Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty: Developing a Course on

Disney and Fairytale Movies

Jennifer M. Bonds-Raacke
I developed and taught a course titled The Psychology of Disney and Fairytale
Movies. This course examined the psychological effects of mass communication on
behavior and thought, specifically the stereotyping of women and men and the concept
of true love as portrayed in Disney and Fairytale movies. This paper describes the
(a) development of the course, (b) selection of course content, (c) course format and
assignments, and (d) students’ reactions to the course. The paper concludes with
ideas for future courses on the topic.

During the summer of 2006, I developed
and taught a course titled The Psychology of
Disney and Fairytale Movies. In this paper
I (a) describe the course, including the rea-
soning behind it and the selection of course
content; (b) present the format and course
assignments; and (c) examine students’ reac-
tions and ideas for future directions.
Developing the Course and Course Content
The Psychology of Disney and Fairytale
Movies is a course that examined the psy-
chological effects of mass communication
on behavior and thought, specifically the
stereotyping of women and men and the
concept of true love as portrayed in Disney
and Fairytale movies. I wanted to develop a
course devoted strictly to gender portrayals
in Disney and Fairytale movies for copious
reasons. First, many college students love
Disney and Fairytale movies, having grown
up watching them repeatedly. Second, some-
times individuals assume that if the movie is a
Disney movie, it is a “safe” movie for children
to view, posing no potential for negative con-
sequences. However, Disney and Fairytale
movies contain many examples of gender
Jennifer M. Bonds-Raacke, Department of
Psychology and Counseling, University of North
Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC
Correspondence concerning this article
should be addressed to Dr. Jennifer M. Bonds-
Raacke at jennifer.raacke@uncp.edu.
232
stereotypical portrayals that may influence
young viewers in a variety of ways. I wanted
students to be aware of the existence of these
portrayals and become educated consumers
of the possible consequences. Finally, I de-
veloped the course to allow students to apply
psychology to the “real world.” I believed
that students would be more interested in the
subject matter when they could see how easily
it related to their lives and in many cases the
lives of their children.
Richard J. Harris’ textbook (2004), A
Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communi-
cation, provided the content for the course.
Specifically, Chapter 1 “Mass Communica-
tion in Society: Swimming in the Media Sea,”
Chapter 2 “Research and Theory in Mass
Communication: How We Study Media Sci-
entifically,” and Chapter 3 “Media Portrayals
of Groups: Distorted Social Mirrors” were
of interest. Chapter 2 provided information
on how media is studied scientifically. I pre-
sented information regarding media research
frameworks; for example, looking at media
content via studies on content analysis. For
purposes of this course, we discussed the
prevalence of gender stereotypical portray-
als in Disney and Fairytale movies. Next, I
presented the framework of looking at media
exposure. The students and I discussed who
watches these movies and with what attention
level. The final media framework presented
looked at effects; we hypothesized about
potential behavioral, attitudinal, cognitive,

and physiological effects of viewing gen-
der stereotypically portrayals. Also from
Chapter 2, I covered important theories
from psychology and mass communication.
Examples included: social cognitive theory
(e.g., Bandura, 2002), cultivation theory
(e.g., Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli,
& Shanahan, 2002), and various socializa-
tion theories (e.g., Heath & Bryant, 1992).
Finally from Chapter 2, I encouraged students
to think about the question, “Do media reflect
the world or create a new reality?”
Information from Chapter 3 provided the
foundation for the course by outlining gender
stereotypical portrayals found in media. For
women, the course covered the portrayals of
physical appearance (e.g., young, beautiful,
very tall, very thin, small hips, large breasts),
concerns of women (e.g., trivial concerns
such as spots on the dishes), and the super-
woman (e.g., women who can have a career
and family with little stress or difficulty).
For men, the course covered the portrayals
of emotionless beings (e.g., not allowed to
show emotion, the Marlboro Man), physical
appearance (e.g., well-developed upper-body
muscles), and domestic roles (e.g., may be
competent professional, but incompetent at
housework and childcare).
Delivering the Course
As I pondered the best way to deliver the
course, it became clear I had one advantage
and potentially one disadvantage. The advan-
tage was that students would come to the class
with an inherit interest in the topic and previ-
ous experiences with the movies. However,
this previous exposure posed a problem. I
envisioned having students not want to come
to class to “only” watch a movie or having
students want to select their own movies.
Therefore, I developed a hybrid course so
that the students could tailor the course to
their individual interests. Specifically, the
first class period took place in the traditional
classroom setting. This class period was a
3.50 hr period where we covered the course
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty . . / 233
content. Over the next 4 weeks, students
viewed four movies (two I selected and two
they selected). After watching each movie,
they completed an assignment and posted it
on the course website. Each assignment had
four parts. Part I asked students to provide
a brief summary of the movie. Part II had
students provide information regarding their
background with the movie. In part III, stu-
dents were to discuss five gender stereotypical
portrayals presented, five nonstereotypical
portrayals, and the portrayal of the concept
of true love. Finally, in part IV, students gave
their concluding thoughts.
Students’ Reactions and Future Directions
Students quickly learned that they could
not rely on their memories of the movies to
complete assignments sufficiently. Instead,
students reported watching the movies with
critical eyes and their assignments seemed
to mirror this reflective viewing. On part IV
of the assignments, some students provided
information on how the course had changed
the way they thought about Disney and Fai-
rytale movies:
o Because of this class, I am much
more conscious of how women are
portrayed in movies. Alone, one
movie doesn’t seem like much, but
when you compare it to cultural at-
titudes and other movies of its type, it
becomes more important in the larger
view of things.
o This class has really allowed me to
re-live my childhood. I never real-
ized how much of it was spent watch-
ing Disney movies with my family.
Not only have I been able to notice
different stereotypes that I never
caught as a child, I have also been
allowed the opportunity to reminisce
and recall the many different experi-
ences that helped shaped my youth.
o Before taking this class I did not
realize how important movies and
television are in our lives.
234/ Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 35, No. 3
o This class really did change the way
I look at this movie. Now that I’ve
seen it again and had to look for
those stereotypes; I’ve realized that
I having been stereotyping my whole
life.
o I never would have analyzed this
movie as much as I did if I was not
taking this class. I was amazed at
how much more I noticed about the
movie while looking for stereotypi-
cal and non-stereotypical portrayals.
Often times I think I take movies too
much as just being fiction and do not
analyze some of the messages that
they are giving.
o There is a lesson and a message in
these movies that I have come to
understand more by watching them
again.
o This class has greatly changed the
way I look at any movie. I am more
aware of gender stereotypes than
ever before!
This course was a nice fit for the summer
session; it combined psychology content with
a fun and different topic. I enjoyed the break
from the traditional psychology classes and
many students reported eye-opening experi-
ences. I look forward to the opportunity to
teach the course again and would consider
adding additional assignments requiring stu-
dents to read original research articles in
the area.
References
Bandura, A. (2002). Social cognitive theory
of mass communication. In J. Bryant & D.
Zillmann (Eds.) Media effects: Advances in
theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 121-153). Mah-
wah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., Signori-
elli, N., & Shanahan, J. (2002). Growing up with
television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant &
D. Zillmann (Eds.) Media effects: Advances in
theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 43-67). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Harris, R. J. (2004). A cognitive psychology
of mass communication (4th edition). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Heath, R. L., & Bryant, J. (1992). Human
communication theory and research: Concepts,
contexts, and challenges. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates. Notes
Note: I would like to thank Dr. Richard J.
Harris for his inspirational work on the psychol-
ogy of mass communication and for encouraging
me to pursue my own interests within the field.
I would also like to thank Dr. Stephen Davis for
his helpful comments on an early draft of the
manuscript.