By Shawn Smith
A study in the Netherlands used a scene from Disney’s CARS to see if it impacted how children interact with one another.
In the scene, the anthropomorphic car Lightning McQueen sacrifices his chance to win the big Piston Cup championship to help fellow car Strip “The King” Weathers make it over the finish line after he breaks down.
The study involved 113 Dutch children between the ages of 7 and 11 years old. They were separated into two groups. Both were shown clips from the movie. The control group was shown the race scene before the McQueen helped Weathers, while the other group viewed the above-mentioned scene.
Afterwards both groups were given a series of puzzles. The study found that the group that saw the clip of CARS where McQueen helps the fellow racer “were significantly more likely to help” the other children solve the puzzles than the ones that did not watch the clip.
The study’s authors Rebecca N. H. de Leeuw and Christa A. van der Laan note that past studies addressed some of Disney’s negative content.
“Disney movies have been repeatedly criticized for containing aggression…depicting romantic relationships as being created simply from ‘love at first sight’ and easily maintained…marginalizing mothers…portraying the elderly in a negative way…” de Leeuw and van der Laan wrote.
The authors argue that Disney movies also show many examples of prosocial behavior — they cite as “mostly altruistic acts motivated predominantly by others’ needs and welfare.”
Disney movies contain nearly seven times higher instances of prosocial actions than other children’s programming, they wrote.
“Notably, compared to the quantity of violence in children’s television programs, aggression in Disney movies is quite low…” the authors went on to say. “Another study revealed that Disney movies also contain strong messages about the meaning of family relationships and that family members in Disney movies are found to make huge sacrifices for each other, putting the family’s well-being before their own.”
While this is encouraging news, discernment in what impressionable children consume entertainment-wise is essential. It’s not only the violent images, sex and nudity in movies and TV shows that we need to be aware of, but the worldview being presented.
“Developing discernment runs parallel to developing a Christian worldview. Christian interpretation of philosophies and behavior is radically different from the viewpoints of non-Christians,” Movieguide® founder Dr. Ted Baehr wrote.
“The entertainment industry depicts several conflicting worldviews in their story plots,” Dr. Baehr added. “A character might resolve his or her conflict in a self-promoting humanist manner. Understanding the differences between the world’s distorted and confused views and a biblical view provides valuable lessons for a discerning Christian.”
This is consistent with what the Bible says in Philippians 1:9-10: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
Read Next: Does the Entertainment Media Set the Moral Agenda for the Country?
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