Ideology-Tangled

Jeffrey Nealon and Susan S. Giroux, the writers of the Theory Toolbox, state that ideology is a “false consciousness”; an inability to see real conditions because they are masked by false ideas. Governments typically use ideology to control the public and make them think they need their government to survive. However, in the 2010 Disney story, Tangled, this “false consciousness” takes place by only one person for only one person. The movie starts out with a drop of sun falling from the sky and creating a flower. Mother Gothel found the flower and realized that it had the power to make her stay young forever. Centuries went by and a kingdom grew. Mother Gothel was still alive and hiding the flower from everyone in order to stay young forever. The queen of the kingdom became pregnant and also very sick, so all the guards went out to look for this flower. Eventually they found the flower and brought it to the queen. The powers from the flower were transferred to the queen’s baby, Rapunzel. The powers were in her hair. A few days after Rapunzel was born, Mother Gothel broke into the castle in order to redeem her magic back. She went to Rapunzel’s crib and cut a strand of her hair off, so she would still be able to have the power to stay young. However, once Rapunzel’s hair is cut, it loses the powers it once possessed. Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel from the castle in order to ensure that her hair was never cut and she would also have the power from the flower. Mother Gothel raised Rapunzel by hiding her in a tower and teaching her that the outside world was something to fear and that anyone she came in contact with would hurt her and try to take her hair. In other words, Mother Gothel raised Rapunzel with a false consciousness of the outside world.
In one of the opening scenes, Mother Gothel is brushing Rapunzel’s hair, this is how she is able to get the power to use. Rapunzel asks her “Why can’t I go outside?” To which Gothel replies “The outside world is a