Gill disagrees “About 20% of the reviews studied focus solely on the heroines’ appearances rather than their personalities and do so in a way that is more demeaning than complimentary” (Gill 763). The author also emphasizes how Disney movies like to show that the women always end up needing a prince to “save them” and depend on. The article also goes in to detail on how movies stereotype each princess to look perfect, portray innocence and have the same main goal; finding their prince charming. (Gill) states, “By subtly influencing society’s view of Disney princess in a way that implies they are stereotypically feminine, these media weaken the perception of the princesses’ strengths and focus instead on traits such as beauty and domesticity” (Gill
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.
She is aiming for a group that can effect change. An alternative argument is that princesses who exhibit more masculine characteristics aren't as idolized as those who exhibit more traditional characteristics. Instead of the brave traits of their male partners, this gives women the impression that they are more self-assured in stereotypical female traits. These movies may suggest that women in society are better off than how men and the media have portrayed them because the characters are weakened by their physical traits. According to Gill, “Almost 20 percent of the audits considered center exclusively on the heroine’s appearance instead of their identities and do so in a way that’s more disparaging than complimentary.
There has been a lot of quarrels over the years about how children’s picture books are embracing traditions and presenting gender stereotypes. In an article I found, author Narahara May of “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Picture Books,” discusses two major problems. One being that gender stereotypes and sexism has an emotional impact on the development of children’s identity and development. Secondly, she explains about how books in the last decade have portrayed gender negatively. Furthermore, I will be discussing May’s ideas further in depth by examining the portrayals of gender stereotypes found in the popular “Berenstain Bears” picture books.
However, the later Disney films have gradually attempted to break away from this stereotype resulting in stronger female characters like Ariel, Mulan, and Elsa among others. Keeping this transition in mind, this paper uses semiotic analysis of four popular Disney films, namely, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Mulan (1998) to depict the influence of societies ' changing perceptions of women on the portrayal of Disney princesses. These films taking into account the earliest film and certain popular characters that have represented a shift from being the coy damsel in distress to a woman who plays an active role in determining her own destiny. The portrayal of the Disney princess has changed in accordance with the development of women in society over time (1937 to 2013) from demure and traditional to
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination” (Dean, BrainyQuote). Setting our sails to overcome challenges like the wind will help us attain our own destinations. “The Odyssey”, by Homer, details a hero’s journey home from the war in Troy. Odysseus, the main character, has the gods on his side, except for Poseidon. Since Poseidon is the god of the sea, Odysseus and his men, traveling by ship, are doomed from the beginning.
The characters in The Little Mermaid are stragetically designed in a way that conveniently adheres to stereotypical ideas of how males and females should behave, value, and appear according to their gender roles in a patriarchal society that demeans women. In order to do this, the main male characters, including King Triton and Prince Eric, must depict hypermasculinity to dramatically contrast from the creation of their fragile and inferior female counterparts. This is to also exhibit the men’s hypothetical ownership over these women, and using their displayed incompetence as justification of their assumed possession of Ariel. Ariel, the central female character, is depicted as beautiful, because she meets stereotypical standards of beauty
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.
Walt Disney has been making girls think that in order to be beautiful you have to be the perfect shape and size. (Shortridge). Some people believe that the Disney Princesses are great role models for children because Mulan teaches us to never give up on the strengths we have just because we are girls, Belle teaches us to never judge a book by its cover, and Pocahontas shows us real princesses are strong leaders. On the other hand, some individuals feel that Disney Princesses are bad role models because of their unrealistic body appearance, telling girls every marriage ends with a happily ever after when you get married at a young age, and saying every girl needs a man in order to be happy. Both sides have valid points but in reality everyone
The Little Mermaid which was produced in 1989, was the first Disney movie to challenge the traditional gender roles, for the fact that Ariel wanted to explore, and was more independent and assertive in her desires than the earlier princesses of the 1930’s and 50s films. Also the prince in The Little Mermaid went against traditional gender roles as well, simply because he was more affectionate and loving than his prince counterparts in other Disney films. “Both the male and female roles have changed over time, but overall the male characters evinced less change then the female characters and were more androgynous throughout.” (Descartes & England, pg.566). Disney movies have been for a long time a strong media target for children, and can serve as a way to address stereotypical gender roles (Leaper, 2000).
While many young girls love the princesses and look up to them, others view these characters as negative role models. Disney Princesses have always appeared in movies as young women who dress in elegant gowns, have sexy bodies and perfect hair. They are always paired with a prince who lives in a castle, meaning that he has a lot of money. This description of what the Disney Princess is like; give us a big concern in the influence this image is giving to the little girls. Unfortunately, what girls learn as children carries on into adulthood.
Amanda Putnam’s essay, “Mean Ladies: Transgendered Villains in Disney Films”, is a compelling piece on gender portrayal and views in Disney films. Putnam opened the essay with a personal anecdote about her daughter. Her daughter wanted a Disney movie without a “mean lady”, as in most Disney films the villains are scary, evil women. The real life evidence strengthened her claim that children are noticing the characterization of female villains in Disney films. The antidote was brought fill circle when she referred back to her daughter in the final paragraphs of her essay.
Disney, why is it so attractive to children? Parents thought of this question before, but didn’t find any answer. Many young children grew up watching Disney television shows, films, and even buying Disney cartoon characters. For instance Walt Disney began his company to share love and spread fun for both children and adults. However when gender equality, oppression, and advertising become an issue and fear over the population over those years, Disney has been hit with various claims of taking the difference between male and female, focus desires, and attracting children with amazing advertisements.
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.
This movie represents everything that society says a real life princess should be; beautiful and silent. Ariel is the princess that shows that the innocent and quiet women will always win. Women in movies and books are often described as dependent, weak, self-critical, and passive. While there is a great deal of influence over younger girls, boys are also influenced through the slight humor in male characters. Prince Eric is described as masculine and has qualities including being a man of power, strong and self-confident.
