...feel that Disney animated films are pure and wholesome, and they are perfectly suitable for children to watch starting at very young ages. On the surface of Disney movies, they are quite wholesome and they try to teach life lessons, but do these movies really portray positive images of men and women that will help a child become an individual, or do Disney movies place ideas in children’s heads, at early ages, telling them how they should act, feel, and live. In an article printed on December third 1966 in Time magazine, the author proposed that Disney films were just as much for adults as they were for children. “Disney always maintained that he made films not for children but for "honest adults."”(time.com). Anyone who has seen a Disney animated film can see that most of these movies are based on adult situations that involve the union of man and women in one way or another. For as long as Walt Disney animated films have been around, spanning eight decades, they have made a great impact on the way children view themselves and others, and they help shape how children view the opposite sex in a negative way. Most people were exposed to the wonderful world of Disney animated films when they were still toddlers. And since people are exposed to this material at such young ages, these films tend to give children an early idea of how men and women, according to Walt Disney studios, interact with each other. They also show children at an early age how people of their gender should act...
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...Femininity in Disney film "Alice in Wonderland" Leanne Lo Does 'femininity' show what it means to be as a woman in Disney film? The issue of gender does not necessarily show the original meaning of femininity in the Disney film "Alice in Wonderland" in 2010. This film is an American computer-animated and live action film by director Tim Burton, which gets its ideas from the British novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll in 1865 and its 1871 sequel "Through the Looking-Glass". The story tells about the latest adventure of the main character Alice Kingsleigh to Underland, where she visited thirteen years ago when she was six. At that time the Underland (or Wonderland as Alice calls it) was the White Queen's reign, but now being controlled by her easily-irritated sister the Red Queen who hates animals and uses them as servants. Alice is foretold to be the only one who can slay the dragon-like creature Jabberwocky which is controlled by the Red Queen who terrorizes Underland's inhabitants, and finally with her courage restores the White Queen to power. The film Alice in Wonderland has showed different meaning of femininity by the three main characters Alice, the Red Queen , and the White Queen, who play other than traditional gender roles of women as expected by the society. Like Alice who is brave to confront the society's expectations of a young woman by being strong and courageous to choose her own life. Also, the Red Queen and the White Queen have shown...
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...Stereotypes of Gender against Women Throughout history, women have been discriminated against in our society. At times, they have been considered the weaker sex and also, they have been expected to do work that only demands low responsibility. These responsibilities may include: housework, being a good wife and mother. However, the world’s perspective towards women has had significant changes, and companies like Walt Disney Production are still generating stereotypes of gender against women in their films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Mulan. Media is frequently responsible of encouraging these patterns by the way they show their information and entertainment to the audience. Laura Mulvey, a British feminist film theorist, is best known for her essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” which was published in 1975. Here, she describes the role of women in movies “as a tool of attraction for the male gaze” (Mulvey). According to Mulvey’s statement, this work aims to describe the stereotypes of gender that Disney films display throughout their past productions. It also shows how the films can affect everyday lives. Over decades, these cartoons have been criticized for illustrating the traditional American and European values, thus creating stereotypes, which are often not a clear image of the current situation in our society. One of the most discussed topics in the animated features of Walt Disney Productions is the stereotype...
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...Representations of Femininity in Three Walt Disney Animated Features Bachelor Thesis Bethany Schouten, 3278972 Media en Cultuurwetenschappen Genderstudies Supervisor: Domitilla Olivieri May 31st, 2011 “Behind the Fair Façade” Representations of Femininity in Three Walt Disney Animated Features Bachelor thesis by Bethany Schouten, 3278972 Index Introduction 3 Methodological and theoretical Framework 4 Corpus 9 The Research: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 11 The Research: THE LITTLE MERMAID 18 The Research: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG 24 Findings and Interpretation 31 Identity Formation 35 Conclusion 38 Literature 41 Media 43 Introduction The Walt Disney Company’s cultural products have been a great influence on popular culture since the 1930s and an inspiration for generations all over the world ever since. For many, including myself, the Princes, Princesses and fantastical creatures of Disney’s animated fairy tales have become symbols of their youth. Seeing the films gives rise to a feeling of nostalgia, they become a memento of one’s childhood world. But what kind of world is this? What kind of realities do Disney’s fantastical representations construct? In my thesis, I will analyze a specific element of Disney films: gender roles constructed through the representation of femininity in their animated features. I will study how this representation...
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...image that comes to mind when the subject of Walt Disney’s animated movies comes up is the studio’s popular princesses. Ever since Snow White made her debut in 1937, Disney has cornered the market on princesses. One primary topic that critics have discussed in Disney’s films is the way princesses are portrayed. The roles of the female characters are especially drawing the interest of academic critics. Jack Zipes, author of Breaking the Disney Spell, believes that the Disney princesses have regressed. On the other hand, Libe Zarranz, author of Diswomen Strike Back? The Evolution of Disney’s Femmes in the 1990s, and Rebecca Do Rozario, author of The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia, The Function of the Disney Princess, believe that the Disney princess has progressed. Another aspect of Disney’s movies that catches the eyes of critics is the moral simplification in the films. They believe that the morals from the original fairy tales are being manipulated and simplified in the Disney films. A. Waller Hastings, author of Moral Simplification in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and Finn Mortensen, author of The Little Mermaid: Icon and Disneyfication, both agree that Disney’s simplification of morals is giving viewers the wrong depiction of life. Disney’s portrayal of women and simplification of morals are giving viewers the wrong impression of life and women. Many critics call the process of simplification in Disney movies, “Disneyfication.” Disneyfication is especially...
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...Matt Williams Splitting Hairs in Disney’s film Tangled Cinderella tells us that a dream is a wish that your heart makes, and following suit dreams play a large part in the newest Disney princess film, Tangled. In the end of the film Rapunzel holds Flynn and they admit their deep secret that they had become each other’s dream, and an “awww” moment ensues. The question to ask is “Where do these dreams come from?” and “What do these dreams mean?” Taking this second question, the implications of Rapunzel and Flynn’s dream impact more than just the world of the film. The Disney Princess films have been studied within an inch of their lives by a great number of scholars in a great number of fields. One common study takes the ideas of gender development and combines them with the Disney Princess films. However, the implications of gender do not stop here as gender identity can still be impacted as the viewers age. Interpretation of the princess films has been a huge aspect of their scholarly application as the behavior of the princesses, and princes, can be interpreted and compared with gender stereotypes and norms to assess the impact their portrayals can have on the viewing audience. The film Tangled is often seen as Disney’s take on a modern princess, and Rapunzel and Flynn have a great deal to contribute to both gender development study and media interpretation of gender. Gender development is a field of study which has been impacted in a number of ways by modern theorists...
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...Disney characters : the reflect of women's place in the society Walt Disney, under his real name Walt Elias Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago. He founded in 1923 the famous Walt Disney Company with his brother Roy as the Disney Brothers Studios. After three years, the studios take the name Walt Disney Company. Their first animated film came out in 1937 "Snow White" inspired by a famous children's story by the Brothers Grimm. Thereafter follow many animated films like Cinderella, Mulan, or Rebel. One of the most important question in recent years is : What image Disney returns with respect to the role of women and the role that women play in society in the twenty-first century? In fact, Disney is primarily a media and integrate media stereotypes and habits of society to which they belong in their history or animated movie. Disney is the reflects of the habit of society to which they belong in their history or their short films. Thus heroines like Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora are submitted to wish than others, especially men, have chosen for her. They are docile women who spend their time dreaming. They are always save by men from a evil spell and are submit to the will of men. Instead, the heroines of the late twentieth century are beginning to take their lives and rebel against the male authority . In the twenty-first century heroines are increasingly rebelling and advocate of feminist principles : women are the equals of men. This analysis allows us to see a marked increase...
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...Disney and the American Princess: The Americanization of European Fairy Tales [pic] Marina Alexandrova Student number 3021874 MA Thesis, American Studies Program Utrecht University Course code 200401064 23943 words 12 August 2009 Contents Title page………………………………………………………………1 Contents……………………………………………………………….2 Introduction……………………………………………………………3 Chapter 1: European Fairy Tales and Values about Gender and Class………………………………………10 Chapter 2: Disney Animation and American Culture…………………24 Chapter 3: Disney Animation and (Gender) Commodification…………………………………………..55 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...73 Bibliography…………………………………………………………78 Introduction Among the various aspects which define contemporary life, popular culture – and in particular, American popular culture – is undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting. Throughout the twentieth century, people around the world have enjoyed film, music, animation, and written works by various authors and artists. One of the most famous and significant American entertainers of the lot has been Walt Disney, introducing millions of children and adults to his world of limitless (or so is widely believed) imagination and magic, from the earliest short cartoons produced in the 1920s, to full-length feature animations such as Snow White and the Seven...
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...culture. Giroux argues that animation films play a far greater role than just providing entertainment to the young viewers. These films provide a source of learning on different levels and have a deeper impact on children than schools and family. Giroux believes that these films carry hidden messages and it’s often a conservative view of the American society. Giroux continues his argument by mentioning negative trends that has been present in almost all of the Disney’s films based on gender, race and patriarchy. He points out how women and people of the different race (other than white) are almost always presented in opposing or weak roles whit this he calls for accountability of the material that Disney produces and advertises to young minds. After reading Henry Giroux’s essay “Animating Youth” I found it hard to disagree with what he has to say about Disney’s animated films as his arguments were very compelling. The way that these films appeal and indulge a young mind there is little doubt they play the role of a teacher on the deeper level than any other institution does as Giroux writes “I suspect for many others, these films inspire at least as much cultural authority and legitimacy for teaching specific roles, values, and ideals than more traditional sites of learning such as public schools, religious institutions, and families.” Though I concur with the most parts of the essay I have to disagree with the part where Giroux labels Disney as giant corporation bullying other...
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...Leelahnie Gordillo Movies featuring anthropomorphic non-human characters are nearly always rich with questions about “gender” roles, since the assignment of gender onto such characters. Especially inanimate ones is entirely based on the writers imaginations and the features selected to gender something “male” or “female” often reflect assumptions, stereotypes, and conventional gender roles. Pixar’s film Wall-E is a love story between two robots working in an environment following the evacuation and abandonment of Earth under piles and piles of trash. Wall-E is a computer generated animated feature created on Pixar’s own software Renderman.Wall-E is based on a...
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...has played a large role in creating social norms. Most people have access to some form of media: television, phone, and film. Through the use of media, society has applied the stereotypes perceived on the groups being stereotyped. Through the use of advertisements, television shows, and films, the media silently manipulate how the audience views each gender. Advertisements are to blame for the constant reminder of gender roles. In one advertisement for a neutral product, sidewalk chalk, a group of girls were coloring on the sidewalk while one boy rapped and performed a small dance routine. It was very apparent that the young boy was the leading character. Allison Lantagne asked, “Are consumers of sidewalk chalk actively trying to send this message of submission to their 9-year-old girls?” This is likely not the case, but the advertisers are continuing to send these messages to the consumers. There are other advertisers who are breaking the stereotypes. Tide has taken measures to move in a better direction. In one commercial, a man makes the statement “I’m a stay-at-home dad,” and later goes on to braid his daughter’s...
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...Mouse Monopoly The Mickey Mouse Monopoly documentary reveals the obscure social messages behind the animated films created by the Disney Company. Although we are conditioned to believe that these movies are pure forms of entertainment, further examination has proved that there are hidden messages concerning gender, race and class that Disney is instilling in the minds of children. The speakers in the documentary argue that Disney is extremely political and hides its ideas behind innocence, magic and fun. When masked by features that are appealing to a younger audience, it is difficult to realize these ideas without taking a closer look. One of the main controversies discussed in this video is the way that Disney portrays women in its productions. The way that females are shown is similar across all Disney films, even animal characters. They are shown having a seductive or entrancing way about them, large eyelashes, attractive bodies and large breasts. Doctor Carolyn Newberger, a psychology professor at Harvard University, pointed out the scene from Aladdin when Jasmine seduces Jafar to distract him while Aladdin tries to rescue her. This scene suggests to viewers that women can use their bodies to manipulate men in order to get what they want. Other ways women are portrayed in these films are vulnerable, weak, and always needing to be rescued by a male. Aside from gender, race is another issue that is often misrepresented in these productions. One example in the documentary...
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...that adaptations and sequels are automatically lesser works in and of themselves. You can make a tremendously original or even groundbreaking film out of an adaptation such as The Dark Knight. You can just as easily make an uneventful mess out of an original idea as seen in Transcendence. Some sequels are among the best films ever made while lots of legendary duds were original ideas. Here’s the thing though, no matter how many perfectly good movies we’re getting out of Hollywood’s current obsession with adaptations, sequels, and reboots, too much of it is bad for the soul of a movie culture. New things, new experiences,...
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...Disney Heroines and America: Yesterday and Today Haley Hayes English 311c Section 02 Movies reflect current American values. Symbols and signs of these shifting values creep into every aspect of the American people’s lives. The entertainment industry provides an example by depicting the powerful influence animated heroines have on cultural trends. In animation, the heroine archetype has come to mean the “ideal person”: a symbol of the qualities, attitudes, popular trends, and those socially acceptable norms which are the most desirable. Has the public brought this upon themselves by buying into the movie-madness scheme, which dictates how one should think, feel, and, in part, be? This introduces another interesting question: Does the shift in societal values affect the nature and content of animation, or do the values portrayed in animation and public’s willingness to be overpowered create these changes in American beliefs? Regardless of which comes first, analyzing a character is synonymous with analyzing the culture from which the character is spawned. These symbols in animation, unfortunately, don’t always depict America’s best values and more often than not are targeted at children. Truly, the influential impact of animation on children is most perfectly depicted in the famed Walt Disney Heroines. These Disney girls have come to reflect America’s ever-changing values and the evolution of its popular culture. Despite the public’s initial skepticism...
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...changes were added by Disney to make a more interesting movie, or to forward a sexist agenda. A multitude of sexist messages are present in Disney movies teaching young girls that they are expected to fill a submissive role in society. The fairy tales are symbolic of women’s lives being shaped by male influences. Over time, the sexist message in Disney movies has become less apparent, but it has never disappeared; it is merely buried within a classic fairy tale that the “magic of Disney” has transformed into a sexist lesson. Naturally, these movies must not have a traumatic affect on little girls. Parents are not actually harming their daughters by allowing them to indulge their fairy tale fantasies. Not according to Jack Zipes, leading expert on fairy tales and German professor at the University of Minnesota, the movies have “a type of gender stereotyping . . . that has an adverse effect on children, in contrast to what parents think . . .. Parents think they’re essentially harmless – they are not harmless” (Giroux, “Roared” 103). Maria Tatar, Harvard folklorist, also sees harm in the movies since “[Disney] capitalizes on the worst part of fairytales” placing the focus on the material world and removing the cunning and intelligent roles that the females once played (Healy). However, these messages surly must not be intentional, and they are open to interpretation, right? Not according to Mary Beech, director of franchise management for Disney Consumer Products, who...
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