Hercules

The 1997 Disney movie, Hercules, tells the tale of a son of the God Zeus and the Goddess Hera. Their son, Hercules, is stranded on earth when Zeus' brother, Hades, tries to turn him mortal and kill him in order to become king of the Gods. We experience his journey as he grows from an outcast teenager to an immortal God. This movie is rated G by the Motion Picture Association of America and is suitable for all audiences. Hercules is a very popular and well-liked movie that has been around for the past 20 years. Children of all ages love this action packed story of Greek mythology. However when it comes to small children who may be watching the film, there are some aspects of the film that parents may want to keep an eye out for.

 One major factor that could be alarming for parents allowing their kids to watch this movie would be the use of mythical creatures such as Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld or the Hydra which is a serpentine water monster. When it comes to young children these creatures have very frightening attributes. The difference between younger kids and older kids is that younger children have "a fuzzy separation between what is real and what is not" (Ferrar 2017a). They also have not yet made the switch from perceptual processing to conceptual processing leaving them with this idea of perceptual boundedness. These children are limited to only what they can see and do not think about the "why" behind what they see.  Because younger children rely so much on what they see these images can scare them. Kids between ages 2 and 7 have the most trouble with the following content: "Visual images, whether realistic or fantastic, that are naturally scary; vicious animals, monsters, grotesque mutilations or deformed characters" (Ferrar 2017b). These monsters fall into these categories and could be problematic for some young children.

Another worrisome aspect of this film is the use of violence throughout the story. Hercules is supposed to be the strongest human on the planet and a hero figure. To fill this role he must fight off the bad guys. To do this he uses his strength to beat them up as can be seen in the scene above (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFUlDCwUIU4). Even as a baby Hercules ends up bashing the heads of the two demons who are trying to kill him.  Although Hercules is portrayed as an attractive character who is always trying to help people, his methods can have a negative influence on younger children watching this movie. The violence doesn't seem like a big deal because he is attractive, doesn't face consequences, and even is rewarded and cheered at time for his violent deeds (Ferrar 2017c). This movie glorifies and celebrates the violence of  Hercules. To a preschool aged kid that might not have the ability to understand the reasons behind this violence, this message of this movie can be taken as violence is acceptable.  Young children lack the knowledge to understand that Hercules is beating up the bullies and this may result in these kids becoming bullies by imitating the things he does. This is another trend in the movie Hercules that parents should be cautious of. 

Hercules is a movie that follows some major gender role stereotypes as well. "Maccoby (1998) estimates that children make the largest advancements in gender development between the ages of two and seven."(Ferrar 2017d). For children of these ages, this movie starts its influence from the very beginning.  When all the gods are shown it is very clear that the male gods were extremely muscular, bigger and acted more dominant. Meanwhile the females were radiating beauty, were smaller and passive. Stereotypes are also very relevant later in the movie when Hercules must save Meg, who is a “damsel in distress”. She actually uses these stereotypes to trick Hercules.  This movie exemplifies the idea that men are superior and must take care of women which is the opposite of today’s current gender trends. These perspectives that are being forced onto to young children in a very influential point in their lives and can cause incorrect ideas about the world. 

In conclusion, Hercules is a typical kids movie that came out in the 90's. It is very entertaining and memorable. However, with this movie parents must pay attention to the few aspects pointed out above in order to avoid any negative influences on their young children. I would recommend this movie to any parent because there are many good influencing factors but would stress a co-viewing mediation strategy to help avoid any negative messages that may also be present.


References:

Barnes, S. (2014, November 20). Baby Hercules is turned mortal. Retrieved April 27, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFUlDCwUIU4

Cerberus. (2017, April 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:58, April 27, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cerberus&oldid=777348733

Connolly, K. Hercules (1997). Retrieved April 27, 2017, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119282/

Farrar, K. (2017a). Development, info processing, and EF. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from HuskyCT.

Farrar, K. (2017b). Fear reactions and Media. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from HuskyCT.

Farrar, K. (2017c). Media Violence. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from HuskyCT.

Farrar, K. (2017d). Gender Roles. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from HuskyCT.