I Watched Moana on the Plane
I watched Moana on the plane the other day.
Traveling home from India, we were stuck on a plane for 14 hours after a long 15 hour layover in Dubai. I had two books to read, a research paper to write, a project to complete, and choir music to learn for school. But as the flight attendants began serving dinner, I welcomed this opportunity as a much-needed break. I woke up my sister, who, oblivious to her 120 pages of assigned notes, decided to take a nap on my shoulder. As the hum of the plane’s engine surrounded us, I opened my tray table and closed a worn copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankentstein (great book by the way, I recommend it even if you’re not in AP Lit!).
“Would you like a drink?” the flight attendant asked us in a posh British accent. I could barely hear her over the rumbling of turbulence, but I knew what she was asking.
I soon found a strange concoction of tomato stew, chicken, and rice in front of me with asian coleslaw, chocolate mousse, cheese and crackers, cold bread, and Diet Pepsi on the side (it sounds delectable and luxurious, but, to be honest, it was pretty average). As I let my cold bread defrost under my hot tomato/chicken/rice meal, I scrolled through the endless movie options on the screen in front of me.
On our way to India, I watched two musicals: Mamma Mia and Mean Girls. But this time, one of my childhood favorites was calling out to me. I clicked on Moana and allowed the magical story of ocean, identity, culture, friendship, family, and paradise unfold before my tired eyes.
I noticed something new this time. As kids, we watch these movies for the pure enjoyment of music, magic, and happy endings. As teenagers, we watch these movies longing for the same innocent feeling of pure joy we felt as children. But I didn’t feel that. Instead, I noticed that Moana’s face (even her eyes) was wider than her waist. So… since when is this normal?
Reflecting on other classic princesses– Cinderella, Belle, Rapunzel, Aurora, Ariel, and countless other gorgeous “role models”– they all follow this pattern: huge eyes, finger sized waist, button nose, long luscious hair, and stick arms. If anything, Moana is the most normal looking princess! She has fuller arms, unruly hair, a wider rib cage, and a bigger nose; but of course, her face is still bigger than her waist. Yet, she reminded me of these unrealistic standards that are ingrained into young girls’ heads from the young age of three. (I delivered a speech about this topic last year, should I post it?)
I could ramble about how this is problematic; children are easily impressionable and mold to the world around them. But I’m not going to keep yapping about this. Instead, I think it’s valuable to explore the Gen Z response.
When I scroll through Instagram, I am bombarded with the most contrasting posts. Some telling us not to eat fruit because it’s too high in sugar and others telling us not to eat seed oils and others telling us not to eat bread because it’s processed and others telling us to only eat meat while others tell us not to eat meat. It’s like, can we live??
But on the other side of social media are body positivity and food freedom posts. This is what I’d like to focus on. Many creators have shifted to posting about loving yourself, normalizing basic human qualities such as body hair and touching thighs, and eating nourishing foods while still allowing yourself to enjoy what is typically deemed “bad food.” Because at the end of the day, no one’s face is bigger than their waist. There’s a trend right now, called “What I Eat in a Day.” But I’ve seen so many creators shift this to “What I had the Privilege of Eating Today.” I think this is beautiful, as food is a gift we have access to and should enjoy. Similarly, creators have begun to post unfiltered photos and videos to show what a normal, textured face truly looks like.
In response to the rapid decline of girls’ self-esteem, TikTok will implement a policy that teenagers will not have access to the beauty filter (Nouril). In addition, Instagram recently announced their policy for “teen accounts,” meaning that only 13+ year olds can download the app and 13-17 year olds will have much stricter guidelines for their account (Rossow). I think the thought and effort behind these changes are great. However, how well will they be executed? Anyone can lie about their age or find other loopholes against these new policies. But the mindset shift is the perfect first step.
While there are still flaws in the digital world that affect young girls, I think we are moving in a better direction. I am excited to see where this new online mindset takes us, and it’s time for companies like Disney to come along for the journey. Just imagine the impact of using their magic to show girls the beauty in reality, not perfection.
Sources:
Nouril, Perdita. “Tiktok Is Set to Ban Beauty Filters, but Will It Help Curb Unrealistic Beauty Expectations?” Women’sHealth, 9 Dec. 2024, www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/beauty/body/a63103085/tiktok-to-ban-beauty-filters/.
Rossow, Anna. “Instagram Unveils Higher Restrictions for Teen Accounts.” The State News, 26 Sept. 2024, statenews.com/article/2024/09/instagram-unveils-higher-restrictions-for-teen-accounts.