The Little Mermaid (1989) is an animated, musical, fantasy based film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. It was released on November 15th, 1989.…
Movies and television always priority man as strong and dominate. There are not many media portrayals that change the character of male. Men are still glorified for the sexual actives, non commitment and re-lack attitude of life. There are limited amount of films that deceits man in a different stereotypical life than the macho man. However, movies like She’s Out of My League has a very timid, fragile and nerdy male lead. His character tries to get the attention of beautiful, successful and desirable woman. The gender role differences in the movies tries to show the progression in media depiction. The movie was different because the male is not outwardly attractive and very clumsy. His brother represents the typical meat headed, unintelligent…
I do agree that Disney does follow a lot of the Gender stereotypes. In Disney, Women have to be really skinny and white to be beautiful, which is not true they focus on outer beauty and not inner beauty. They are teaching little girls beauty is being white and skinny that is resulting in an image and standards set for girls. I totally disagree with that and think Beauty should vary and not be just be white and skinny. In "The little Mermaid" many stereotypes are involved involving Ariel and her prince. They teach the idea of changing who you are to be with someone and not following the idea of "being yourself". They teach the idea that women are submissive. I think symbolically it even goes deeper to say that women give up their voice to be…
Mulan and Pocahontas were good role models because they are Asian and Native American but they did not help the ethnic boys because the movies were mainly about girls. Also, they were not good models of princesses because they do a lot of manly things such as going to war and fighting for families and they do not look like the regular princesses because they do not wear the casual brightly colored dress. The media has noted them as, “too realistic for kids,”…
For generations, Walt Disney films have been a “must watch” by parents, children and their families. However, these people may not see the hidden meanings behind Disney films. Currently, children are constantly exposed to media and opinions inherently presented within television, films, radio, books and more. Disney films are no exception. The films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty all reinforce traditional gender roles, and the idea that lightness is supreme and will help when it comes to goodness conquering evil.…
The Bechdel Test, popularized by Allison Bechdel in 1984, was designed to illustrate the lack of important female roles in movies. This test is extremely simple and only has three criteria that need to be achieved in order for a movie to be classed as having a female character that is integral to the plot. These criteria are that the movie must contain at least to named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man (Feminist Frequency, 2012). I think that these criteria themselves show that there was, and is, a big problem with important female characters in movies. These criteria set a shockingly low standards for important female characters, but what is even more shocking is the number of films that fail this test.…
Transitioning on from the perspective of a communications graduate, we move on to see how gendered roles are portrayed in Disney Princess movies and how they affect young children, from the perspective of a psychology graduate. Katie Lopreore, the psychology graduate from Middle Tennessee State University, writes about how the influences of the Disney Princess films shape children through their gendered characteristics, in her journal Gender roles portrayals of modern Disney royalty: stereotypical or androgynous? Lopreore starts off with an evaluation on how many children are exposed to the Disney Princess culture, she writes “Disney brand, found that 97% of children they surveyed between ages 2-11 years old were familiar with Cinderella, one…
However, the man giving the scroll to Mulan’s father yells at her saying that she is being completely disrespectful, and should know when and how to speak in the presence of a man. Mulan’s father is greatly disappointed in her, telling her that she has brought dishonor to his name. In this article “Review: The Emperor's Old Groove: Decolonizing Disney's Magic Kingdom,” by Brenda Ayres, she describes how most of the Disney movies have some sort of underlying message to them. Many of these movies depict how woman should act or show the difference in social classes. Many critics who have watched most of the Disney princess movies “promotes any source of female empowerment as evil, and concludes by naming recent animated films such as Aladdin, Mulan and Pocahontas as sexist and xenophobic, declaring that the purpose of the Disney apparatus is that of swaying children to conform to Victorian Western notions of gender behavior. Confusing the readers by oscillating between reiterating the charges that she has already made [urges society] to remember that no man or corporation can depict a morality that is politically correct and acceptable to all of [society]” (194). This demonstrates how Mulan has no right to talk back to the men who have a higher standing than women. Men are superior over women, and they feel great dishonor when they…
A bold statement for recognition of talent, the Oscar Award has become one of the most coveted awards in the film industry. Simply being nominated for an Oscar carries it's own prestige. Every year, actors, film crews and fans alike anticipate nominations and winners for each category. A curious trend continues to arise with the annual Oscar nominees and winners. Not since 2004's Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, has a film featuring a strong lead female character won their Oscar nomination. In fact, of the eight nominees for Best Picture every year, 3 films – at most – featuring strong female leads are nominated. The use of female stereotypes in films could account for this continued trend. The film industry perpetuates stereotypes of females…
Disney is a very popular company. Many of us grew up watching their movies and shows. Many of us don’t see what they are doing until we have grown up and become exposed to how women are not treated equal. Disney has many movies with showed many things be seen as stated here, “the author cited numerous examples of both sexism and racism in the films, specifically noting the heroines’ extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breast. (England 556)” They have the image of women to be light skin, skinny, and mainly be more attractive to men. Disney shows that women need be the person to get the help, not them helping themselves. In many movies you will see the ‘princess’ will be confronted with some problem that…
Disney undermines the gender norms of the lyrics of the songs by visually representing people of all shape and sizes. For the more realistic features of women, the scenes of “Bring Honor to Us All,” present women with different facial features, beauty, shape, and fashion choices. In Mulan’s bath cleaning scene, the woman giving the cleaning is exceptionally short--she is up to Mulan’s hip--, she is not as slender, has sagging arm skin, and wrinkles around her eyes. For the women doing Mulan’s hair, one has more of a round body type and face and the other woman is taller and slenderer but has body parts and features that seem abnormally emphasized. The only women that show most of the ideals are Mulan and the other girls getting ready to meet…
In the beginning of the Walt Disney Picture, Mulan (1998), it shows women in Mulan’s village helping her get ready to meet the “matchmaker”. The matchmaker arranges marriages for both women and men. Throughout the song the women in the village explain different qualities that Mulan should possess in order to impress the men and the matchmaker. Repeatedly the women state by portraying all these characteristics and pleasing the matchmaker she will “Bring honor to us all”. In China, during the Han Dynasty, it was a cultural norm at Mulan’s age to marry and bear children. While the men were at war the women would take care of the children, which were always preferred to be male. The only way for women of Mulan’s age to bring honor to her family…
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.…
Disney’s attempt to appease the masses by the production and release of films that portray male characters were both strategic and ingenious. Hearing the argument from its opposition, the filmmaker responded with a barrage of movies that depict masculine protagonist in a positive light, contrary to the tone of the article authors, Ken Gillam and Shannon Wooden. Their interpretation of their son’s slip of the tongue, “Lightning McQueen” versus “Lightning the queen,” was, at best, a mere accident. The tone of the writers represents that of hegemonic masculinity when describing the emasculation of the alpha male.…
My research topic is focusing on the link between Disney princesses and the established gender roles among them. My research question states: From the early 2000’s to the 2010’s in the United States, what is the correlation between Disney princesses and gender roles, and how does this presumed interrelationship affect the social development of adolescent girls. My target room is adolescent girls I strongly believe this age group is the most effected by the influence of Disney princesses. I chose the time frame of the 2000’s-2010’s because popular Disney princesses were created during this period. Lastly, I chose the United States as the focus region because all Disney princesses have been popularized through American culture.…