybe destructive, tend to be far less frightening. As mentioned before, Mother Gothel’s performance as bad guy gets drowned out by her ridiculous behavior much like the flamboyance demonstrated by King Candy in Wreck it Ralph, not exactly striking fear in the hearts of the viewer.  Big Hero 6 and Frozen share a similar predicament in that the audience spends most of the time pretending they don’t know who the real villain is(even though it is pretty obvious), instead of feeling any amount of anxiety over the evil deeds being committed.

 

 

A comparison: The Black Cauldron’s Horned King and Prince Hans from Frozen

 

I know the newer bad guys are designed not to be too terrifying so as not to frighten the youngsters in the audience, but that change seems to be accompanied by a lack of the character’s intellect. You may find that as an adult, villains such as Scar or Ursula become more hilarious and intriguing than their good-guy counterparts. This isn’t because they become more silly or flamboyant, but because your ability to appreciate their dry humor and depth of plotting has grown since your childhood.  

But what about the goofy bad guys in older movies? Yes, Captain Hook and Prince John may not have been the most fear-inspiring evil masterminds, but their short comings in the villain department are somewhat forgivable since the protagonists of Peter Pan were hardly perfect and Robin Hood has characters like the Sheriff of Nottingham to supply an extra source of evil-doing.

Before all is said and done, I want to make it clear that I thoroughly enjoy the newer movies, as well as the 3D animation. They maintain a fun spirit that is a credit to the Disney Company. I just find it is disappointing that the transition of animation styles has led to stories being told with less depth than their predecessors.

 

Sources

Amidi, Amid. "BREAKING: Disney Just Gutted Their Hand-Drawn Animation Division [UPDATED]."

Cartoon Brew. N.p., 11 Apr. 2013. Web.

Website

 

"Awards." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web.

Website

 

Brejan. "Black Cauldron- The Horned King Monologue." YouTube. YouTube, 7 Sept. 2011. Web.

Website

 

Disney Movies. "(FROZEN) - Hans Betrayal to Anna." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Jan. 2014. Web.

Website

 

Mendelson, Scott. "Disney's 'Frozen' Proves Failure Of PG Rating." Forbes. N.p., 26 Nov. 2013. Web.

Website