Yep no song1/2/2024 ![]() The beats are nonstop and the grooves are infectious. There are some pop favourites, a few karaoke classics, and some all-round happy songs. So, you get the snacks, we’ll bring the hot tracks: this playlist of classic party tunes is sure to get everyone moving in an explosion of joyful, fevered dancing. Seriously, is there a better feeling in the entire world than dancing in a club – or your kitchen – with a load of people who are also ready to lose it when they hear ‘Like a Prayer’ or ’Wannabe’ or ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)’? If you want everyone at your party to join in, you have to err on the side of familiarity: if none of your guests will know a song, it doesn’t make it onto the playlist. But I dread the thought of kids singing this arguably catchy song in the playground in 2022 - and even worse, believing those words and reinforcing the gender roles we should be trying to dismantle, including in popular culture.We didn’t realise quite how much we missed parties until we were able to have them again. Maybe you're fine with this line, maybe it's struck a minor chord with me only. But distinguishing between the villain's dubious song lyrics and the overarching message of the film seems a bit of an ask for kids, who tend to take things literally more often than not. However, in a time where speaking out against misogyny, and working to dismantle systems of oppression must be prioritised even from an early age, why did Disney think an entitled, sexist lyric like this would be fine? Yes, this song is sung by a villain, so is meant to demonstrate the most putrid of opinions, not to be taken on as one's own - I assume it had lofty "Poor Unfortunate Souls" ambitions. Yes, all these kids get their comeuppance for bowing to peer pressure - but the Coachman notably does not. ![]() Plus, it's worth pointing out the restricted cisgender binary here, and the lack of acknowledgement for non-binary, transgender, and gender non-conforming kids - an inclusion of whom would have been an awesome move from Disney in a film that actually takes pains to determine "real boys" by their bravery, honesty, and altruism. ![]() This complete nonsense is blatant promotion of gender roles and compulsory heterosexuality, feminist Adrienne Rich's concept that our culture always steers us to see any connection between women and men, girls and boys, as romantically inclined. Are they brainwashed? According to this song, "real girls" prefer the "real boys" who "always want more". The second line "Real girls always like the real boys more," is sung by the girls on the cart. When the Coachman sings "Real boys always want more," he's inevitably referring to the piles of candy and pints of root beer awaiting them at Pleasure Island, but the line doesn't specify this at all, instead seemingly champions a general sense of toxic masculinity in children. The song isn't in the original film, so the songwriters have added this line to a film song released in 2022. ![]() For a film that actually starts off on the right foot in its obsession with whatever the hell a "real boy" is supposed to be - "You have to prove that you are brave, truthful, and unselfish," according to the Blue Fairy - it cannonballs into noooope territory with one line.
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