Strong Women In Disney Movies

Walt Disney Productions prestige is to never disappoint and their latest movie Frozen, is no exception. The movie centers around the lives of two sisters, kind-hearted Anna and the frightened Snow Queen Elsa. Fearless Anna sets off on a journey to find her sister, who flees to an icy mountain after she accidentally traps the kingdom of Arendelle in an eternal winter with her ice powers. Disney’s 2013 animated film reeled in its target audience and more; the film intended to appeal to children’s of all ages surprisingly enough enticed a wider audience largely comprised of non-families. Disney’s reputation for promoting happiness and the well-being of American families led to the direct success of the movie Frozen. The film met its purpose, depicting a touching storyline – showing the importance of family and undermining the traditional concept of “true love.” Furthermore, Walt Disney Productions established sufficient credibility within its viewers and audience with the use of artistic proofs such as; ethos, logos, and pathos. Disney’s tradition is to provide the audience with an educational piece of entertainment, Frozen is undeniably one of those Disney animated films worth seeing. Walt Disney Productions strategic use of rhetoric made it evident that the movie was going to be an all-time hit – some may even say “the biggest children’s film of all time” – simply because it was just that, a Disney movie.

In general, with Disney movies, female character has less dialogue compared to male characters (Guo, 2016). Movies like Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other princess movies character may not have any skills other than clearing and singing, but have no dialogue. Movies with female protagonists like Frozen, which has two female protagonists, has half the amount of dialogue compared to male side characters. The Princess and The Frog, with one of the only person of color, has less female dialogue than The Little Mermaid, which story is based on a mermaid who loses her voice. The messages of love within the stories range from “Silence is consent”, a lesson learned in Snow White as the prince kisses her in her sleep without another verbal consent to “If you want the one you love, change everything about yourself”, as seen in Cinderella when she changes from rags to riches.

Not only do Disney princesses result in bad self esteem, they also encourage passiveness and reliance on others. The feminine and vulnerable side of these princesses, reflect the reliance on their hero and true love. The Disney princess stereotype insinuates that girls should be sweet and submissive, and should fully rely on a male-counterpart. Conversely, new characters, such as Elsa (Frozen), Rapunzel (Tangled), and Merida (Brave), do not express this passive characteristic. At the same time, these princesses continue to need assistance to reach the desired solution. For instance, Princess Rapunzel still needed hero Flynn Rider, in order to navigate her to her parents throughout the movie. None of these princesses independently found a solution to the main conflict in any of these Disney films.

Like boys, girls also face issues regarding their physical representation in Disney films, there are also other feminist issues in the movies. Two Disney movies that are hailed for their progressiveness in feminism are Frozen and Brave. Disney Princesses often end

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.

The idea of a Disney princess is one I personally believe has changed over time. In Dawn England’s article “Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princess,” we see an in depth look in how this change has occurred. England, in her research, relies on three different hypotheses: Gender roles of princess and princes would differ (Princesses more feminine and princes more masculine), princes would preform more rescues and be rescued less times then princesses, and over time, Disney films’ role portrays would change over time (princesses become more masculine and princes become more feminine). By using behavioral characteristics and the resolutions of the films, these hypotheses can be proven correct. In looking at the results, the films studied, and other Disney films, we can take a look at how strong England’s arguments are and the possibility of any criticisms that may rise into question.

These influences are negative for younger viewers because they instill a need for impossible beauty standards and for dependent characteristics. Luckily, Disney is turning from their past and breaking free from their former ways. Movies such as Brave and Frozen are breaking the mold of the stereotypical princess. Brave is an extraordinary story because it is a tale of a fiery girl who does not wish to be married, which is the first case seen of a princess who's is not looking for her handsome prince to rescue her from her terrible life. “The lack of romance in Brave is a statement that a female can be a strong lead and save herself or other characters (which she does sixteen times in the film) without the assistance of a male character”. (Disney Darling 102). Merida is a wonderful example for girls watching Brave because she exemplifies independence and confidence. She teaches viewers to not be afraid to be your own person and to be the hero of your own story. Like Brave, Frozen is the newest movie to shy away from the damsel in distress attitude. Elsa, one of the female leads, rules her kingdom solely on her own. This was unheard of in Disney movies until now. A princess in power shows young girls that they do not have to depend on a male to have a successful life. These female characters are rescuing themselves for a change and they

In most of the Disney princess movies, the women in the films are typically dependent on the men in order to succeed or even in some cases, survive. For instance, Snow White had to be kissed by a Prince Charming in order to wake up from her slumber

I thought this source gave many verifiable points, but I believe that the author should have included other people’s viewpoints about gender roles instead of keeping it as a one-sided conversation based on the author’s beliefs. This article describes how the Disney Princesses have evolved since Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Sleeping Beauty to Brave and Frozen (Nusair). Traditionally speaking, these princesses were written as these helpless and passive women that was always in dire need of the help of their prince to come rescue them from their troubles. In today’s Disney Princess movies, the characters are meant to be self-reliant and strong just as any other character within the town. As you can tell, this is vastly different than eighty years ago when these movies first depicted their stories. According to David Nusair, who graduated with a degree in Film Studies and in Journalism writes movie-related articles for numerous publishers, stated “…Disney unleashed their most independent and downright fierce princess to date in nineteen ninety-five with the release of Pocahontas. In addition to fighting side-by-side with her male counterparts, she even plays a pivotal role in saving the life of the man she loves…” (Nusair). In other words, this is quite the turnaround from what we are normally used to from these

Typically women are stereotyped as a beautiful girl that spends her day cooking and cleaning for men to come home to. They are often childish and primarily interested in relationships and marriage. Since Disney’s first princess film in 1937 Snow White is the perfect example of Disney’s gender stereotypes. Snow White spends her entire day cooking and cleaning for the seven dwarves until she is poisoned and her fate left in the hands of a prince whom she marries. In the Little Mermaid, princess Ariel is forced to rely solely on her looks to win over prince when her voice is exchanged

Not many companies can influence the childhood development of many Americans like the Walt Disney Company. Disney, named after their founder, began as just an animation studio called The Walt Disney Studios, which the company describes as “the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company was built”. Today, Disney produces various items targeted at children like toys, clothing, and animation (“Company”). In the paper, Images of Animated Others: The Orientalization of Disney’s Cartoon Heroines From The Little Mermaid To The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Celeste Lacroix of the College of Charleston assesses the portrayal of female heroines from Disney animated films that depicts human main characters, examining the sexualization of non-European or the “exotic” others, and brings to light Disney’s strategy to instill an attitude of consumerism in children. Despite my memorable sentiment with Disney animations as a child, I agree with Lacroix’s assertion that Disney impose consumerism onto children, especially with DVD commercials, tie-in products and “apps” on smartphones and tablets.

Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Jasmine from Aladdin, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and even Elsa and Anna from Frozen all have one thing in common: They are motherless. This presentation will explore Disney's motherless princesses and how women are represented in the films. Not only are the mothers absent but when there is a mother figure in place she is cruel and evil. To understand exactly why this is so prevalent in many Disney films, this work will build upon the works of Ann Hall and Mardia Bishop, Marjorie Worthington, and Lynda Haas. Thus, it appears Disney movies have removed mothers and replaced them with evil or uncaring mother figures. Also, multiple sources contend that the,

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

In the film, Anna has to get a kiss from a true love to survive. In typical Disney film, the true love will always be a male but in Frozen, Elsa saves Anna with the love of sister. This shows how man is not always the most important in a woman life and how woman does not need the man to save. In the beginning of the film where Anna meets Hans and decides to be engaged in just one day, Elsa is the one who scolds Anna for her rashness. This shows how that the girl is not all girls are as naive and as stupid to be cheated by a good looking prince. Anna can be seen as an adventurous and brave princess, as she manage to save Kristoff from the wolves when he falls out of the sleigh. However, Disney did not completely erase the gender stereotypes as they always minimise Anna;s bravery and point Anna out as not a capable woman. For example, Anna attempts to climb the mountain on her own, yet she doesn't have the abilities and skills to do so. Another incident is right after Anna saves Kristoff, she is immediately seen useless as she need Kristoff to lead her to the top of mountain as Anna is wandering helplessly in circles in the background with Kristoff stating that Anna could not survive on her

The fictional movie Frozen is based on the lives of Anna and Elsa, two sisters who are also princesses. Frozen received many prestigious awards in the film community, such as Academy Awards and Golden Globes. The fact that Frozen proved to be such an adored and acclaimed movie did not come as a surprise to me. After watching Frozen with my younger daughter, it quickly became one of my favorite Disney movies due in part to the positive messages it taught throughout the movie.