The article notes that the “live experience that can’t simply be duplicated on the movie screen” which supposedly adds to the feelings of specialness of the child enjoying it (23). I examined the production and actualization of female desire in the Disney film The Princess and the Frog in comparison to the services provided in the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique. From this interrogation of wishes and fulfillment as they are presented by the Disney film, I have concluded that the message conveyed to children center around the unequal distribution of wealth and status between…
Since the conception of Disney, Disney has maintained a consistent canon that expresses traditional forms of gender; from its debut release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to its box office hit Frozen (2013). These films tend to have female protagonists, following their journey into adulthood vis-à-vis the idea of “love.” It was not until 2006 when Disney began to collaborate with Pixar to create films that challenge traditional notions of gender within a progressive society—shifting from a traditional “conservative” to progressive “modernist” ideology. Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Woods argue, as titled in their essay, a “Post-Princess Model of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar,” which highlights the arrival of the “beta-male” who challenges the infamous alpha-male.…
In both “The Princess Paradox” by James Poniewozik and “Cinderella and Princess Culture” by Peggy Orenstein, the princess culture is agreed upon; however, the authors vary their opinions of how the fairytail dream of pink dresses and sparkly crowns came to be. Poniewozik opens up his article by addressing the “kick-ass culture,” while Orenstein focuses on how princesses have diminished the feeling of confidence and independence that young girls should experience. While some may believe that princesses show the younger generation that females possess the ability to accomplish anything a male can, others believe that this trend aggressively encourages the idea of “perfection” in our modern society. Both “The Princess Paradox” and “Cinderella and Princess Culture” discuss the rules and…
This particular article is also geared towards mothers of daughters who would have an interest in Disney’s princess brand. Bartyzel’s writings examine the portrayal of women in media as evidenced by the overarching title of “Girls on Film”. Bartyzel believes that there is often an issue with the way women are portrayed and that it has a detrimental effect on young women. There has been a lot of discussion around Disney in particular and the culture created by it’s princesses. Many, like Bartyzel, argue that Disney princesses are only showing girls one very narrow view of femininity and it’s an archaic one.…
In Philip Cohen’s article “The Trouble With Disney’s Teeny, Tiny Princesses”, he focuses on Disney’s depiction of men and women. He examines the differences in size and the magnification of the size between the genders and the effects it has on the younger generation of kids. Through the clear use of purpose, organization, and logic, Cohen clearly states his position that Disney should stop creating movies with misrepresentation between men and women. Philip Cohen’s main…
Women are helpless and in need of protection, women are domestic and likely to marry, and overweight women are ugly, unpleasant, and unmarried. Frozen and the little mermaid provide a great examples of how Disney movies portray its characteristics and embeds many stereotypes that can benefit and deter one’s…
Fairytales’, being around for several generations, have evolved through time and caught the attention of many folklorists, and demands an explanation of how feminism plays an essential role in today 's culture. Folklorist and author, James Poniewozik wrote, “The Princess Paradox” to raise an attempt to explain the “girls-kick-ass culture” (323). Peggy Orenstein published, “Cinderella and the Princess Culture” to examine and identify the belief of feminism within fairytales. Even though two different authors studied and evaluated the same topic, being feminism in fairytales, their approaches and conclusions on the topic tend to differentiate slightly, but also come to an agreeance in other areas.…
Over time, it has been evident that Disney has promoted a different message within their princess movies, which is a shift in rhetoric. At first, the princess movies displayed unrealistic goals for young girls and now, there is a paradigm of different princesses that set an example for those who have goals and wish to achieve them. From a classical princess such as Aurora to a modern one such as Elsa, the messages are displayed in the princesses goals and obstacles. Prior to Frozen and other movies alike, Disney princesses all had one common goal: to fall in love. Aurora met her prince in the forest and instantly fell in love.…
Historically, “gender is one’s sexual identity and the roles that follow from it, as determined by the norms of one’s culture rather than by biology or genetics” (Signs of Life in the USA). Gender has become a social and cultural construct with certain classifications that help us make sense of the world (Aaron Devor, 504). However, society has created stereotypes of what is normal and what is not. This can be seen throughout most Walt Disney films where Disney impacts the youth of society the gender roles that they must portray.…
I plan to use an academic article I found from EBSCOhost titled, “Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses.” It was written by Professor England and several other professors in 2011. According to England, a professor from the department of Family and Human Development at Arizona State University, she explains a study done about how Disney films present sexist ideas to young children stating, “The author cited numerous examples of both sexism and racism in films, specifically noting the heroines’ extremely pale skin tones, small waists, delicate limbs, and full breasts. A review of 16 Disney films revealed that the presented gender images were not current with societal developments in gender equity.” I would paraphrase it as: There was…
Gender portrayals in media has been influencing kids of how they think how males or females supposed to be, especially in Disney movies. Some researchers have examined through certain Disney movies with gender stereotyping messages. Research conducted by Dundes (2001), analyzed Pocahontas movie. In many ways, Pocahontas portrayed as a strong, independent woman; however, at the end of the film, she follows a stereotypic female script. Bell, Haas, & Sells (1995) also found that Pocahontas continues in presenting an exaggerated female’s body type.…
A classic princess story, Cinderella remains to be one of Disney’s most popular movies. However, what is disturbing is the manner in which this movie imposes gender roles by depicting women in a negative manner. This film seems to be reinforcing the notion that women are weaklings and that the only way in which any society can survive is by upholding male dominance and embracing female submissiveness. The movie begins by showing Cinderella living happily with her parents in a faraway kingdom.…
Never After: A Fantasy Gone Wrong For a company whose motto claimed it as the happiest place on earth, it sure doesn’t resonate that way for most people. Published in 2011 in the Christian Science Monitor, the article, “Little Women or Little Girls” by journalist Stephanie Hanes discusses the effects of media platforms such as the Disney princess’ franchise and argues that their means of sexualization and objectification tremendously impacts the way the population of young female develops. By formulating her argument through the uses of credible data to support her claims, Hanes’ is able to build a platform to educate and aware the audience, mostly parental figures, on the causes and how to combat the growing issue of sexualization on young…
Deborah Ross wrote “Escape from Wonderland: Disney and the Female Imagination,” this article is about how Disney…
Mackenzie Myers Stephanie Webster ENGL 240 8 November 2014 The Disneyfication of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales The topic of this research paper is to explore the Grimm Fairy Tales in pop culture, the disneyfication of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales as well as feminism of princesses in modern adaptations of the tales movies. The authors were two brothers from Germany, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. The brothers are well known for their collection of fairy tales but many people don’t know the origins of the stories they wrote. A lot of people know the stories because of Walt Disney but they don’t understand how different the original stories are from the Disney ones.…