Rhetorical Analysis Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and many other Disney movies all have one thing in common, they feature a female lead who need a male figure to save them. However, things started to change after the release of Mulan 1988. It changed from only having those female leads who always needed to rely on someone, to females who were able to show off their more masculine side. In the article “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Pixar/Disney,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden explored the idea that Pixar movies were starting to show male characters who weren 't afraid to show their emotions and feminine attributes, to promote the “New Man” model.
For this final reading response, I have decided to look in depth at Thomas Nelson’s piece of writing called Darkness in the Look and to also interpret and analyze specific aspects of this particular reading. In the reading, Nelson does quite a wonderful job analyzing Disney’s representations of evil over the decades between 1938 and 1974. His view is that darkness in Disney was used in the first few films to convey a more haunting, and dramatic form of evil and that as the years progressed, Disney moved away from imagination being directly linked to lightness and darkness within the icon world of Disney. Throughout this response, I will be contrasting, in particular the idea of evil being prevalent in nature and in one’s self to evil being within one entity, or
The Cinderella tale has been at the heart of many stories for generations. People have become very familiar with the storyline, as it is very prevalent in society today through many moderns movies and stories. The Cinderella story is adored by young children, more specifically by young girls. However as a more feminist culture has emerged, society’s viewpoint of fairytales is becoming increasingly negative. In, “The Princess Paradox” and “Cinderella and Princess Culture”, authors James Poniewozik and Peggy Orenstein further evaluate themes found in the Cinderella stories.
"Banned. " The word alone sprouts dark, negative emotions, primarily associated with books. The dictionary explains the word "banned" as "to prohibit, forbid, or bar; interdict," or even "to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon. " People and society banned books ever since long ago, from the children's book of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss to Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and ironically Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
The Atlantic Crossings of 1912 was an event in history that marked a before and after in modern civilizations, having lasting impacts on both Native American and European societies. This series of voyages led by Christopher Columbus had an impact on the discovery of new lands, proceeding to a process of exchanges in multiple areas from food, supplies, and animals to contagious and deadly diseases. This historic meeting and relationship between these two new worlds, better known as "The Columbian Exchange" marked a new era of exchange not only of goods but also of knowledge, bodybuilding, and identity. The Columbian Exchange was the main factor that thousands of elements that evolved in the Americas and Europe differently had the opportunity to expand and open the ability to adapt for their use and benefits to these two different societies.
From its onset with its first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Disney has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon today. But over the years, various parent groups, scholars and film critics have accused Disney for creating shallow, stereotypical princesses whose ultimate aim was to find her 'prince charming ' and live happily ever after. In her article, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” in the New York Times, Peggy Orenstein expresses her concern over the effect of princess figures like Cinderella on young girls ' perceptions of themselves and how they should behave (“What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”).
The topic of self confidence is a subject that is heavily discussed when it comes to girls of all ages. Journalist, Stephanie Hanes, examines the current trend of sexualization amongst young girls. In the article “Little Girls or Little Women: The Disney Princess Effect”, Hanes examines the current trend of sexualization amongst girls. She addresses the issue of desiring to become a women too soon. Hanes develops her article by using the literary techniques of pathos and logos to describe the emotions young girls feel when they see images of women with unattainable features.
Princesses’ in Disney movies are tied down to a recurring theme: the princess that must be saved from the evil woman by the charming prince. A significant contrast to the usually weak and easily persuaded figure of the father. Even though the women are portrayed as weak, nobody stops to think how strong they have to be to carry the responsibility of an entire household on her shoulder, while the men always seem to be traveling or ill. Fairytales are based on a patriarchal way of thinking and as time passes by, it’s proven to be detrimental to society Women and men are constantly being bound to a series of stereotypes.
People of all ages throughout the years are very familiar with the concept of Disney movies. Some notable classics of Disney are “Beauty and the Beast” which was released in 1991 and “The Little Mermaid” which was released in 1989. Among the children, the Disney princesses left a good impression on them like Cinderella from “Cinderella”, Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”, and Mulan from “Mulan”. However, many believe that Disney movies serve as a good influence to young audiences but people should know that Disney also has its flaws. Disney have showed negative portrayals of Disney princesses in their films especially when it comes to their usual unattainable beauty ideal and portraying their princesses as inferior to men.
Disney has successfully given viewers of their movies warm and comforting feelings because there is always a happy ending. Disney productions have also taught young children the difference between good and evil. Films such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and “Cinderella” are two of their earlier movies that are vastly different, but share similarities as well. For instance, both Cinderella and Snow White are beautiful princesses that are forced to be maids and have similar antagonists in their stories, which are evil step mothers who are jealous of their step daughter 's beauty.
Most of the children read about many fairy tales, especially Snow Whites, Sleeping beauty, and Cinderella when they grew up. It is a surprising fact that to discover a hidden, unexpected political intention in the simple plot of fairy tales. That is a feminization of woman. The fairy tale world suggests a male-centered patriarchy as an ideal basic society and impliedly imply that man and woman need to have a proper attitude toward this opinion. However, Jewett’s A White Heron describes a new perspective of fairy tale’s plot.
Historically, Disney Animation fairy-tales elevated the triumph of good over evil in a world of magic. Usually, this
Gender roles have been noticeable in Disney films especially the Disney Princess series. Women are typically portrayed as a princess, homemaker, or queen while men are portrayed as strong, dominant and authority characters. The portrayal of the prince or knights in the movies usually highlighted with the strong and powerful characteristic, whereas the Disney princesses are weak, vulnerable and being protected. According to Tiffany, gender stereotypes and behaviours illustrations are very common in Disney culture and their depictions have become sophisticated over the years especially those of female characters.
The Little Mermaid in 1989 marked the beginning of an era known as the Disney Renaissance. This period lasted between 1989 to 1999 during which Disney underwent a creative revival in producing successful animated films based on well-known stories, which restored public and critical interest in The Walt Disney Company as a whole (Wikipedia, "Disney Renaissance"). This film tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel. She is an adventurous spirit with a fascination for the human world above the surface. Her love for Prince Eric causes her to make a Faustian bargain with a sinister sea-witch Ursula which later becomes the cause for havoc both for humans and the merpeople.
Thus, interest in children 's books was growing and fairytales turned into children tales which were carrying moral concern. Along with the 20th century, Walt Disney has changed the concepts of its tales. They were no longer carrying any social message and it put children in a total dream world. At first sight, many Disney tales look innocent but they fundamentally have strong images hidden. For example, Disney draws a female figure that is dependent, which unknowingly cause gender stereotype in society.
