Spring Break: Featuring Boobies, Short Shorts and Your Favorite Disney Channel Stars

While tabling for the Townie Street Party (the kick-off event for the Ann Arbor art Fair) this Monday, I passed the time by admiring elaborate painted faces and the wacky colored hair of children. However, an older co-worker of mine took the opportunity to notice how short and tight the clothing of young girls seemed to be in comparison with previous years. I soon began to notice just how much ass cheek was struggling to stay hidden inside the super cut-off shorts and mini-dresses of girls ranging from 10 to 15. Something's off when there's a Disney character shirt paired with hot pants.

When you think about the Disney Channel Stars of the past few years, many (Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato etc.) have been surrounded by controversy. Many parents are concerned with the actors lives outside of their on-screen roles because these stars come to be viewed as role models. Let's face it, if my role model is posing nude and doing bong rips, I- being a young impressionable adolescent girl in this scenario- will want to strip down and smoke a few puffs too. I remember recently coming across this ad for an upcoming movie featuring Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. Nearly everyone was furious with their attire and posing although the film will not be appearing on The Disney Channel. Actress Selena Gomez urges her younger fans not to see the movie due to its controversial nature; however, mere mention of the actress in the movie could send fans swarming to the box office.

Sexually explicit content is getting consumed at younger ages each year; adolescents are frequent viewers of R-rated films (J.D. Brown et al., 2005). According to the J.D. Brown et al. (2005) reading for this week, girls who mature earlier maintain high interests in viewing information about sex, relationships and dating on TV or in movies. From this movie promo it is clear what the move is selling. As adolescent girls learn more about relationships, dating and sex, they actively consume sexual media content (Brown, White, Nikipolou, 1993). This movie can be especially dangerous on adolescent girls if they perceive the content to be realistic (Taylor, 2005). The  portrayal of Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens in this film is especially dangerous because many girls identify them as role models. Young adolescent fans relate to these girls or want to be like them. According to Ward and Rivadeneyra (1999), the level of identification a viewer maintains with the character produces a strong connection to sexual outcomes such as recreational sex attitudes and an estimation of sexual encounters of peers.


I fear this movie will be viewed by many of Selena and Vanessa's fans. And although Selena urges younger fans not to see it, it's not as though there will be a warning label on the ticket- oh wait, I forgot there are those movie ratings everyone ignores. Many stars that start out on Disney move on to more edgier roles as they advance in age; it is only natural that they wish to be taken more serious an an actress/actor. However, they often forget they signed their careers away and will forever be crippled by Disney. Few careers make the transition from Disney to successful careers where they are taken serious. Every life decision is criticized and pressured by the media because the influence these stars have on young children is so powerful. I can guarantee that PacSun sells out of pastel colored short shorts a week after this movie premiers.

 Side note: I'm actually really interested in seeing this movie. Don't worry though- I hate pastel colors.