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Stereotypes In Disney Movies

Decent Essays

There is a lot of pressure to conform to what society thinks is right. The media influences people how to look and act a certain way. One thing many people might not realize that influences children are Disney animated films. Disney animated movies are what many people grew up watching. Looking further into the popular animated movies, there is a lot to be said about the stereotypes found in them. The purpose of this research is to explain the stereotypes found in Disney animated films. Common stereotypes shown in Disney movies are the classification of gender roles and the perception of beauty. Almost every Disney movie has a villain in it. Villains are often easy to pick out because they are always portrayed a certain way. The females are …show more content…

Certainty, assertiveness, and affectionate behavior were the most commonly portrayed character traits in the princess movies. In real life, women are usually doing more housework than the men. In the princess movies this is seen as well. For example, Snow White and Cinderella, the princesses are singing and expressing happiness while doing chores (England 1). The princesses were not portrayed as physically strong, unemotional, or inspiring fear, however, these characteristics were more common among the princes (England 1). The female roles in Disney movies are often always getting saved by a young man; however, the latest Disney character, Sophia the First, has been released in Australia and is different from most storylines. The princess does not get rescued. Nancy Kanter, general manager of Disney Junior Worldwide, disclosed that the company is unlikely to create another princess who is being saved by a man (Sams 2). Gender roles are typical stereotypes shown in Disney …show more content…

Frozen tells the story of two sisters, Queen Elsa of Arendelle and her sister, Anna. Unknowing to Anna, Elsa has magical powers, where she can create snow and ice from her hands. One day, unable to control her power, her secret is revealed, and she flees the kingdom. Anna goes out into the snowy mountains to get her sister back, and on the way she meets mountainman, Kristoff, and Olaf, a friendly snowman. At first glance, Frozen seems to be another Disney princess film where the hero, the man, saves the distressed heroine. However, the love between the two sisters is more important than any man. Frozen co-director and scriptwriter, Jennifer Lee, says “I think the focus of this was really the relationship between the sisters and it’s not something we’ve really explored much at Disney” (Gee 1). Less than a half an hour into the movie, Anna meets Prince Hans and accepts his marriage proposal shortly after meeting him. This shows why the cliché is unrealistic and inane. It also shows that it is unsafe because in the end, Prince Hans turns out to be a two-faced villain. Jennifer Lee and co-director, Chris Buck, never show Anna or Elsa being rescued by men. Anna sees Kristoff from across the ice, hesitates and decides to help her sister instead. The love between Anna and Elsa is what Frozen wants its audience to see as “true love” (Leon 2). Frozen is a change from movies like The Little

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