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.
In “Donkeyskin,” Charles Perrault tells the story of a princess whose mother passed away wishing the king to only marry someone who is smarter and more beautiful than she is. The king wish to marry his own daughter so she ran away with the lavish gowns and donkey skin he had given her. In Jack Zipes “Breaking The Disney Spell,” he argues that Disney appropriates the fairy tales and injects his “all-American” morals and values into them. By putting his idealistic vision into films for everyone, Zipe claims that Disney insults the historical integrity of the folklore tradition, deceiving audiences with an illusion of happy fairy tales. Like Zipes, who argues that fairy tales validates the social norms and power structures, Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin shows that the value of women is their beauty and for them wait for the male to make the first move.
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
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.
The audiences choose some of those characters as role models. Hercules is very great looking and for an average person in order to get a body like him takes years of training, healthy eating and strict diet. As children see him, they want to be like him and that leads them to not eating properly or try lifting heavy objects in order for that to happen which is very dangerous for their health. On the other hand there is Megara, beautiful women with very thin body and she looks flawless doing about anything while average girls don’t even look that skinny or flawless doing anything, “many Disney princess films portray various stereotypical images, they can be detrimental to a young girl’s development of a positive self-image despite the various positive messages and life lessons the films often convey” (Bispo, N.D, page 2). Disney with the way it shows female, male characters bring many young people’s self esteem down.
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.
In today's society, the issue of gender roles has always been divisive and is still a source of contention for many. Remarks made about women in the media and even in person have always presented difficulties for women. Isabelle Gill writes about the prejudice that women still experience today and how it affects how princesses are perceived. Her article's goal was to highlight the distinctions between men and women in Disney tales. Isabelle talks about how princesses in movies receive unfair criticism and why they should be given more credit.
The movie “The Princess and the Frog” is not your typical “boy saves girl” movie. Instead, this Disney movie presents us with a strong female lead who doesn’t need a man to achieve her goals. In many previous Disney movies, it is demonstrated that a girl needs a man in order to get her happily ever after. Without a prince, she is nothing. In “The Princess and the Frog” the gender roles are presented to us as equal, even reverse at times.
Disney: The Rise of Animations The animation of movies and television have been constantly evolving and changing the entertainment industry. Disney is one of the top industries that has been expanding their business through their box office animation movies. Disney is one of the top animated studios alongside: DreamWorks, Warner Bros Animation, Studio Ghibli, Blue Sky Studio, and Illumination Entertainment. Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated film.
In addition, sexuality is major picture that Disney movies promote. Women sexual bodies with big breasts, tiny waists, long eyelashes, and sexy expressions are all images of all the women in Disney. To prove this, Hercules, Aladdin and pocahontas are Disney movies that sexualize the women bodies. They teach kids, especially girls that if you want something, use your body to get what you want. Unfortunately, this is a very wrong image that Disney is teaching the
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).
“The word ‘Disney’ alone puts smiles on many faces,” (Pederson), and I believe it to be true. Disney has the capability to bring happiness to people worldwide, and bringing the magic to life with Disneyworld and Disneyland. Disney has created a plethora of animations and films, but the all time favorite for the majority of girls are the princesses. I’ve always imagined the day I would share the stories and movies of Disney Princesses when I have children (boy or girl). Disney princesses give young girls a chance to use their figment of imagination through entertainment, positive behavior, and teach them the evaluation of women’s roles.
When we think about the villains Disney cinema produces, the first image that comes to mind is the powerful women who use their magic to cast spells, summon forces greater than life, and enhance their agency. Often, identifying the villain in Disney films is easy, since they differ considerably from gender conforming characters due to their physical features, abilities, and style of dress. When examining the villain, one of the characteristics that stand out, is the villains’ dehumanization and non-heteronormativity. As a result, the villains’ stories may not adhere to idealistic social norms, but it’s their own just the same.
Since the 1930’s, Disney has been producing adaptations of fairy tales. Disney is known for their use of stereotypical images which is prominent still in today’s society. The first Disney film emerged with the adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and soon after that came Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Since the beginning, when the fairy tale princesses were “born”, it became evident that young girls and women were trying to imitate their behaviors. Young girls and women identify themselves as these character which affects not only how they view themselves but also their future roles in society based on the girls’ unrealistic beliefs.
Hundreds of Disney movies, such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, have been created throughout the decades have taught many Americans valuable life lessons. When watching the films, we may not realize the impact that they have on our thinking and way of life, but as the stories are watched by generation after generation, it is clear that the popularity of the movies is not based solely on the fact that there are pretty princesses. Many children idolize the characters and make them their heroes, striving to be just like them. In doing so, they are enveloping those characters’ actions into their own character traits. The goodness expressed by many characters in Disney movies has rubbed off onto Americans over the years,
