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  • Essay / The impact of cartoons: analysis of Shrek

    Influence of animated films on observersSince the time of cartoons, children have watched them with avidity. The fun characters on screen go on wacky adventures with their friends and learn along the way. Without realizing it, the characters learn lessons that the viewer, in turn, will also learn. Judith Halberstam, in Animating Revolt and Revolting Animation, considers the lessons taught by animated films to be unfit for children to learn. Animation inserts lessons into the minds of people, especially the little ones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayA great lesson that many movies have taught children is that death is inevitable. Family members or friends may die, but that shouldn't stop what you do. Both The Lion King and The Land Before Time teach about death. In The Lion King, Simba's father is killed but he can become stronger for it. The Land Before Time shows that death happens and cannot be avoided. The Lion King also teaches that if one wants to succeed, someone must die. Simba's father and uncle died before he could become the next Lion King. His family's sacrifice helped him become the Lion King, even though he would have ended up succeeding his father anyway. In Shrek he teaches that beauty doesn't matter as long as you are yourself. After Fiona turns back into a human, a kiss from her true love, Shrek, transforms her into the ogre she hated being. But she accepted that she was an ogre, knowing who she is and who she loves. In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo failed to get the girl because of his appearance. He saved the day but since he wasn't a handsome man, the woman he loved had her eyes set on another man. Both animated films share the theme of beauty, but one is happier than the other and teaches that beauty doesn't matter. Beauty and the Beast shows Belle in an abusive relationship with her captor. She ends up changing him into a better person, but that's not what happens in real life. This teaches children, and even adults, that if they find themselves in an abusive relationship, they can change that person. Many times this won't happen and it gives the false impression that humans will change because someone showed them love. The story is toxic, but as children they don't understand that the movie shows something incredibly harmful to many people in real life. As Halberstam stated, “Fairy tales have always occupied the ambiguous territory between childhood and adulthood, home and away, evil. and security” (286). When it comes to fairy tales, people are close to evil or are hurt, like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, where it doesn't seem like she's being abused, but actually is. . Movies teach children about adult topics or messages and can also appeal to adults through sly jokes that children wouldn't understand. In these animated films, “difficult topics are discussed and contained in children's films precisely so that they do not need to be discussed elsewhere” (Halberstam 293). They are treated as unimportant and therefore are included in children's films. Children will have difficulty understanding the importance of topics at a young age, so they will not object to what films depict. Children will not question the government and start to rebel against it. But animated films are not.