Rhetorical Analysis Of ' Why Are All The Cartoon Mothers ' Dead?

In current society today, technology is advancing at a rapid rate and with so much exposure to the media it is difficult to control what is being seen by children. Disney is one of the largest and most successful companies in the film industry. From children 4 years old to adults and every age in between, Disney has found a way to create films that entertain all ages. The seemingly innocent content of Disney movies are enjoyed from a very young age; however, behind the colorful and lighthearted storylines of many Disney films lies many unreasonable social ideologies that children may be subconsciously becoming accustomed to. In her work, “Where Do the Mermaids Stand,” Laura Sells discusses the hidden messages in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Sells explains how this movie expresses a hierarchy of gender and exaggerated femininity by demeaning the role of women in society. Susan Jeffords, author of “The Curse of Masculinity,” discusses similar ideologies in her article. This article looks at Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and focuses primarily the role of men and the how they perform to fit into this white male system by means of upholding hegemonic masculinity. The two articles “Where do the Mermaids stand” and “The curse of Masculinity,” bring to attention the reinforcement of the white male system, the racialization in the white male system, and the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity in beloved childhood Disney movies.

In this cartoon, the artist captures what standardized testing does for students which, according to the cartoon, is absolutely nothing. The cartoonist uses labeling to indicate the he is referring to the expression “ Square peg, Round hole.” This is posted on a sign behind the student so that the audience is drawn to it after looking at the student. This allows the audience to understand the cartoon. Otherwise, the audience might not know that the student is being compared to a round hole. The analogy here is comparing students and standardized testing to a square peg and a round hole. This allows the audience to understand that standardized testing does not work. The exaggeration here is that standardized testing could

Another issue that Lippi-Green observed and commented on are, the use of gender and marital status stereotypes in Disney films. Disney denotes the idea that to be desirable, you should look a certain way and "sound white" (97). Children are presented with the idealistic view that the leading male characters in search of a mate have "bulging necks and overly muscular thighs" (95) and spoke in "Mainstream United States English." Male characters are often the stronger and rougher who need women to care and tend to them. Lead female characters who are in search of their mate, epitomize how a conventional woman should be. From the physical aspect of being "doe-eyed and tiny waist " (95), to the "homemaker" status as portrayed in Disney films. There are no romantic leads given to the "mothers," they are often widowed and less desirable. The portrayal of "fathers" in Disney films is similar to the "mothers" with the addition of the comical characterization for some.

One of the main controversies discussed in this video is the way that Disney portrays women

The animated films that Walt Disney haved played has an huge impact on American culture whether you watched the films during childhood or adulthood. The films, in some aspects, ironically reflect American’s society. When watching a disney animated film, have you ever noticed how mother characters are absent in cartoon movies? Disney discards mother characters in children’s films; they either die at the beginning or randomly disappear. Ariel, the little mermaid, discovers a new part of life without growing up with a mother. Nemo, the lost and confused fish, takes on an epic, solo adventure without the help from his parents. Even Bambi, the innocent and loving deer, is left stranded after his mother’s death. Parent roles are critical in Disney films because each of the parent roles-no parents, single parent, adopted parent-impacts the child differently.

Disney’s Pixar has always had a traditionally “alpha male” role for its leading male characters, but there is possibly a “new male model” concept that has overtaken this predominant alpha male role as portrayed in the article, “Post-Princess models of gender: The new man in Disney/Pixar” by Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden. Within the article, Gillam and Wooden use a well-structured article with supportive examples that effectively strengthen their ideas and theories. The observation in Disney’s Pixar promotes a new male model in their films which expresses more feminine traits is effectively reinforced by the author’s success in organizing the evidence and examples which support their ideas: also the authors effective use of structuring the article to draw your attention to the main issues being discussed to successfully connect to their thesis. Effective introduction of their topics and ideas in a sufficient orderly fashion and present these ideas which give a lot of their theories and ideas strength in persuading the readers to think a certain way about the topic. The authors succeed in addressing their theory that in Disney’s Pixar films there is a new male model which has transformed the previously “unambiguous alpha” male role.

In the past years, Disney/Pixar has revolutionized the premise of their movies by shifting away from princesses and portraying resilient male characters as the protagonists of their highly successful animated feature films. From 1995 to 2008, Disney/Pixar released eight films, all of which included a male lead, yet these characters are arguably unlike any other protagonist in early Disney animated films. In their essay, “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden call attention to the new manner Disney/Pixar use to depict their heroic male characters in their movies. Gillam and Wooden claim that Pixar is using their movies to promote the acceptance of a new standard of masculinity capable of embracing feminine traits, as conveyed by the male characters within the films. As a viewer, it is easy to recognize the emasculation of the male protagonists within Pixar movies, however, the authors’ claim is faulty; they fail to acknowledge that society now has room for a new sympathetic man because it is straying way from a patriarchal beliefs of the past.

Disney has been notorious for perpetuating gender stereotypes for women through their movies, and since the

Walt Disney over the years has impacted the lives of millions of children with his animated films. His Disney movies have evolved in the last years and have moved from the traditional damsel in distress theme. Specifically, the classic movie Cinderella gives the wrong idea about what it is to be a woman for young girls. The movie portrays a young woman facing emotional, mental, and physical abuse by her evil stepmother and later falls in love with a charming prince. However, if viewers take a closer look, Disney’s anti feminist message is firmly emphasized. The story of Cinderella is sexist due to it’s lesson to girls that beauty and submission will award them a rich bachelor. This is seen through Cinderella’s submissive behavior, Prince

In Henry Giroux’s book, “The Mouse that Roared” he argues that Disney animated movies lead to the end of innocence in children. He focuses mainly on the images that Disney portrays towards gender roles and gender stereotyping. He primarily targets the issues that women are portrayed as being subordinate to men and are viewed as property and objects of desire instead of as human beings. Giroux is unconvincing in his argument because he writes above the level of thinking and comprehension that most children who are exposed to Disney films would posses; by focusing on specific scenes, while ignoring the overall morals throughout the rest of

One of the most destructive ways in which classic animated Disney movies are providing young boys with false and distorted images of masculinity, are the ways in which men are shown in relationship to women. Most Disney movies revolve around a heterosexual relationship containing a hero and heroine. Feminists have studied what these characters tell girls about themselves, but it is just as important if not more important to understand what these movies are telling boys about how real men interact with and treat women. Often the message to boys both explicitly and implicitly is that men should view women as objects of pleasure or as servants to please them. A perfect example of this misrepresentation is in the movie Mulan. In Mulan, and entire song called “A Girl Worth Fighting For”, explains what a man is looking for in a woman. Some of these traits include cooking, cleaning, and looking beautiful for her husband. This quote

1.Throughout our readings we have seen gender performed in many ways from Toddlers in Tiaras to the discussion of Feminist Masculinity and the questions of motherhood and its prices. In Cinderella Ate my Daughter, Peggy Orenstein lays out the many way we have taught our girl to be princesses and argues whether or not the princess culture is good for young girls. Orenstein talks about how toy companies are gendering not only their toys, but also their advertisements making everything glitter pink or baby blue. She even talks about how babies weren’t colored coded until the early twentieth century. Orenstein lays it all starting from the beginning with girls and the color pink and taking it to the end with female bodies and objectification.

One famous and notable example of children’s films are those produced by the beloved Walt Disney Company, a company which exerts “a powerful influence on children’s media…contributing to a new “girlhood” that is largely defined by gender and consumption of related messages and products” (England, Descartes & Collier-Meek, 2011). England, Descartes and Collier-Meek (2011) also claim that Disney films are highly accessible to children and that they are a popular choice of both children and their parents. While some may see Disney films as wholesome and family-friendly, Zarranz (2007) sees something deeper—he sees past the innocent nature of the films to a deeper level, a level of “power relations and adult sexuality”. Zarranz (2007) discusses various ways that popular animated Disney films are harmful to women, from setting dangerous body-image ideals to patriarchal social structures in The Little Mermaid, to hyper-sexualisation and colonization themes in Pocahontas, to expected housekeeping duties and need to be rescued in Cinderella. These themes do nothing more than perpetuate overused and damaging

Although animated cartoons have long been associated with children’s entertainment, many cartoons suggest they are for adults as well. Ranging from character portrayal to perceived gender roles, cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo both reflect societal values from their time periods as well as perpetuate the developed stereotypes. Comparing the earliest popular cartoons to more recent productions, shows progress towards a less stereotypical character portrayal in regards to gender.

For decades now, Disney Corporation has been providing us with countless films made to delight and amuse children and adults alike. But not all Disney films seem particularly appropriate for their target audience. Many of these films portray violence, gender inequality, and skewed views of leadership roles that seem altogether inappropriate for impressionable young children. Better and more contemporary heroines need to be added to Disney’s wall of princesses in order to counteract years of sexism.