The late 1980’s film, The Little Mermaid is relevance because it appears to oppose the feminist movement in history that advocated for female advancement and empowerment within society. It is imperative that Disney’s skewed recreation of the beloved tale, The Little Mermaid be analytically criticized because it was meticulously portrayed to perpetuate anti-feminism. It is also important to analyze the use of language, images and other affecting factors and how they too contribute to sexism depictions in this film. There are various examples within the film where the female characters’ bodies and minds are demeaned and undervalued because of the imposing dominance the characters imposed upon them. One of these includes the exchange of Ariel’s voice for legs and the declaration in “Kiss the Girl” that could win over Eric without saying a word because of her good looks. …show more content…
Disney released The Little Mermaid in 1989, which was just 25 years post the women’s sexual revolution and the publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique in the 1960s during second wave feminism. This movement advocated for women’s sexual liberties and liberation from conventional feminine duties, despite the movie’s sexually objectifying, traditional themes. This film’s release date also marks the gradual beginning of third wave feminism that encouraged a cultural embrace of individual diversity and self-identity, thus serving as a defiant paradox for the film’s homogenous ideals. As a woman in a male dominated society, popular works like this film must be critically critiqued as a way to dismiss this degrading behavior by society. The Little Mermaid manipulates gender roles to suppress and dominate the woman, subliminally disseminating this presumption to its adolescent