Tangled And The Incredibles: Movie Analysis

A child’s critical developmental age ranges from the time they are born to about 3 years old. At the age of 2 to 3 months old, the baby “soak[s] up everything in his environment,” and at the age of 2 to 3 years old, he begins to understand “the basic building blocks of relationships,” and “the more complicated aspects of everyday life” (BabyCenter Medical Discovery Board). What are parents teaching their children during this critical developmental stage? Or more specifically, what role does Disney and Pixar play on them? While the movie Tangled (Conli, 2010) and The Incredibles (Walker, 2004) encompasses the traditional gender roles of women, who can be stereotypically described as dependent, sensitive, compassionate, and nurturing, as well …show more content…
Incredible, fall under the social construct of traditional masculinity at the start of the movie, and then break free from these gender norms through the progression of the film. Traditional masculinity can be represented as “bravely confronting danger and being a hero as a result of it,” and having an “opposition to the law, to manners, and to the social fabric” (Stephens, 2002). “Stereotypically, men are career oriented and are therefore more often portrayed in work environments…” (Daalmans, 2014). This is clearly evident in both movies. Flynn has a deep opposition to the law; he is a thief. Stephens also explains how the “boy code” is a cultural construction that is derived from a “set of assumptions about how boys should hide any tender feelings of empathy, aesthetic sensitivity, and vulnerability and express no emotion but the ‘manly’ one of rage” (Stephens, 2002). In one specific scene from the movie Tangled, Flynn acknowledges his fake “manly” identity – an identity that was “rich” and “could do anything he wanted to do” – through a story he shares with Rapunzel over a campfire, and begins to reveal his true identity as Eugene Fitzherbert, “a kid with nothing.” Even after he shows Rapunzel his vulnerable side, he is still concerned about his reputation being ruined. Although Fylnn’s fake identity does not express rage, he is shown to hide his feelings of empathy, sensitivity, and vulnerability. Mr. Incredible also opposes the law, in which superheroes are restricted from using their powers to fight crime and to live ordinary lives, by doing just exactly that. The Incredibles also puts its primary focus on Mr. Incredible in his work environment, whether that is in the office working his desk job or fighting crime. Mr. Incredible then begins to reveal his unconventional fatherly (rather than tough, macho man) characteristics towards the end of the