Kelsey Rohwer, a freshman majoring in journalism, argues that Disney has played in important role in the national divorce rate.
Two strangers meet on the dance floor. They share a song, falling in love in the process. The next day they get married… or something like that.
Sounds like a typical Vegas shotgun wedding right? Actually, it’s the synopsis of the classic Disney movie Cinderella. At the royal ball, Cinderella and Prince Charming do not even speak to each other; they share a single dance, staring into each other eyes as they waltz through moonlit palace gardens. And then she splits at midnight. The very next morning, he stalker-ishly holds her shoe hostage, tracks her down and pops the question. Poof! ‘Happily ever after’ in under two hours.
After reading “Don’t Wait for Prince Charming,” I have to say that although I respect the wish for a disillusioning trend to fade, I believe the author completely misses the mark on the reason for the marriage issues of our parents generation. In my opinion, dissatisfaction in marriage happens most often not from believing in a Disney story (how many people do you know actually married someone three days after meeting them?), but from people believing they need to take what they can get instead of what they want. The need for validation from a special relationship caused them to cling to one of the first people that came along, and they therefore failed to take the time to learn about themselves and what they need in a partner by getting to know many different people. This of course fails because nothing gained from a place of non-acceptance will bring lasting fulfillment. Yes, relationships take patience, understanding, commitment, and above all acceptance – qualities we could all use more of – but there also needs to be genuine attraction and connection, and relationships sought for validation lack these features. It is important that we learn from the mistakes of others – in some cases our parents (who are our primary influence, sorry Walt) – and make sure we know from experience what we want and need in a partner before making the largest commitment anyone will ever have to make. Also, above all, it is important that we know that a relationship isn’t the solution to any problem, and that if we fail to clean up ourselves first we are only bringing somebody else into our mess.