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“The Little Mermaid” is an animated movie that was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1989. It was directed by Ron Clements and won two academy awards. In the popular Disney movie, “The Little Mermaid,” is about the sixteen year old daughter, Princess Ariel, of King Triton who longs to walk on the land with, as her father calls them, the “fish-eaters.” She swims around with her friends the crab, Sebastian, and the flounder, Flounder exploring human artifacts and visiting Scuttle the seagull who falsely but comically tells her what they are. Ariel longs to be on the shore where she can sing, walk, and dance. After seeing the man of her dreams on a passing ship, Prince Eric, she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula. The witch’s offer is she will have three days on land and she must get the prince to kiss her by sunset on the third day or else she will return as a mermaid and belong to Ursula. The catch is she will not have her voice enabling her to communicate verbally with anyone on land, including Prince Eric. There are many psychological issues present in every character in “The Little Mermaid.” Defiance, infatuation, jealousy, envy are the characteristics that stick out the most throughout the film. The film shows the various examples through the different characters in their actions, words, and feelings. King Triton: “Don't you take that tone of voice with me young lady. As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey my rules!” King Triton is what the textbook would classify in parenting styles as an “authoritative parent” (p.220-223). The common characteristics and styles of authoritative parents are listen to their children, encourage independence, place limits, consequences and expectations on their children's behavior, express warmth and nurturance, allow children to express opinions, encourage children to discuss options, and administer fair and consistent discipline. King Triton is a great example to be used for this parenting style. As listed above, authoritative parents place limits. King Triton repeatedly warns Ariel to stay away from the surface because it is dangerous and filled with “barbaric fish-eaters.” Like any other authoritative parent, King Triton sets rules and consequences he expects to be followed by all his daughters. “I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed.” Although in doing this he also gives her the independence, also listed as a characteristic above, to choose for herself and explore the ocean that is until she gets in trouble for missing her big day. King Triton expected her to come out and sing with her seven older sisters for her “coming out” on her sixteenth birthday but when the clam opens where she is supposed to be inside, she is nowhere to be found. This expresses the “expectations” placed on the child by the authoritative parent. “I'm really looking forward to this performance, Sebastian and especially my little Ariel.” The reason for his constant clashes with Ariel, according to the film's directors Ron Clements and John Musker, is that both he and Ariel are strong-willed and independent. Triton wields a powerful trident, which is the source of his apparently unlimited power. Setting these limits is only his way of showing nurturance and expressing warmth. He cares about his youngest daughter and expects her to be an independent and smart girl while still setting the limits in order to mold her into that woman. “People with authoritative parenting styles want their children to utilize reasoning and work independently, but they also have high expectations for their children. When children break the rules, they are disciplined in a fair and consistent manner” (Cherry []).

Ariel: “If only I could make him understand. I just don't see things the way he does. I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things - could be bad.” In Kohlberg’s moral development stages, he would refer to this kind of behavior as stage two: individualism and exchange. “At this stage of moral development, children account for individual points of view and judge actions based on how they serve individual needs,”(Cherry []). Ariel believes she is being treated unfairly and that there is nothing wrong with being a human. She explores human artifacts and gets “too close” to humans according to her fater. This is because of her desire to settle her own wants and needs and express individuality. Although her father constantly warns her, she deliberately disobeys him, knowing the dangers but wanting to satisfy anyway her wish to go on to the shore with the humans. Also as mentioned in stage four of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, she is viewing the human society as a whole. In Piaget’s formal operational stage skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning begin to pop up in development. Ariel is actually the opposite of this stage. She is not thinking logically when swimming up to the surface, saving Eric, or exploring abandoned, sunken ships. She does not idolize the danger in the situations and defies her father wishes and rules anyways. Piaget believed that adolescents were able to consider possible outcomes and consequences of their actions. In “The Little Mermaid,” the only time we see Ariel thinking about her consequences/actions is when she is about to the sign the contract with the evil sea witch and says “If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again.” In reference to Piaget’s theory, Ariel does not fit the typical. As for Freud’s theory of psychosexual development-The Genital Stage, Ariel can be characterized into this stage. Where in earlier stages the focus was solely on individual needs, interest in the welfare of others grows during this stage. Ariel saves Prince Eric because she claims he would have died if she had not saved him. She is focused on not only her own well-being, but strangers as well. Saving Eric and falling in love with him also suggests that she falls into this stage. During this stage sexual interest towards the opposite sex also emerges. After seeing this guy one time Ariel claims she is in love and is willing to leave her tail and family behind just for the chance to be with him. During her three days on land she is also trying to get him to kiss her as part of Ursula’s deal. This is just another example of how she could fit into the Genital Stage of Freud’s theory. In the stage of adolescents, Identity vs. Confusion, included in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development teenagers are experiencing identity crisis, looking for a sense of self and independence from their parents. Ariel is a prime example of this stage in Erikson’s theory. She wants to walk on land and not be a mermaid anymore. She is trying to find her own sense of self and does not feel like she belongs under the sea. “But who cares? No big deal, I want more. I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancin', walkin' around on those (Whad'ya call 'em?) oh – feet. Flippin' your fins you don't get too far, legs are required for jumpin', dancin', strollin' along down a (What's that word again?) street. Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun, wanderin' free, wish I could be, part of that world.” Sixteen year old Ariel is unhappy because she believes she is being treated like a “child” and she claims she’s “not a little girl anymore” and dreams of living a different life. “She has a kind heart although often naive, and overwhelmed by her emotions, which tends to get her in trouble”(Wikipedia source).

Prince Eric: Although we do not see much of Prince Eric’s family life we do see that his parents are not around the way Ariel’s father has been. We see him with the butler, Grim, most of the time. He comes from a wealthy family and is left with Grim most of the time. As for coming from a wealthy family it easy to conclude that the expectations of him to settle down and fight the right girl are very important. He is expected to act properly and make the right decisions. Although he does rebel as Ariel does, we can see conclude that his parenting style was less authoritative than that if King Triton. Eric was expected to say what he was supposed to say and act like he was supposed to act. “Eric! Oh, Eric. You really delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don't you?” There was no encouragement of independence in his childhood. When he is saved by Ariel he is also as she was “in love.” This refers back to Freud’s theory in the Genital Stage where the sexual attraction to the opposite sex comes in. He claims that he will do anything to find this mystery girl who saved his life. “A girl - rescued me. . . . She was - singing. . . she had the most - beautiful voice.” Eric also has a sense of role confusion. Because he is expected to conform he also wants to branch out and marry a mystery girl that no one has heard of. This relates directly back to Identity vs. Confusion that was also expressed in Ariel’s character. Erikson’s theory includes Eric’s personality in this way. “Up to this stage, according to Erikson, development mostly depends upon what is done to us. From here on out, development depends primarily upon what we do. And while adolescence is a stage at which we are neither a child nor an adult, life is definitely getting more complex as we attempt to find our own identity, struggle with social interactions, and grapple with moral issues” (Harder http://www.support4change.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=108). Eric also experiences in Erikson’s theory Intimacy vs. Solidarity or Isolation. In this particular stage the ages range from eighteen to thirty-five. In the beginning of adulthood the need for love or a companion to share a life with is crucial in being satisfied with themselves. Significant relationships are with marital partners and life companions. “The Little Mermaid,” included many examples throughout the film that are directly linked to developmental theories from psychologists like Kohlberg, Piaget, Freud, Erkison, and Marcia. Most common themes seen in the film were authoritative parenting styles, teenage angst which fit into wanting to be independent, and other stages in various developmental theories such as the genital stage, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. solidarity or isolation, operational stage skills and individualism and exchange. These specific characters used gave the best examples for those specific theories in developmental stages by the different psychologists mentioned in the essay.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

"Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development." //About.com Psychology//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. .

"The Little Mermaid - Script." //Meeko's Home Page//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. .

"Support4Change." //Support4Change//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. .

"What Is Authoritative Parenting?" //About.com Psychology//. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. .

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__Subject Matter—15 points out of 20__ You need more in-text citations to the textbook for the concepts you are referring to.

__Higher-Order Thinking—15 points out of 20__ : Most of the examples you give for Triton could apply to authoritarian as well as authoritative. You need to be careful telling them apart, because his viewpoint actually changes throughout the film. While he may want to see himself as "reasonable," he starts out barking orders and refusing to listen to her--signs of an authoritarian parent.

__Organization--30 points out of 30__

__Format--5 points out of 10__ You need to include the textbook in your references.

__Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling--10 points out of 10__

__Readability/Style--8 points out of 10__ Awkward paragraph transitions--try making more paragraphs, and using empty lines (hit "enter" twice) to separate them.

Grade: 83/100