Essay on Societies’ Take on Gender and Disney Movies

The Walt Disney or simply ”Disney” is an American mass media corporation, it was founded be Walt Disney and his brother Roy o Disney in October 16 1923. It is one of the biggest animation industries with it’s hand in live-action film, television and theme park. The company current name was came in 1986 and expanding in different area’s like theater, radio, music, publishing and online media. It is one of the biggest organization which has many product of it’s different sectors. From television to media to theme park to publishing it has many hands. It is the leader in animation industries. Now it is one of the leading organizations with annual revenue of 45 billion. It was Walt’s understanding that coordinating the talents of the people he hired, and pointing them at the direction of his ultimate goal was his most important job. Walt was an innovative and visionary man that used his animation background to co-found, manage, and set the platform for The Walt Disney Company’s future. Disney has five main

When Disney introduces new princesses, the first observation made is one concerning beauty. Often times, when Disney designs princesses, the definition of beauty implies a slim waistline, big eyes, and a perfect

Disney strongly portrays gendered stereotypes using their eleven official princesses. Young children, specifically young girls in this case, are extremely susceptible to being influenced by the portrayal of these gendered stereotypes. Golden and Jacoby performed research regarding how preschool girls interpret the gendered stereotypes shown through Disney Princess media, through both the young girls’ pretend play behaviors and the discussion of the princesses. Golden and Jacoby performed this research project in order to examine the perception of young girls in relation to princesses and awareness of gender-role stereotypes, a different research study found that girls who lived and accepted gendered stereotypes, in believing that women

As explained in Judith Lorber’s excerpt from “‘Night To His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender”, gender is a socially constructed concept that everyone unconsciously adheres to (Lorber). As a socially constructed concept, representations of gender roles can reinforce or challenge the stereotypical images. In Killing Us Softly 4, Jean Kilbourne analyzed the advertisement industry’s representation of women and argued that the media plays a huge role in shaping gender formations (Kilbourne). Although objectification of women is still a prevalent issue, Kilbourne acknowledged that there are efforts nowadays that challenges the unrealistic representations of women and femininity (Kilbourne). Inspired partly by Killing Us Softly 4, the project is my way to reflect on how the Disney movies I had watched as I grow up represented gender.

Disney directly exposes the idea that young girls should make their main goal in life to find their prince charming, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. Making young girls’ aspiration in life revolve around finding a man of their dreams “transfix[es the] audience and divert[s] their potential utopian dreams and hopes through the false promises of the images [Disney] cast[s] upon the screen” (22). Disney tells the audience that women need a man to be happy. Disney presents the idea that women are dependent on me. Just like in The Little Mermaid, Ariel goes as far as surrendering her voice, to a witch named Ursula, and abandoning her family in order to be with her prince. Ariel also trades in her life as a mermaid, drastically changes her body, and sacrifices her greatest talent all in order to win her prince. Disney sends the message that girls need to give up their talents and lives in order to be with a man. Disney suggests that a woman’s main priority is her lover, no one or nothing else. Disney effectively portrays women in a negative way, depicting them as weak and needy. No attempt to break the stereotypical gender roles of women are evident however, these stereotypes are growing as Disney instills this image of women in the minds of viewers.

The portrayal of Feminine aspects within Disney movies has been widely criticized, however the way masculinity is portrayed in films is also very controversial but infrequently discussed. My goal for this research paper is to look at two Disney films through a feminist lens and queer lens to decipher any stereotypical aspects of masculinity that are shown within the main characters. I am hopeful to find a film that breaks the norm of having a masculine main character that is hyper masculine like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast or Jaffar from Aladdin. I would also like to analyze the damsel in distress situations in films where the male role seems to always be the heroic figure even when they aren’t the main character in the story. Even though

When you think of Disney, you think about how everyone lives their happy ever after fairytale. Most Americans grew up with Disney and have a strong connection with the brand. Yet, there is a lot more to a classic Disney film, then what the average American sees the first time viewing.

Children were running around inspecting the entire store while their parents watched over them in hopes they wouldn't break anything too expensive. In all this confusion, I had lost sight of my younger sister who was now busy looking at the collection of princess dolls, with a few other girls. As I made my way towards my sister, I couldn't help but notice that many of the dolls had been glamorized and put into extravagant dresses, emphasizing their princess status. Mulan no longer had short hair or armor but long flowing hair, dressed in a traditional Geisha dress completely dismantling her warrior status, emphasizing her feminine qualities instead.

The way the female body is presented in Disney produced films represents current socio-cultural assumptions of what the female body should look like (Johnson). These princesses reflect social standards of beauty. To be beautiful you must be young, thin, attractive, and elegant.

According to A Dictionary of Journalism, the media is defined as journalism as part of a much broader field of public communication organizations, including newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV channels, the film industry, the music industry, websites, advertising, and public relations. For young children, media plays a predominant role in developing schemas of one’s identity, including body image, and gender roles. Young children spend the majority of their time viewing media, therefore the process of generating one’s identity based on his or her observation of media is inevitable. Disney’s princess movies have brought significant effects to children’s development of their identities. There are three main stages of Disney movies. The first stage is the “princess” stage, where the movie depicts the most stereotypes (i.e. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). The second stage is the “rebellious” stage, where the princesses are illustrated as curious and adventurous, yet still show the aspect of female stereotypes (i.e. Jasmine in Aladdin). The third stage is the “hero” stage, where the princesses are shown to fight the female stereotypes (i.e. Mulan). Although Disney has portrayed more complex, yet evolving gender roles as time went on, Disney’s princess movies had significant effects on young audiences by planting changing gender stereotypes.

Growing up watching Disney films is a fond memory that many people share, including myself. Older, and now deemed as ‘classic’ Disney films are funny, heartfelt, endearing and produced an all around joyful experience. With the Disney Corporation as “one of the largest media companies in the world” (Towbin et al. 2004:19), it is easy to see why Disney films are the most popular among children’s entertainment (2004). A large and very significant aspect that is typically not associated in everyday conversation about Disney films is the topic of gender roles and how they can impact society. In this paper I will be focusing on the gender roles illustrated in Disney films with specific attention on Cinderella (1950), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991). I hope to demonstrate and compare the gender roles of men and women within these films and discuss the relation between Disney films and society based on a feminist perspective.

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.

Disney/Mass Media constructs a false reality related to behavior and appearance of males and females. In any typical Disney fairy tale movie, story, or advertisement the appearance of the characters in the fairy tale are all alike. The princesses share all the same physical characteristics such as blond or brown long beautiful hair, a small waste, big bust, and they all share a sexual appeal. The princes or men in the fairy tales are

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.

Disney is one of the most successful and largest companies in the world. They have their hand in nearly every form of entertainment as well as media, and broadcasting. Disney is best known for their animated films, unique cartoon characters, catchy musicals, and fairy tales that most of us were first introduced to as children. They are one of the few entertainment companies in the World whose primary demographic is children and teens. Nearly everybody is familiar with the Disney name and its brand, and its realistic to suggest that nearly everybody has experienced a Disney film and animated character at some point in their lives; which may have helped to influence them or their behaviors or even their