How Does Walt Disney Portray The Women In Princess Anna Of Frozen
Walt Disney released their 12th princess movie in 2013. From the first, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the most recent, Frozen, the princesses have developed and evolved into entirely new characters. Now filled with action and adventure that was not present in the early princess films, the newer releases portray princesshood in a different regard. These new princesses have more wit, cleverness, independence, and ambition than was present in the originals but there is still a hint of the original flavor which overtakes what has been added over the years. From Princess Anna of Frozen all the way back to Snow White, Disney princesses portray unrealistic beauty standards for women of all ages. As adults we understand that the ideals presented
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to us in these characters are simply unattainable but these images cloud the minds of young girls and teach them to strive for a definition of beauty that is narrow and unrealistic. The traits that these characters embody have changed over the years to represent more independent, strong girls but there remains a strong focus on her appearance. Most little girls do not aim to be smart like Belle, strong like Mulan, or an entrepreneur like Tiana; they want to be pretty like Ariel, have hair like Merida, and wear a dress like Elsa’s. With only a few exceptions, the princesses are dependent on a male character. Disney has come a long way in creating female characters that give girls the dignity and respect they deserve but the narrow ideals the princesses are held to are far from fair. Despite many improvements over the last 80 years, Disney Princesses still follow stereotypical gender scripts and portray females in a helpless and dependent manner.
OVER THE YEARS Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 as the first of three early films that would eventually expand into a full line of Disney Princess films (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011). Right from the start we learn of the importance of beauty to Snow White’s stepmother based on her obsession with the magic mirror which tells her who is the fairest in all the land. The mirror reflects on a person’s appearance when responding to the Queen’s question without any consideration of the heart of the person. This in itself leads to a misguided idea of beauty being only outwards. Girardot (1977:298-299) writes that “The power and popularity of a story like Snow White is clear – especially for children, whose minds are so open to the imagination.” The first lesson that Snow White teaches is that beauty is important above all other characteristics of a person; to children, who are most vulnerable to these messages, this lesson can have a hugely negative result. As the story progresses, the importance of Snow White’s beauty is continually emphasized. From the huntsman letting Snow White go free because she is so beautiful to the dwarfs burying Snow White in a clear, glass coffin so her beauty could be seen by everyone – beauty is the meaning of this princess’s existence. Asides from the clearly evident focus on physical beauty, Snow White also portrays a very stereotypical role as a female. Within the first twenty minutes of the film there are countless scenes of Snow White behaving in ways that give females a poor reputation. We first see Snow White passively admiring a prince as he sings to her in attempt to win her heart. A while later when Snow White is set free by the huntsman, she enters a state of hysteria and fear as she dashes, thrashes, and splashes through the forest in a frenzy which ends in a scene of weeping whilst lying on the forest floor. After gaining her composure and befriending the forest creatures she finds the house which belongs to the dwarfs. Prior to entering the house, Snow White fixes her hair and readjusts her dress. Upon entering the house, the princess follows a typical female script and with shock at the disorderly state of the house, immediately begins doing housework. The unmatchable joy that Snow White gets from sweeping, clearing dishes, and doing laundry is reflected in her song. While Snow White is tidying the house, the dwarfs are hard at work in the mine – a job that is both physically demanding and economically rewarding unlike housework. The state of the house and the fact that the dwarfs are not bothered by it shows that in the original princess films “men were not expected to do domestic work, nor did they have the ability to do so” (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011:563). Within the first quarter of Disney’s first princess film, Snow White portrays women as frantic, joyfully domestic, and as objects of outward beauty. As the years passed, Disney began producing princess films featuring more independent, ambition female characters. In the middle princess films, from The Little Mermaid in 1989 to Mulan in 1998 (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011), the princesses have goals besides marriage, attitudes that are active not passive, and ethnicities that are not Caucasian. Of these next generation princess, Mulan showcases the highest level of movement in the definition of a Disney Princess, though that movement is minimal. Mulan is the eighth princess in the line of Disney Princesses and the third princess of an ethnicity other than Caucasian. Mulan is different from her forerunning princesses for many reasons, first and foremost she did not come from a royal family. She is presented with the task of bringing honor to her family in the only conceivable way for a female to do so – through marriage. As Mulan prepares to meet the matchmaker she is shown making notes on her arm of the characteristics she is to inhabit and recite in order to find a husband. These characteristics include delicate, refined, and poised among other stereotypical female traits. Improvement in how Disney portrays female characters can be seen in the fact that Mulan does not live up to these characteristics but these being the ideal shows the continuing problem. In the first musical number in this film, we see exactly how women are valued. Between lines such as “with great fortune and a great hairdo, you’ll bring honor to us all,” “men want girls who have good taste…with good breeding and a tiny waste,” and “We all must serve our Emperor who guards us from the Huns - a man by bearing arms, a girl by bearing sons” the gender ideals are clear. Mixed together in one song is the expectation for women to be outwardly beautiful and to give their husbands sons. Again it should be noted that Mulan clearly does not meet these standards but the standards are still present. The film continues with Mulan defying what it means to be a women in her culture by acting in an honorable way that is outside of marrying.
Through this, girls are shown that females are capable of doing more than marrying a prince and living in royalty – a very different concept than what is portrayed by the previous princesses. Mulan “demonstrates levels of strength and leadership that were inconceivable in the depiction of the traditional white, well-groomed princess” (Stover 2013:4). Mulan’s heroic fleet is abruptly ended when her true female identity is discovered, resulting in rejection and betrayal. This is a reflection of the oppression that Disney’s female characters are still trapped in; there remains a lack of equality between males and females. Mulan was not free to be a brave, courageous women - as a female she was still expected to be submissive, delicate, and refined. Continuing her rebellion towards traditional gender roles, Mulan assists in the final defeat of the Huns and is offered a high-ranking position within the Emperor’s council. However, Mulan declines this offer and asks to return to her family. The traditional gender roles that Disney holds to are shown to be more prominent than the deviant path in which Mulan took in
that
The princess participated in stereotypically masculine activities, such as conducting diplomacy and war, yet plot resolutions reflected traditionally valued outcomes for women, such as the princess being paired with the prince and choosing to return to family life rather than pursuing novel opportunities. (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011:563)
Upon Mulan’s arrival home there is rejoicing within her family but the celebrations do not begin until Li Shang, a man who has clear romantic interest in Mulan, shows up. In her acquisition of a man, Mulan has shown herself honorable to all members of her family. There is much progress in the way women are depicted by Disney throughout this film but the fact that women are most valued for their beauty and marriageability is still clear. The third generation of Disney princesses began in 2009 with Tiana in The Princess and The Frog and continues to the most recent film, Frozen in 2013 (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011). The most current wave of princesses includes many firsts for Disney. Tiana is the first African-American princess and the first to hold a job, Rapunzel is the first to have freckles, and Merida is the first to not have a love interest and the first to have siblings. These additions show a clear shift in how females are represented and widens the ethnic, beauty, and personality standards for princesses. The classic fairytale message is still present in that only two of these new princesses ends her film without a romantic partner - Merida and Elsa. To explore the continuing traditional female roles and standards, The Princess and The Frog sheds much light. Princess Tiana gained the majority of her attention from the fact that she is the first African-American princess. There is much to be said about what this means for Disney’s relatively limited relationship with ethnic characters but there is also much to be said about Disney’s continuing relationship with traditional gender roles. For the first time we are presented with a leading female character who has ambitions to be a career woman. In fact, “Tiana wants so badly to achieve her dream of owning a restaurant that her goal determines every path she chooses” (Stephens 2014:97). Upon meeting the prince, Tiana does not instantly fall head-over-heels in love with him and spend the rest of the film aiming to marry him. Throughout the journey they go on together and the relationship they develop, Tiana is still set on owning a restaurant above all else. It should also be noted that Tiana is far from the passive, frantic princesses depicted in the first generation of princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty). In her relationship with the prince she is the more rational and knowledgeable one. “It is also Tiana who helps the prince develop his character to become a better person” (Stephens 2014:97). As novel as this concept is in Disney Princess films, there are underlying tones of a traditional female role. The classic ‘women in the kitchen’ role that Tiana plays is slightly offset by her father having also been an avid chef, but her instinct to nurture and care are strongly feminine. They are very positive characteristics but they are traditional nonetheless. Tiana appears to represent a shift in how Disney portrays its princesses but the prominence of the traditional fairytale ending demonstrates that the shift is far from completion. Throughout the film Tiana shows no sign of being enticed by Naveen, she is continually focused on her goal of opening a restaurant. Her determination is admirable and sets a great example for young girls, however, the progress that Tiana’s character has made comes to a screeching halt when “she willingly shifts her visions of the future to living happily ever after with her true love as a frog” (No para. 3). In a moment of realizing that what she really needed was love not her restaurant Tiana proclaims “My dream won’t be complete without you [Naveen] in it.” Above the fact that Tiana and Naveen fall in love and get married, it must be noted that Tiana could not possibly accomplish her original goal without Naveen’s help. The only way for both Tiana and Naveen to return to human state was by Naveen kissing a princess. Had this not been the case and if Tiana could have returned to being human through her own means, she still wouldn’t have been able to afford the restaurant. This fairytale ending “lends credence to the insinuation that it is not Tiana’s hard work that makes her dreams come true but it is the love and the financial backing of a rich man that gets her what she desires” (No para. 3). In that moment, the original woman-dependent-on-man character that Disney created in the earlier generation princesses resurfaces and the progress that had been made thus far is erased.
to us in these characters are simply unattainable but these images cloud the minds of young girls and teach them to strive for a definition of beauty that is narrow and unrealistic. The traits that these characters embody have changed over the years to represent more independent, strong girls but there remains a strong focus on her appearance. Most little girls do not aim to be smart like Belle, strong like Mulan, or an entrepreneur like Tiana; they want to be pretty like Ariel, have hair like Merida, and wear a dress like Elsa’s. With only a few exceptions, the princesses are dependent on a male character. Disney has come a long way in creating female characters that give girls the dignity and respect they deserve but the narrow ideals the princesses are held to are far from fair. Despite many improvements over the last 80 years, Disney Princesses still follow stereotypical gender scripts and portray females in a helpless and dependent manner.
OVER THE YEARS Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 as the first of three early films that would eventually expand into a full line of Disney Princess films (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011). Right from the start we learn of the importance of beauty to Snow White’s stepmother based on her obsession with the magic mirror which tells her who is the fairest in all the land. The mirror reflects on a person’s appearance when responding to the Queen’s question without any consideration of the heart of the person. This in itself leads to a misguided idea of beauty being only outwards. Girardot (1977:298-299) writes that “The power and popularity of a story like Snow White is clear – especially for children, whose minds are so open to the imagination.” The first lesson that Snow White teaches is that beauty is important above all other characteristics of a person; to children, who are most vulnerable to these messages, this lesson can have a hugely negative result. As the story progresses, the importance of Snow White’s beauty is continually emphasized. From the huntsman letting Snow White go free because she is so beautiful to the dwarfs burying Snow White in a clear, glass coffin so her beauty could be seen by everyone – beauty is the meaning of this princess’s existence. Asides from the clearly evident focus on physical beauty, Snow White also portrays a very stereotypical role as a female. Within the first twenty minutes of the film there are countless scenes of Snow White behaving in ways that give females a poor reputation. We first see Snow White passively admiring a prince as he sings to her in attempt to win her heart. A while later when Snow White is set free by the huntsman, she enters a state of hysteria and fear as she dashes, thrashes, and splashes through the forest in a frenzy which ends in a scene of weeping whilst lying on the forest floor. After gaining her composure and befriending the forest creatures she finds the house which belongs to the dwarfs. Prior to entering the house, Snow White fixes her hair and readjusts her dress. Upon entering the house, the princess follows a typical female script and with shock at the disorderly state of the house, immediately begins doing housework. The unmatchable joy that Snow White gets from sweeping, clearing dishes, and doing laundry is reflected in her song. While Snow White is tidying the house, the dwarfs are hard at work in the mine – a job that is both physically demanding and economically rewarding unlike housework. The state of the house and the fact that the dwarfs are not bothered by it shows that in the original princess films “men were not expected to do domestic work, nor did they have the ability to do so” (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011:563). Within the first quarter of Disney’s first princess film, Snow White portrays women as frantic, joyfully domestic, and as objects of outward beauty. As the years passed, Disney began producing princess films featuring more independent, ambition female characters. In the middle princess films, from The Little Mermaid in 1989 to Mulan in 1998 (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011), the princesses have goals besides marriage, attitudes that are active not passive, and ethnicities that are not Caucasian. Of these next generation princess, Mulan showcases the highest level of movement in the definition of a Disney Princess, though that movement is minimal. Mulan is the eighth princess in the line of Disney Princesses and the third princess of an ethnicity other than Caucasian. Mulan is different from her forerunning princesses for many reasons, first and foremost she did not come from a royal family. She is presented with the task of bringing honor to her family in the only conceivable way for a female to do so – through marriage. As Mulan prepares to meet the matchmaker she is shown making notes on her arm of the characteristics she is to inhabit and recite in order to find a husband. These characteristics include delicate, refined, and poised among other stereotypical female traits. Improvement in how Disney portrays female characters can be seen in the fact that Mulan does not live up to these characteristics but these being the ideal shows the continuing problem. In the first musical number in this film, we see exactly how women are valued. Between lines such as “with great fortune and a great hairdo, you’ll bring honor to us all,” “men want girls who have good taste…with good breeding and a tiny waste,” and “We all must serve our Emperor who guards us from the Huns - a man by bearing arms, a girl by bearing sons” the gender ideals are clear. Mixed together in one song is the expectation for women to be outwardly beautiful and to give their husbands sons. Again it should be noted that Mulan clearly does not meet these standards but the standards are still present. The film continues with Mulan defying what it means to be a women in her culture by acting in an honorable way that is outside of marrying.
Through this, girls are shown that females are capable of doing more than marrying a prince and living in royalty – a very different concept than what is portrayed by the previous princesses. Mulan “demonstrates levels of strength and leadership that were inconceivable in the depiction of the traditional white, well-groomed princess” (Stover 2013:4). Mulan’s heroic fleet is abruptly ended when her true female identity is discovered, resulting in rejection and betrayal. This is a reflection of the oppression that Disney’s female characters are still trapped in; there remains a lack of equality between males and females. Mulan was not free to be a brave, courageous women - as a female she was still expected to be submissive, delicate, and refined. Continuing her rebellion towards traditional gender roles, Mulan assists in the final defeat of the Huns and is offered a high-ranking position within the Emperor’s council. However, Mulan declines this offer and asks to return to her family. The traditional gender roles that Disney holds to are shown to be more prominent than the deviant path in which Mulan took in
that
The princess participated in stereotypically masculine activities, such as conducting diplomacy and war, yet plot resolutions reflected traditionally valued outcomes for women, such as the princess being paired with the prince and choosing to return to family life rather than pursuing novel opportunities. (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011:563)
Upon Mulan’s arrival home there is rejoicing within her family but the celebrations do not begin until Li Shang, a man who has clear romantic interest in Mulan, shows up. In her acquisition of a man, Mulan has shown herself honorable to all members of her family. There is much progress in the way women are depicted by Disney throughout this film but the fact that women are most valued for their beauty and marriageability is still clear. The third generation of Disney princesses began in 2009 with Tiana in The Princess and The Frog and continues to the most recent film, Frozen in 2013 (England, Descartes, Collier-Meek 2011). The most current wave of princesses includes many firsts for Disney. Tiana is the first African-American princess and the first to hold a job, Rapunzel is the first to have freckles, and Merida is the first to not have a love interest and the first to have siblings. These additions show a clear shift in how females are represented and widens the ethnic, beauty, and personality standards for princesses. The classic fairytale message is still present in that only two of these new princesses ends her film without a romantic partner - Merida and Elsa. To explore the continuing traditional female roles and standards, The Princess and The Frog sheds much light. Princess Tiana gained the majority of her attention from the fact that she is the first African-American princess. There is much to be said about what this means for Disney’s relatively limited relationship with ethnic characters but there is also much to be said about Disney’s continuing relationship with traditional gender roles. For the first time we are presented with a leading female character who has ambitions to be a career woman. In fact, “Tiana wants so badly to achieve her dream of owning a restaurant that her goal determines every path she chooses” (Stephens 2014:97). Upon meeting the prince, Tiana does not instantly fall head-over-heels in love with him and spend the rest of the film aiming to marry him. Throughout the journey they go on together and the relationship they develop, Tiana is still set on owning a restaurant above all else. It should also be noted that Tiana is far from the passive, frantic princesses depicted in the first generation of princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty). In her relationship with the prince she is the more rational and knowledgeable one. “It is also Tiana who helps the prince develop his character to become a better person” (Stephens 2014:97). As novel as this concept is in Disney Princess films, there are underlying tones of a traditional female role. The classic ‘women in the kitchen’ role that Tiana plays is slightly offset by her father having also been an avid chef, but her instinct to nurture and care are strongly feminine. They are very positive characteristics but they are traditional nonetheless. Tiana appears to represent a shift in how Disney portrays its princesses but the prominence of the traditional fairytale ending demonstrates that the shift is far from completion. Throughout the film Tiana shows no sign of being enticed by Naveen, she is continually focused on her goal of opening a restaurant. Her determination is admirable and sets a great example for young girls, however, the progress that Tiana’s character has made comes to a screeching halt when “she willingly shifts her visions of the future to living happily ever after with her true love as a frog” (No para. 3). In a moment of realizing that what she really needed was love not her restaurant Tiana proclaims “My dream won’t be complete without you [Naveen] in it.” Above the fact that Tiana and Naveen fall in love and get married, it must be noted that Tiana could not possibly accomplish her original goal without Naveen’s help. The only way for both Tiana and Naveen to return to human state was by Naveen kissing a princess. Had this not been the case and if Tiana could have returned to being human through her own means, she still wouldn’t have been able to afford the restaurant. This fairytale ending “lends credence to the insinuation that it is not Tiana’s hard work that makes her dreams come true but it is the love and the financial backing of a rich man that gets her what she desires” (No para. 3). In that moment, the original woman-dependent-on-man character that Disney created in the earlier generation princesses resurfaces and the progress that had been made thus far is erased.