Stereotypes In Disney Movies Essay

Disney movies have been the leading outlets for child education and social learning. Due to such power of influence controversies have been raised which include the following, but not limited to, gender roles and stereotypes, issues of independence, and misrepresentation. Many people argue that despite the morals and messages that occur within such films there are still underlying messages that deal with beauty standards and norms. However, others may argue that Disney is evolutionary and evolved the imagery of male/female standards. The controversy then becomes: are Disney films doing more harm than they are good? Due to certain themes brought on by such movies, it has left younger audiences with both positive and

In current society today, technology is advancing at a rapid rate and with so much exposure to the media it is difficult to control what is being seen by children. Disney is one of the largest and most successful companies in the film industry. From children 4 years old to adults and every age in between, Disney has found a way to create films that entertain all ages. The seemingly innocent content of Disney movies are enjoyed from a very young age; however, behind the colorful and lighthearted storylines of many Disney films lies many unreasonable social ideologies that children may be subconsciously becoming accustomed to. In her work, “Where Do the Mermaids Stand,” Laura Sells discusses the hidden messages in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Sells explains how this movie expresses a hierarchy of gender and exaggerated femininity by demeaning the role of women in society. Susan Jeffords, author of “The Curse of Masculinity,” discusses similar ideologies in her article. This article looks at Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and focuses primarily the role of men and the how they perform to fit into this white male system by means of upholding hegemonic masculinity. The two articles “Where do the Mermaids stand” and “The curse of Masculinity,” bring to attention the reinforcement of the white male system, the racialization in the white male system, and the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity in beloved childhood Disney movies.

In the middle of Disney’s success, Disney faced many controversies. One of the most persistent and supported controversies by many people across the globe is the prevailing of sexism behind its film plots and themes. Sexism, as defined by Oxford, is “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.” Many animated films by Walt Disney Animation Studios, especially from the older ones, are filled with obvious sexist tones. The sexist tones that are said to exist in Disney films should be analyzed and be made public for the sole reason that more than millions of people as proven by their sales views these films.

Disney’s Pixar has always had a traditionally “alpha male” role for its leading male characters, but there is possibly a “new male model” concept that has overtaken this predominant alpha male role as portrayed in the article, “Post-Princess models of gender: The new man in Disney/Pixar” by Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden. Within the article, Gillam and Wooden use a well-structured article with supportive examples that effectively strengthen their ideas and theories. The observation in Disney’s Pixar promotes a new male model in their films which expresses more feminine traits is effectively reinforced by the author’s success in organizing the evidence and examples which support their ideas: also the authors effective use of structuring the article to draw your attention to the main issues being discussed to successfully connect to their thesis. Effective introduction of their topics and ideas in a sufficient orderly fashion and present these ideas which give a lot of their theories and ideas strength in persuading the readers to think a certain way about the topic. The authors succeed in addressing their theory that in Disney’s Pixar films there is a new male model which has transformed the previously “unambiguous alpha” male role.

For my final paper where we had to pick a topic from current popular culture, I decided to write my paper with the focus on Disney movies. More particularly with the focus on the Disney princess movies. When it comes to the Disney movies they have always been and will always be such a huge part of our society. While growing up most children grow up watching these movies and get the idea that that is what they want to be when they grow up. When you ask a young girl what she wants to be when she is older there is a good chance that she will say that she wants to be a princess when she grows up. I have always been such a huge fan of Disney movies and I have a feeling I always will be. I found it very interesting this semester when we spend the short class period talking about the Disney female and male characters. It is rather interesting and something that I can say that I really never noticed before but the fact that the majority of all the female characters all had the same face shape. Whereas the males there were none two that were the same. However for this paper I will be looking into the relationship to cultural meanings about gender and other identity markers, such as race, sexuality, and cultural norms as seen in some of the more classic well known Disney movies.

In the past years, Disney/Pixar has revolutionized the premise of their movies by shifting away from princesses and portraying resilient male characters as the protagonists of their highly successful animated feature films. From 1995 to 2008, Disney/Pixar released eight films, all of which included a male lead, yet these characters are arguably unlike any other protagonist in early Disney animated films. In their essay, “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden call attention to the new manner Disney/Pixar use to depict their heroic male characters in their movies. Gillam and Wooden claim that Pixar is using their movies to promote the acceptance of a new standard of masculinity capable of embracing feminine traits, as conveyed by the male characters within the films. As a viewer, it is easy to recognize the emasculation of the male protagonists within Pixar movies, however, the authors’ claim is faulty; they fail to acknowledge that society now has room for a new sympathetic man because it is straying way from a patriarchal beliefs of the past.

Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the

The portrayal of Feminine aspects within Disney movies has been widely criticized, however the way masculinity is portrayed in films is also very controversial but infrequently discussed. My goal for this research paper is to look at two Disney films through a feminist lens and queer lens to decipher any stereotypical aspects of masculinity that are shown within the main characters. I am hopeful to find a film that breaks the norm of having a masculine main character that is hyper masculine like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast or Jaffar from Aladdin. I would also like to analyze the damsel in distress situations in films where the male role seems to always be the heroic figure even when they aren’t the main character in the story. Even though

The central objective of the present study was to investigate how the influence of individual’s favorite Disney princess, Cinderella or Mulan, can impact participant’s beliefs on gender role and romance. In this study, participants that favored Cinderella held a more traditional belief on gender roles compared to those who favored the Disney princess Mulan. This finding supported our first hypothesis. This could be because of the traditional female role that Cinderella held throughout the movie in comparison to Mulan. Unlike Cinderella, Mulan was portrayed like a soldier, who had a strong-minded character. Mulan did not fit into the stereotypical model of what its meant to be a female, instead, she transcended the gender binaries. In contrast, Cinderella was portrayed as your stereotypical female character. She was depicted as a loving and nurturing caregiver who was also very submissive and weak. All in all, Cinderella was basically a damsel in distress with her evil witch being her stepmothers and stepsisters. This sharp contrast in characters and their message may influence children in different ways. We as people are more prone to gravitate towards things we resonate with on the terms of our experiences, values, beliefs and even our philosophy on life. Therefore, it was assumed that people who favor Cinderella would have a more traditional view of gender roles.

Parents believe these movies are giving positive messages to their children, but this is not the case. For example, in the movie Beauty and the Beast the moral of the story is that beauty comes from the inside. While this is the message that parents believe their children are receiving, there is a more deep-rooted message that young children cannot quite yet understand, but still effects their mindset as they age. Since many of the Disney princess movies were developed in the later half of the twentieth century, they often convey the stereotypical gender role messages of that time period (Bishop 2). According to author Amy Blackstone from the University of Maine, “Gender roles are the roles that men and women are expected to occupy based on their sex” (336). Therefore, during this time the gender roles were that men were dominant individuals, leading the home. On the other hand, women were depicted as fragile that were only capable of domestic work in the

While growing up, it is safe to say that most children grow up watching Disney movies. A lot of little girls grew up wanting to be princess like Belle, Cinderella, and Ariel. These characters were idols for children because they portrayed every aspect they wanted to be when growing up. As grown ups, when one watches the films again, a sense of discomfort starts to arise. One begins to notice specific ideologies, stereotypical gender roles and racism in the films that were once admired.

Disney princess movies seem like a never-ending well of gender critique, generally preferring portrayals of traditional gender roles. It seems only fitting, therefore, that the same analysis should be performed on the films that deconstruct the princess meta-narrative. In it's parody and satire, the Shrek Saga addresses masculine and feminine roles head on, and challenges the mores that we assume in our “innocuous” children's movies. The film practically invites criticism.

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 company expanded and over the next nine decades produced nearly six hundred animated films and series. Disney’s films have very distinct features which set them apart from the rest. These movies, more often than not, have severe gender stereotyping. Men are never seen doing “women’s” work and the women are rarely

I have chosen to research the portrayal of gender roles in Disney Movies (specifically Snow White, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid). The term gender is used to describe the socially constructed differences between men and women, I will be investigating the portrayal of the male and female characters to see how today’s society respond to and accept the gender roles portrayed in the films. As well as this, I will analyse how these gender roles have changed over time, by comparing today's gender roles with Disney’s classic ones. The cross cultural aspect will also explored, to see the way different cultures, particularly Indian cultures, respond to the gender role portrayal in these films. I will research the gender roles in Indian societies