Snakes in Media

Snakes in society have consistently been viewed as a symbol of evil or deception. Even in the bible, the serpent is the one that tricks Eve and Adam into eating the forbidden fruit and going against God’s orders. In modern society, snakes have been demonized in various ways, especially in children's movies. For example, in the Disney movie Aladdin, the main antagonist, Jafar, is depicted with a magical staff that has a cobra head on top of it, and furthermore, Jafar turns into a giant cobra at the climax of the movie. In addition to this, another Disney movie with the depiction of an antagonist snake is Robin Hood, where the snake Sir Hiss is the main antagonist's advisor and assistant. Along with the deceiving association, the snakes in both Aladdin and Robin Hood have the power of hypnosis to control other characters to help them get what they want.

Source: https://scrooge-mcduck.fandom.com/wiki/Snake_Staff

Beyond Disney, another popular franchise that has this correlation between snakes and antagonists is Harry Potter, where many main antagonists (Draco, Voldemort, etc.) were sorted into the Slytherin house that has a snake as their symbol. Furthermore, there are other correlations between snakes and the antagonists throughout the series, such as the basilisk, the symbol for Voldemort's followers, and Voldemort's python.

Source: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Nagini

This portrayal of snakes as sly and evil, especially when presented at a younger age, contribute to negative stereotypes against all snakes, even the harmless and nonvenomous ones. It also could contribute to the fear people have of snakes, especially children. This could diminish any curiosity children could have towards snakes and instead instill the message that all snakes are evil and dangerous. Overall, these negative depictions of snakes in popular media are likely fueling negative stereotypes against all snakes and contributing to people’s fear of snakes.