I’m the dad of 3- and 4-year-old daughters. I’m an expert on Disney princesses.
My daughters have every word of the Frozen soundtrack memorized and have more Disney princess toys and articles of clothing than I can count. I swear I didn’t buy all this stuff for my kids, but here’s to the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and various hand-me-down givers who did. Disney princesses are like mold on your shower caulk, no matter how hard you try to keep them out, they always find a way in! Eventually as a dad, you just give up and sing along. (Yes, I know every word of the Frozen soundtrack as well. I am a Disney princess expert after all.)
This is not an article about how Disney movies are corrupting our children. It’s an observation of how similar the relational mindsets in Disney movies are in comparison to those set forth in pornography and romance novels. While this is surprising, on a closer look, it’s more clear.
Fantasy: One of porn’s problems
Of the many problems with pornography, one is that it only exists in fantasy. Fantasy is pretty innocent when it’s Mickey Mouse running around with a wizard’s hat on or a cartoon Merlin talking to his pet owl. It becomes destructive though, even lethal, when it replaces someone’s reality. If you begin to think Mickey Mouse is real, and you sell all you have so you can go live in his Magic Kingdom, now you have some real life problems.
The problem with pornography is it allows fantasy relationships to replace real ones. Who wants a real relationship with its cumbersome problems when you can have the ease of porn’s instant gratification? The men or women portrayed on the pages don’t have the insecurities, imperfections, sensitivities, and needs of a real life partner. Same goes for the Fifty Shades of Grey books and the many other popular romance novels out there. A person in real life will never be able to compete with the fiction on the page.
Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus wants us to embrace the life found in reality, while Satan is able to get our minds to believe the fake is actually real. What better way to steal, kill and destroy than this?
What happens if a person only eats fantasy food or breathes fantasy air?
Exactly.
The same is true of fantasy relationships.
Fantasy: A key ingredient in Disney relationships
Fantasy relationships exist so freely on the pages of pornography, romance novels, and in our minds, it’s not surprising they’ve been so widely accepted in the magical world of Disney as well. Remember what we just said about pornography and romance novels: The men or women portrayed on the pages don’t have the insecurities, imperfections, sensitivities, and needs of a real life partner. The exact same sentence is true of Disney relationships.
Take Prince Charming for example. After all, his name is Prince Charming! In the classic story of Cinderella, Prince Charming and Cinderella fall madly in love…and he didn’t even know her name! So what exactly was this love based on? The prince’s charm? Cinderella’s perfect figure, perfect face, and perfect hair? Last I checked, that’s the stuff porn and lust are made of, not romance or love.
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- Pornography