Good Girls and Wicked Witches. Amy M. Davis
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universally viewed as appropriate, even within Britain. Numerous British reviews at the time of Snow White’s release attest to a wide range of opinions on the subject, though most seem inclined to think that an “A” certificate for the film was a little overly-cautious. One article which refers to the controversy surrounding the “A” certificate being given to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs reads, in part, as follows:
Of course, one of the questions I wanted to investigate was this business of the “A” certificate. I have since discussed that with several people, and there are two opinions. Some think the “A” certificate ridiculous; others think it is quite reasonable.
My own impression is, that it was a bit over-cautious, and that I have seen many more things, both in cartoons and otherwise, that I should be more doubtful about for children. On the other hand, I should prefer a child to see the picture with his parents, rather than alone, and can assure both parent and child that they would be in for a very enjoyable time.43
Even as recently as 1995, the British Board of Film Classification decided that the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story (1995) deserved a PG [Parental Guidance] rating because, as Veronica Horwell would later describe it in an article on censorship, the film was deemed to be “... a mite scary”.44 In the United States, in contrast, the film received a G [General] rating and was apparently not seen by the Motion Picture Association of America [MPAA] as particularly frightening, even for very young children. Yet despite these occasional opinions and the various ties between Disney films and traditional horror films – Disney films are considered, by and large, to be acceptable viewing for audiences of all ages.
There is a substantial amount of scholarship supporting the notion that spectators can and do view films in an active way which allows them to take from a film those incidents and portrayals which “ring true” to them and ignore those aspects of films which are inaccurate or demeaning.45 While these studies deal principally with black female spectators of mainstream Hollywood films and women audiences as spectators of horror films, it nonetheless seems plausible that this theory of active spectatorship can be applied, at least to an extent, to the genre of Disney animated films. I say to an extent because, while much of the audience for any Disney film consists of a fair percentage of adult women and older girls, a substantial proportion of a Disney film’s audience is made up of very young girls. The above studies are of adults; they are of women who have learned over the course of their lives to take the portrayals of race/sex which they see on the movie screen with a grain of salt, and may consequently have become sophisticated at reading films. Young children, however, at the beginning of their movie-watching lives, are only beginning to learn that what they are watching is only “make-believe”. Furthermore, and unlike adults, children are very likely to incorporate the things they see in movies into their play, thereby repeating, analysing, and incorporating into their subconscious the ideas and themes they take away from films. The degree to which they do this is a matter of some debate amongst experts on children, the media, and child psychology.
Studies of children and media
In looking at psychological theories about children’s play, the idea that children use play – pretend play in particular – as a way of practising their present, future, and even potential roles within society is undisputed. H.G. Furth and S. R. Kane, for example, use detailed analysis of a single but extended episode of pretend play on the part of three girls (one four-year-old and two five-year-olds) to demonstrate that such play not only develops social skills (the children’s abilities to share and communicate is discussed at length), but also shows how the girls are able to incorporate various cultural stereotypes, roles, and traditions into their play.46
The example given concerns three girls pretending to be getting ready for a royal ball. It should be noted that, as the authors of the study point out, the only constraint imposed on the children was that they had to play in a particular corner of their school room (albeit one which was typically used for certain kinds of play amongst the children).47 The play initially began between the two five-year-old girls: the older one, who was five years and eleven months, proposed to the younger girl (aged five years and one month) that they pretend that they are getting ready for a royal ball which is to occur “the next day” (according to the frame of their play.) While the two girls were playing, various social conventions were invoked: a hierarchy was established, with the slightly older girl being recognised by both children as being the one in charge (though whether this superiority was thanks to her age or the fact that the “royal ball” theme was her idea is never really discussed or made clear). Sharing and equal division of the various toys available to the girls was done through taking turns selecting items and relying upon rules of previous possession in order to establish “ownership” of the items being involved in play. The ability of children to use items symbolically was demonstrated by looking at how the girls used a large bedspread, with corners on it that could be used to simulate hoods, as their coats, since each of them could use one corner of the bedspread as her personal coat and share it. Furthermore, the use of this bedspread as a coat by the girls was also employed to show that the children were able to incorporate tradition into their play since it would seem that this bedspread has been used as a coat by a succession of children who have been in this classroom.48 Nineteen minutes into the play session, a third child – the four-year-old girl mentioned earlier – entered the room and became involved in the play session. Her arrival demonstrated the other two girls’ knowledge of how to play this particular game of “getting ready for a royal ball”, how to establish and maintain rules of ownership, and how to establish and maintain hierarchy – based on age – within the group. Because there were certain elements of their play which the two older girls had to explain to the younger girl, the fact that the girls were able to combine both reality and the rules of their pretend game demonstrated their ability to construct their make-believe world.49 Through their play, the two five-year-olds and the four-year-old showed quite clearly the fact that they were able not only to recognise roles and the rules that apply to those living those roles, such as when they are discussing how they will behave and how other (pretend) individuals will behave toward them when they are queens during their evening at the ball, but are also able to internalise them (even if only for the purposes of their play) and regulate their behaviour according to them.50 It is interesting that they chose, as the format for this complicated play session, the framework of a fairy tale (in this case creating a story which in many ways parallels the tale of “Cinderella”). As Furth and Kane point out, however, this choice of framework as a way of practising social interaction is understandable, since social and cultural norms are usually contained within such stories. As Furth and Kane put it, “It was Western tradition, handed down in fairy tales and conveyed in the present culture, not personal affect or attachment that determined these roles. There was no need for the players to define roles before they started”.51
Using a traditional fairy story as the starting point for the discussion in his book on children’s play, David Cohan demonstrates the fact that even very young children are able to understand ideas as complex as gender roles at a surprisingly early age. He points out how his son (who served as one of the subjects) was, at the age of two years and six months, completely aware of the differences between masculine and feminine, and he and others around him were able to fulfil very definite social roles. This passage, which is Cohan’s account of this particular discussion with his son, is best quoted in full:
At 2:6,52 Reuben has also started to play games in which his gender identity is brought into question. From 2:0, he has been very fond of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At 2:5, we have just been listening to the record. Reuben looks happy. I ask him if he is Cheerful (one of the dwarf)?53 “No”, he smiles. Is he Dopey? “No”, he smiles. Is he Sneezy? “No”, he smiles. Is he Snow White? “No”. Reuben now bursts out laughing. He goes on laughing as he says that Mummy – Alieen [Cohan’s wife] is indeed in a white dress – is Snow White.
At 2:6, Reuben also plays a game with Nicholas [Reuben’s older brother] in which each of them is supposed to have a vagina. They cross their legs – Nicholas especially – and, from time to time, laugh a little. This is another