Media and the Antifeminist Agenda
The cinema conveys representations of race, gender, and class that indicate the development and cultural ideologies of society. Motion pictures illustrate and are depicted from real life settings, and it is for this reason that the cinema plays a vital role in shaping and sustaining cultural normalcies. Socialization of gender and identity are mirrored through sexist media depictions that convey the relative positions of women and men in modern western democracies. There are substantial quantities of motion pictures that ascribe traditional gender roles to both men and women that continue to perpetuate social constructs of inequality. Contemporary media places men and women in defined categories, and
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On a lighter note, Disney’s animated feature Tangled (a take on Grimm’s fairytale Rapunzel) is funny and visually stunning; however, it rekindles the same plot and recurring theme across all genres. As a woman, you can be one of two things, either a princess awaiting rescue from her prince or an evil stepmother (witch). On the contrary, as a man, you get all the action, and in many aspects, the world is handed to you. Rapunzel, imprisoned within the tower since a child, is a meek like female with green eyes, blonde hair, and a teeny waist who sings about doing chores and wonders when her life will begin. Rapunzel is stereotypically overly emotional, swinging from one end of a mood swing to another, overly preoccupied with being saved, and of course, is beautiful. Beauty, with respect to this context, equals white, blonde, thin and young. In a modern day perspective, this is problematic because her body represents the celebration of White femininity and disregards other ethnicities. Not only does this movie portray females from a stereotypical frame work, but it induces a false perception of beauty, one that we must all attain or strive for.
Carrying on Disney’s tradition of problematic representations of race, of the 15 Disney princess’s movie franchise ever produced, only four have been non-white
“Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender”, further highlights the difference between males and females in media giving specific examples from a variety of movies. In this article, an emphasis is also made that media is the most persuasive influence on how we as a society view men and women. Male focused films tend to embody the stereotype of men being tough, independent, sexually aggressive, etc. and lack the interest in participating in homely activities or the care of children. Women, on the other hand, are typically displayed as young, thin, dependent on men,
Many have criticized Disney for their lack of minority representation in their line of Disney princesses. Disney’s debut of their twelfth princess, Anna of Arendelle from their recent film Frozen, marks their eighth “white” princess, leaving only four as “people of color.” Although she was not the first minority princess Disney debuted, Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog was the most anticipated out of the four. African-American moms and children had looked forward to the representation of African-Americans in Disney films for years. Princess Tiana made her debut as the first black princess over 70 years after Disney’s first- Snow White (Cheu). However,
Disney creates gender roles, racial roles, and white supremacy through socialization within their motion pictures. For example, Walt Disney’s “Snow White”, “Fantasia”, and even “The Little Mermaid” all show females as obscenely beautiful, male dependent and flirtatious creatures who couldn’t save themselves from a Chinese finger trap. Males are the perfectly sculpted rescuers who can be easily wooed by a woman’s body; and these exaggerated roles create a false standard for children and can lead to severely underdeveloped sociological skills. Moving onto the racial roles; in the movie “All dogs go to
The media, particularly the film industry, has been both confirming and challenging social constructs since its beginnings and has the capability to influence its point-of-view its viewers in ways that other sources of media simply cannot. After all, many of us remember during our childhood re-enacting our favorite scenes from our favorite movies with our friends. While many may not give this a second thought, some of the movie characters we strive to be like behave in a way that is misogynistic, violent, or disreputable. Furthermore, some films produced are confirming conservative gender ideologies which can also be dangerous because the viewer may then believe that adhering to these ideologies is acceptable and rebelling against it may prove
Disney movies are very popular and majority of every little girl knows Disney princesses. Disney do not care how the films of Disney princesses reflect on children. They do not think it is important to show the self-worth of all different race, especially if it do not put another dollar in their pocket. They know exactly what song and characters that will grab a child attention. Hurley argues that “Fairy tales, therefore, have an important role to play in shaping the self-image and belief system of children” (p.221).
In 2009, Disney launched their first black princess ever in the movie “The Princess and the Frog”. The black princess, however, spends most of the movie as a frog. She was a poor princess and her mother worked for white people. This enforces the stereotypes that African-Americans are majority poor or part of the lower class. There was also a gender stereotype since the princess was still helpless alone and needed a man to help her launch her dream of opening up a restaurant. “While some critics and audiences may argue that disney made good on eliminating the most overt representations of sexism and racism in the princess and the frog, others may argue that the company likewise failed to counter Micheal claim that disney films and theme parks tender as a norman rockwell painting.” In this article Breaux concentrates on the representations of the historical crossing of race and gender in Disney's The Princess and the Frog and black women in animated film in the USA. It explains more on how Disney and Pixar studio executives and animators to use The Princess and the Frog to respond to its critics claims about the perpetuation of sexism and racism in its animated features. It has three important sections which explains how Disney attempted to answer criticism about the absence of African Americans and mothers in its films, the presence of physically over-sexualized and emotionally prince-dependent, and the representations of animated black women in the history of film and Disney's rewriting or sanitizing of African American history and denial of its and our nation's racist past. In Mulan (1998), she is struggling with the image that her family and society have established on her. She must be presentable as a bride to uphold her family honor. However, when her aging father is called upon to military service when the huns invade, Mulan takes it upon herself to act like a man and take her father’s place. Mulan is trying to make something of herself without obtaining male companionship. Mulan doesn’t adjust with traditional views of feminine behavior. Rather, she challenges these views. Mulan cares more about justifying her duty and saving her father than romantic connections. Mulan definitely had the greatest
According to Cheu (2015), Disney films are criticized for their “reliance on racial tropes and racist representation in both their classic films and more recent attempts to create films that incorporate diversity” (p.92). In the films like Pocahontas (1995), The Little Mermaid (1985), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), and Aladdin (1993), there are stereotypical images of each woman’s ethnicity and over-sexualization of women of color which highlights their differences and otherness. The portrayal of race in Disney films not only affect its viewers, but it is also a reflection of how our society views and feels about such topics. We will discuss four Disney films that have caught our attention with their racial remarks, innuendos, and portrayals.
Disney reigns supreme, and part of that supreme reign is an unquestionable privileging of patriarchy, and in particular: whiteness. Beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, all of Disney’s princesses have been predominantly white. As Walt Disney Company sets its position as a media powerhouse, it places itself the center of controversy with its recent movie The Princess and the Frog. The film is steeped in racial controversy since Disney first announced their plans for the first black princess.
Chenault 1Kali ChenaultSynEnglish 1410February 26, 2017Disney Will Never Learn BetterSince the beginning, Disney has been releasing movies that become extremely dubious tosociety. Disney Princesses are a subgroup of Disney movies that are arguably best known fortheir controversies. Everyone seems to have their own opinions and views about the intentions ofthe company when it comes to the Disney Princesses. To many people, Disney has been plaguedas a racist, sexist and stereotype-using production company. They seem to have a problem withchange, and it shows with their depiction of the Disney Princesses. These princesses haven’tchanged much from when they were first created, formally known as the Classical Era. Sincethen, two more eras have been
Disney is a massive media company, from producers and providers of entertainment internationally family and media enterprise with networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, and cooperative media. Disney has taken a lot of disparagement for enacting sexist stereotypes in their movies when their main characters being females. This day and age, every moment counts in children’s education and culture. Overall parents want their kids’ entertainment to be not just fun, but also educational. Therefore,when Disneys movies send the wrong meaning or show wrongful images parents push away from the films away from their kids. These female characters who be situated to look for just romance and a rescue from a prince like the other Disney films that typically are focused on the concept of “true love.” By assembling Disney’s records of their past films with female roles it moves toward that Disney only comprehends women as fragile, incapable, and dependent women because of their roles in the movies.
One thousand years go by and an abundant amount of people still view women in a stereotypical type of way. On the opposing view, if women did not overstretch the slightest of things, this wouldn’t be such an enormous issue. Women may be overreacting to what the media has to say about them. It is not affecting everybody but a vast majority of successful women from continuing to moving forward said Marianne Schnall. Important to realize, women are capable of doing jobs men can do. Such jobs as being an engineer, physician, mechanic, lawyer and even top notch business women! Up to the present time there is an ongoing public debate on women suffering from double standards. If it makes a female feel threatened or belittled than it may be
Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite
So, how does the gendered image in Disney princesses affect children, especially girls? As the examples of both sexism and racism in Disney princess movies specifically emphasize the princesses’ pale skin tones, narrow waist and full breasts (England et al 2011, 556), the image of princesses represented in Disney movies gives children a false image of the ideal woman, both physically and mentally. Young-Eisendrath argues: “Throughout the centuries of patriarchal art and literature, we find a recurring image of the desire-awakening maiden, who is portrayed as the exact opposite of the
Many elements of Walt Disney’s film reflect aspects of the society we live in and its ideals. For instance, the Evil Queen’s well-known line, “Magic Mirror, on the wall, who, now, is the fairest one of all?”, is problematic. The diction of the word “fairest”, meaning pale skinned, suggests that light skin is relative to beauty, an issue that is still prevalent and controversial within society today. One of the many examples to support this claim is the lack of inclusiveness of darker skinned individuals
Studies regarding gender roles in media show that the feminine essence tends to be depicted as inferior, with women often being marginalized, disempowered and humiliated through a status that is based on their youth and looks; whilst men tend to be portrayed as superior with higher and longer lasting careers