For decades, Disney has given its viewers the fantasy of living in a world of castles, princes and the luxury of being a royalty. Recognized classic Disney princesses include Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), Cinderella (Cinderella), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Jasmine(Aladdin), Pocahontas (Pocahontas) and Mulan (Mulan). The first three of which were released during the first-wave of feminism while the latter five were all released during the third-wave. Feminism has transformed greatly throughout those time periods, affecting the way women were viewed and portrayed. Using feminist theories and the comparison of previously released films, Mulan is considered to be the game-changer of Disney princess films. The product of these transformations gave birth to Disney movies known today, namely Princess and the Frog, Frozen and Brave.
Classic Disney Princess Movies in Relation to Feminist Theories of their Time …show more content…
Mulan, the princess protagonist, was oppressed by the dictates and standards of the Chinese society. But being the atypical girl that she was, she had difficulty coping up with these ‘ideal’ characteristics. She was put on a pedestal, with the belief that the only way to bring her family honor was to be the ‘perfect bride’. The first part of the movie shows the emperor stating these lines, “One man may be the difference between victory and defeat.”, pertaining to the war that was on its way. This testimonial foreshadows the superiority portrayed by men in the movie. According to Stanley and Wise, [radical] feminism seeks to give attention to a major flaw in our social system which is male supremacy (Thompson, p. 3-4). Those few lines by the emperor give the viewers a heads up on the feminist principles to be tackled in the rest of the movie. More so, it offers the audience a general view of the gender struggles during that
Classic Disney Princess Movies in Relation to Feminist Theories of their Time …show more content…
Mulan, the princess protagonist, was oppressed by the dictates and standards of the Chinese society. But being the atypical girl that she was, she had difficulty coping up with these ‘ideal’ characteristics. She was put on a pedestal, with the belief that the only way to bring her family honor was to be the ‘perfect bride’. The first part of the movie shows the emperor stating these lines, “One man may be the difference between victory and defeat.”, pertaining to the war that was on its way. This testimonial foreshadows the superiority portrayed by men in the movie. According to Stanley and Wise, [radical] feminism seeks to give attention to a major flaw in our social system which is male supremacy (Thompson, p. 3-4). Those few lines by the emperor give the viewers a heads up on the feminist principles to be tackled in the rest of the movie. More so, it offers the audience a general view of the gender struggles during that