Content analysis will be used to see the portrayal of gender role in Disney princess films.The coding procedure that will used for this study is based on (England, Descartes, & Collier-Meek, 2011). In addition, comparative analysis will also be done to observe any differences that are present in the Disney princess films with respect to their color.…
As is well known, the famous storytale "Cinderella" has many variants across cultures and time periods. These variants have been found to have the same general plot, which is characterized by the persecuted heroine, the meeting with the prince, the revealing of an inner identity, and marriage with the prince. This plot is simple enough to be understood by a child, yet the details that support the story's timeless popularity are more difficult to discern, and are sometimes viewed quite differently by different critics. This shall be demonstrated in the synthesis of Freudian psychologist Bruno Bettelheim's work "'Cinderella': A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts," and an excerpt from Feminist writer Madonna Kolbenschlag's work "Kiss Sleeping Beauty Good-Bye: Breaking the Spell of Feminine Myths and Models."…
The common fairytale portrays the stereotypical “damsel in distress,” who is helpless until her male savior typically rescues her. Many fairytales address the theme of gender roles as well as many others. The female character takes on the feeble, desolate role, while the male character takes on the strong, hero role similar to the stories of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. However, Elizabeth, the protagonist of The Paper Bag Princess defies typical gender roles as a female character and becomes the hero of the story. Cinderella and The Paper Bag Princess share many qualities, but have major differences as well. Cinderella is an example of a woman who occupies traditional, domestic roles, but she does not portray the modern, liberated woman Elizabeth exhibits.…
Goldman alters the fairytale in order to meet the changing society by not making a clear happy ending. The way he ends The Princess Bride makes it more realistic to today’s society. Real life isn’t always a happy ending, sometimes the good guys don’t win and the hero doesn’t end up with the girl. In today’s society people don’t live in fairy tales anymore, they realize that life isn’t perfect and that's exactly what Goldman did in The Princess Bride. While The Princess Bride has a more realistic ending it still deals with sexism in the story. The princess still needs saving and is seen as this beautiful, useless damsel in distress. Although in this time period we are more about women empowerment, treating women fairly to men is still a huge…
Through this essay, I will attempt to examine various codes and character portrayals that contribute to the representation of women within the domain of film fiction. My intention is to review exactly how women are represented and investigate whether fictional characters play a part in perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Laura Mulvey will be intermittently mentioned as a pioneering figure of feminist film theory, her discourse will be applied and challenged within the following pages.…
Why is it that so many of the characters are so trusting of Van Helsing? Ever since he came into the picture, characters such as Dr. Seward, Lucy, Arthur, and Mina have allowed Van Helsing to do what ever he wants. This seems implausible, especially considering some of the things he asks, among them being spreading garlic around the room, allowing him to chop off Lucy’s head and cut out her heart, reading Lucy’s diaries, and digging up her coffin to mutilate her body. All of these things seem completely ridiculous, yet all the characters willingly relent to his wishes without much thought. This could be because Van Helsing has a kindly appearance(as detailed by Mina) and a genuine nature, but I suspect that it is most likely because he seems to be an expert in his field. He specializes in odd diseases, and his knowledge of the unknown comforts the other characters because they have no clue what is going on. In a way, they are letting him take control of the…
Is it true to say that the representation of women and femininity has had limited development over the last 25 years… or would it be more accurate to say that these representations have dramatically changed? Has stereotyping become less accurate and more common or has the Romantic Comedy genre developed its representations to break female stereotypes? This investigation aims to explore these questions and, ultimately, to evaluate if the representation of femininity has developed over the last 25 years. Also, to find out to what extent the female role within Romantic Comedy has changed. Exploring the representations of female characters by comparing and contrasting the representation of femininity in the chosen texts; Pretty Woman (1990) directed…
In the article, “Cinderella and Princess Culture”, Peggy Orenstein, a contributing writer for New York Times Magazine, explores the successful “princess” market and how it negatively impacts young children. Orenstein claims that the princess culture promotes a common gender stereotype of women to young children, especially young girls; therefore, society should lessen the encouragement of being a “princess” and fortify their promotion to a more strong-willed role model (327). Although the article contains evidence to support her claim, Orenstein is unsuccessful because of the use of her biases and opinions placed throughout the article, that expresses her own negative views toward princesses and the feministic reinforcements she makes on her own daughter.…
In the examination of the modern Disney film, "Beauty and the Beast", it is evident that the 'age old' women stereotypes are becoming less noticeable. In the newer classic, women are depicted as being independent, intelligent, and heroic.…
During the Victorian Era, society prevented women from making their own living, which caused an inescapable dependence upon men’s income; “Barred by law and custom from entering trades and professions by which they could support themselves, and restricted in the possession of property, woman had only one means of livelihood, that of marriage” (Kent 86). Therefore, no matter what the women desired, most were predestined to become wives due to their economic reliance on men. Bram Stoker, either willingly or unwillingly, used his novel Dracula, to further portray the stereotype that women are inferior to men. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker conveys the stereotype that men are superior to women.…
In the middle period there were many tales of great warriors, kings, and men alike as well, as in the ancient period and the early 20th century. Yet, what happens to the women? There emerges a great curiosity as to who had the upper hand when it came to control. However, as the saying goes, behind every great man is an even greater woman. In the tale “The Thousand and One Nights,” a woman’s sexuality, emotions, and physical actions towards men are not overtly influential. However, when considering, how women used sexual and emotional control towards men, you start to wonder who is really in control. The women are in control. Women’s powers in sexuality and the emotional reactions by men play a vital role in this story.…
For fans that don't know, there are two different kinds of Lara Croft fans. Those who think she is sexy, and those who think she is sexy. OK, so there is one type of Lara Croft fan because it is almost a fact that Lara Croft is one of the most attractive video game characters of all-time. Lara Croft, whether or not the makers of Tomb Raider wanted it or not, has become an ultimate sex symbol for video gaming.…
In this essay, I will be looking at the representation of women in the action film genre and studying the social messages that are constructed and conveyed by the medium. The two media texts I will be comparing from are ‘ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984) and ‘Tomb Raider’ (2001). The female lead in ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ is Willie Scott who is played by Kate Capshaw and Harrison Ford plays the male lead, Indiana Jones. ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ is a prequel to the first Indiana Jones movie, which was ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981) in the Indiana Jones series and was directed by the world famous director, Steven Spielberg. In ‘Tomb Raider’ Angelina Jolie plays the female lead, Lara Croft based on a video game. The video game, Tomb Raider was developed by Core Design and it was one of the first videogames whose protagonist is an attractive female with appealing features, including the ability to carry out smooth moves such as flying, firing guns, picking things up, grabbing onto ledges and pulling switches. Another film which I will be comparing the two women in the action film genre is Marion Ravenwood played by Karen Allen in the ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’…
Gender Roles: A Cultural Phenomenon Gender roles have been in the spotlight lately throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but gender role issues have been a prominent problem for countless years in many different societies around the world. One work of art that highlights gender roles is the film Orlando (1992), which was directed by Sally Potter and adapted from Virginia Woolf’s novel, Orlando. Woolf’s Orlando was published in 1928 and tells a tale where the plot spans over 300 years to show case gender bending throughout history. While critics claim that Orlando remains the same person when he changes into a woman, he in fact develops a whole new personality and different way of seeing the world when he is female through the use of parallelism seen from Orlando living as a male versus living the life of a female.…
Many young girls have grown up watching their favorite princess in movies and on T.V. They dress up in the corresponding attire and act as if they were that princess. While such actions are deemed normal behavior, some believe that the princess culture in the United States could have a significant impact of the future behaviors of these young girls. Not only can the princess culture affect the participants, it also may create a mass gender stereotype among girls that they all like princesses thus eliciting responding behaviors in boys. Princess culture has had a role of negatively impacting young girls by showing how they must conform to bodily perfection, increasing stereotypical behavior among boys and girls, and also developing unrealistic…