After reading the article on Disney’s newest rendition of Beauty and The Beast, I really started to think back about how influential fairy tales used to be in my childhood. From Cinderella to Lion King, I can imagine all the little lessons I gained from watching those movies. I haven’t seen the new Beauty and The Beast, but from reading this article it seems as if Disney is progressing with time, and kudos to them. Disney has found a genius way to incorporate modern cultural norms and values, into movies, that essentially play a large role in the youth of many. For example, this article points out the incorporation of shifting gender roles, and ideas on sexuality. Belle has been given a more inclusive role, creating a level playing field for many young women in the world. She’s an inventor, a teacher who helps others even when met with persecution like attitudes. These sentiments are just what our young women need, the push to exceed, even if people look at your different. The effect that Emma Watson will hopefully place on young women, is that men shouldn’t be the only heroes in any story, and that men aren’t the only pioneers in our society, that women too, can be leaders. Movies can often influence people, positively and negatively. Personally I will never forget watching the movie, The Blind Side, with Sandra Bullock, and wanting to have that similar impact on someone. Of course, I don’t think I will ever be able to make that sort of impact on person so specifically, but it influenced me to make some positive movements. After watching that movie, I decided I would help out with our youth. I ended up using my experience with coaching, and boxing, to start working with the youth in the Boys and Girls Club. I started setting up boxing workouts to start integrating a sense of accomplishment and confidence in young men and women. Personally I always used boxing as a sort of anger management, but slowly learned that it was not only a channel of release, but also a way for me to gain confidence and learn how to use my mind, over emotions. Through the years, I also learned a sense of leadership from the coaches I worked with, and that was something that I was hoping to pass on the kids I worked with. I really hoped that I could spread the sense of belonging that Sandra Bullock’s role placed on one individual, fractionally upon a large number of kids through the years. I still keep in touch with many of the kids who I have worked with, some are much older, and still come back to help me train younger kids, and I feel that those that are starting to come back, are looking for that same sense of leadership and still have that feeling of belonging, that keeps them coming back.