Analysis Of Disney 's ' Disney Princesses '

Throughout the last few years there has been a discussion on how Disney Princesses have a negative impact on young girls and their expectations on what lies in their future. Many Disney princess classics, although they are entertaining, send bad messages to young girls and often teach that their worth is more about beauty and less about their intelligence. The “ Disney princess effect” has impacted the way young girls grow and how they look upon their future and happy ending.

Attention Getter: As Walt Disney once stated, “To all who come to this happy place, Welcome. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Hoping that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to the entire world (IMDb, n.d.).”

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“Walt wanted to create an amusement park in which his cartoon characters could come to life and interact with the visitors.” A place where both parent and child could have fun. So in 1955 Walt purchased 160 acres of land in California and began the $17-million-dollar project to construct Disneyland. His vision of how he wanted to construct Disneyland was unpretentious. He wanted the entrance to embody a euphoric restoration of the conventional American main street. The goal was that people would walk down “Main Street, USA” and want to discover more by going to the other 4 different “dream lands,” he had creted: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland. Fantasyland was created to be more child orientated, where all of Disney’s

The effects of the portrayal of the princesses can be positive or negative. Young girls have become more imaginative by watching Disney films. According to Stephanie Hanes (n.p.), “’For 75 years, millions of little girls and their parents around the world have adored and embraced the diverse characters and rich stories featuring our Disney princesses.... [L]ittle girls experience the fantasy and imagination provided by these stories as a normal part of their childhood development’.” Also, children are encouraged to believe and hope. In most Disney movies, the characters convey the message that we can believe in true love (10 DISNEY MOMENTS THAT PROVE LOVE IS ALIVE AND WELL

we had tiger the cat he was a tom cat, when we moved to this house I was in Kindergarden we couldn't find him. Here the owners left Regan a big ol German Shepard, I turned his dog house into a club house (he was that big) once he ran away.. he scared me too cause he'd growl when I'd try to pet him (while he was eating).

Authors James Poniewozik and Peggy Orenstein are both concerned with the increase of princess culture among young girls. Poniewozik’s article “The Princess Paradox” and Orenstein's article “Cinderella and Princess Culture” discuss similar aspects of princess culture that could be potentially harmful to it’s audience. Both Poniewozik and Orenstein take on a feminist perspective in their articles. Specifically, both authors discuss feminist themes in princess culture but Orenstein focuses on toddler to pre-teen aged girls while Poniewozik is more concerned with specifically teenagers.

Little girls love everything about princesses: the beautiful doll replicas, the romantic love storybooks and movies, and the glittering play clothes that come with authentic-looking accessories and adornments. But some believe that letting little girls fantasize and indulge in their princess obsessions may bring more than pink sparkles into their lives. When Peggy Orenstein’s three-year-old daughter entered the “princess phase”, Orenstein became increasingly frustrated and concerned. As a feminist, she worried about the negative and damaging effects the princess obsession would have on her daughter’s self-esteem. In her article, “Cinderella and Princess Culture”, Orenstein openly makes the case that loving princesses may not be so harmless.

In our modern society parents want to know who the best role models are for their children; especially parents of young girls. Most girls are introduced to Disney Princesses at a young age, but what most parents don’t know is that not all Disney Princesses are positive role models of modern society. The princesses were amazing role models for their time but since then many opinions have changed on what is expected of women and what is not some; people in society today can argue weather certain qualities that the princesses posses are acceptable for today’s youth. The most famous princesses are the “Original Disney Princesses” :(in chronological order) Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan.

Karen Wohlwend discusses the effects of the princesses on both young boys and girls in her articles Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess Play, and The Boys Who Would Be Princesses: Playing With Gender Identity Intertexts in Disney Princess Transmedia. She discusses ideas regarding how Disney appears in many ways in a small girls’ life, beginning with watching their favorite Disney movies on repeat, and then owning every item that is possible to put a face of their favorite characters on. Disney has released items such as CD’s, bedding, Tupperware, bath toys, stuffed animals, Princess dolls, and much more; so, pretty much anything someone could think of, Disney had stuck a face of a princess or two on it. Wolhwend’s study took place in her kindergarten classroom of 21 students, and she analyzed how the children played over the course of a few weeks. She had begun to notice after several weeks that there are certain themes that certain students liked to play, ranging from playing super heroes to playing “Disney Princesses.” The group whom loved to play Princesses consisted of girls and even boys playing roles of famous, identifiable characters ranging from Snow White, to Aladdin. There was 5 children in this group, and they all played roles that had to do with family values and cultural traditions, and

perpetuated over the years throughout Disney’s movies. Disney is one of the largest media companies in the world. According to Forbes, the “net worth and market capitalization of Disney Company has been estimated as $103.96 billion in 2013” ("Walt Disney Company Net Worth - Celebrity Net Worth,”). From the premiere of the Steamboat Willie cartoons in 1928 Disney has transformed pop culture as we know it today. This paper is designed to look into four major issues gender identity, gender roles, ethnicity, social class throughout Disney’s Cinderella (1950) and Frozen (2013). I aim to show that in these films can be found a subtle manual for social norms, a supplier of dominant family values. I will assess certain sociological concepts that are represented in these films namely ‘The American Dream’, standardization, pseudo-individualism and the creation of false needs. As a society, the understanding of these issues are instrumental to our being since our identity is often distorted through long term norms, ideals and merits set forth through these animated films.

Growing up my sister and I would fight nearly everyday. We would scream and throw items at each other. We would hit and scratch each other. Dealing with our behaviour was probably a nightmare for my mother. Although, on a rare occasion my sister and I would get along. Many times it was when we were watching television or a Disney princess movie. We would decide who would set up the movie in the basement on the VCR. The other would run upstairs and grab blankets for us to lay on. The one who set up the movie set up the blankets while the other ran back upstairs to grab candy, popcorn, and soda. We would be completely mesmerized by the magic of Disney and occasionally ate some of the snacks we grabbed. All good Disney princesses should have certain characteristics in order to be considered a Disney princess.

What young girl does not dream of becoming a princess and living in a castle happily ever after? Virtually every young girl identifies with princesses and has watched at least one Disney Princess movie. From the first movies of Snow White and Cinderella, to the later movies of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, to the most current movie Moana, Disney Princess movies permeate not only the movie theaters, but also our culture. In fact, “becoming a princess is as easy as purchasing a tiara and hosting a princess-themed birthday party or buying a Halloween costume and playing pretend” (Garabedian, 2014, p. 23). Nonetheless, as declared by Princess Merida in the movie Brave, “there comes a day when I don’t have to be a princess. No rules, no expectations. A day where anything can happen. A day where I can change my fate” (Andrews & Chapman, 2012). In other words, does the life of a princess measure up to the expectations of little girls everywhere? The Disney Princess brand has grown incredibly popular, especially with young girls. In spite of this, the franchise has also become extremely controversial due to potential gender stereotypes in the films. “Gender is one of the most discussed topics in today’s society…[it] represents and also reproduces certain attributes, expectations and roles which are associated with male and female…influencing the views and opinions of future generations” (Maity, 2014, p. 31). Yet, is the Disney Princess brand harmful to young children due to gender stereotypes? Two essays that contemplate the Disney Princess brand and gender stereotypes with opposite viewpoints on this controversial issue are “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” by writer Monika Bartyzel and “In Defense of Princess Culture” by writer and mother Crystal Liechty. However, Liechty’s essay “In Defense of Princess Culture,” is the most effective article in convincing the audience of her point of view due to the claim, support, warrant, language, and vocabulary employed.

Watching the trailers before movies in the theater and going home waiting for the day the movie comes out. The anticipation would build up and excitement would grow day by day. Finally, the day would come and walking out there would be no disappointment. Disney never fails to make great movies and it’s all due to certain characteristics they apply in the best films.

Growing up, all I ever did was watch Disney movies and the Disney channel. Now as I’m older, I can’t help but realize that all the movies are exactly the same. The princess is stuck in a dilemma and then a perfect prince comes along and saves her and then they marry in the end. Other than a similar plot, all the movies have very similar character traits. England, Descartes, and Collier-Meek in Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses explain the characters, “traditionally masculine (e.g., athletic, brave) and traditionally feminine (e.g., helpful, nurturing) characteristics exhibited by the prince and princess characters through