After vacationing in sunny California this year, a visit to Disneyland highlighted to me some of the typical and idealized life stages in Western culture. As lovely and enjoyable of a place it is, the complete absence of death is a little strange in my opinion - while most other life stages are celebrated through the lives of fairytale characters, death is essentially non-existent.
Life stages of birth and youth are extremely prevalent in Walt Disneys' creations in Disneyland. Youth is very frequently celebrated as Disney princesses are always young, beautiful, and in the 'prime' stages of their lives; the princes are similarly young, strong, and in 'good health'. The milestone of adolescence and learning about oneself is also a common theme in most Disney movies, further exemplifying importance of youth and strength. I think it can also be agreed upon that the milestone of finding love and marriage is a common conclusion of the majority of Disney movies. It is interesting to notice that this life stage of marriage is usually the latest stage covered by Disney movies - old age is rarely looked at, and death is almost completely avoided (with, perhaps, the except of "Up" - lovely movie :) ).
So, while death is a very real part of any given culture, it seems as though some cultures go to more of an effort to ignore it or over-stimulate with other attractions so that it is forgotten. Although these Disney movies are aimed at children and are certainly idealized, I think it represents the wish of many people to escape death - at least while we are around to do so!
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