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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 2006,1 developed and taught a course titled The Psychology of Disney and Fairytale Movies. In this paper I (a) describe the course, including the reasoning behind it and the selection of course content; (b) present the format and course assignments; and (c) examine students' reactions and ideas for future directions.
Developing the Course and Course Content
The Psychology of Disney andFairytale Movies is a course that 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. 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, sometimes individuals assume that if the movie is a Disney movie,it is a "safe" movie for children to view, posing no potential for negative consequences. However, Disney and Fairytale movies contain many examples of gender 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 developed 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 Communication, provided the content for the course. Specifically, Chapter 1 "Mass Communication in Society: Swimming in the Media Sea," Chapter 2 "Research and Theory in...