Disney Films have always been among one of the most popular films to younger generations as well as an important part of our culture for decades now. We've all one way or another watched a Disney film growing up whether it be Toy Story, Lion King, Cinderella, The Hunchback of Notre Dame etc. and have embraced these fascinating stories. Though they maybe fun and magical they don't depict woman in a positive light and thus presents a scewed idea and perception of gender stereotypes to children that aren't represented in real life.
The vast majority of Disney Films portray the female characters as being homemakers, princesses or queens. They are therefore displayed as being helpless, dependent damsel in distress creatures who lye around waiting for their handsome prince charming to rescue them in whatever situation they got themselves into. An example would be Rapunzel, Cinderella, Bella from Beauty and the Beast as well as Ariel from Little Mermaid. This idea sets a message to younger girls that they always need a man to be dependent upon and make the decisions for them. While the Disney male characters are seen as being these rough, tough, strong, powerful, independent, heroic, macho man who are capable of doing anything. An example would be Gastone from Beauty and the Beast and the Beast himself as well as Tarzan, who in this case has his shirt off the entire film and is jumping off trees trying to rescue the girl. Also, these animated films show female characters such as Ariel, Jasmine and Bella( and almost every other female character) as being tall, thin waisted, slender, unrealistically and ridiculously curvaceous and quite vulnerable which creates low expectations to girls and can also impact how they percieve themselves in society.
Don't get me wrong, these movies and stories were made during the 40s and 50s and perfectly fall under the stereotypical gender roles from that time, but even newer Disney films such as Hercules and The Incredibles put their characters into the "traditional" stereotypical gender role. I'm not saying all these films are depleting woman, considering that Mulan was the dominant character in that film who saved all of China and also Cruella from 101 Dalmations.
Considering how these films affect girls, how can they affect a boys perspective on gender roles? the same way? positive? or negative?
How can we as a society prevent the stereotypical gender roles of men and women influence children? and is Disney intentionally trying to portray these themes or are they trying to convey what is "norm" to society? p.s. sorry for the essay:)
I definitely agree with all your points. Ever since I started watching Disney movies, I always used to see a perfect handsome prince going to rescue a perfect beautiful princess. I am still unsure whether Disney creates these stereotypes for men and women or they just reflect upon them in their movies.
ReplyDeleteChildren love watching cartoon. Girls that watch Disney want to act like princesses and be delicate and fantasize about their prince charming. While the boys that watch these cartoons see themselves as heroes and feel like they should be strong. A perfect example of this would be Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White awaits her prince and sings songs and pretends like she is the happiest person on Earth. She is asked to do all the housework at her own home and doesn't tend to complain even a single bit because she is the "perfect girl".
When she is left all alone in the forest, she doesn't know where to go or what to do.
To further analyze these stereotypes, another perfect example is Beauty and the Beast. Belle is a quiet girl, loves to read books and just be happy in her own world, also a dreamer. Gaston is the man of every girl's dream, he is the perfect masculine figure that is used in Disney movies almost all the time. Every guy wants to be like him and every girl wants to be with him. Children that watch these cartoons are being controlled by Disney.
We might argue that Mulan is a Disney movie in which a girl finally goes out for the adventure and to "save China". One thing that really shocked me was the song in which General Shang is training the new soldiers, "Make a man out of you"... That song clearly states how a woman can't go to war and she should have the "man qualities" in order to fight which is why General Shang has to train Mulan to be "the man" if she wants to fight in war.
I believe Disney intentionally shows us these stereotypes to make the next generation kids believe that being skinny, shy, and fantasist princesses are the "norm" for girls. For guys, Disney tries to portray them as masculine, muscular, strong, and being powerful as the "norm".
As a society, I would say that parents should talk to their children about the firmness of these gender roles and explain to them how they are nor necessarily true.
These films can affect a boy by making him think that he should always be the hero. Most of these Disney films are based on gender stereotypes. Most of the protagonist are strong, muscular, has a princess, and is wealthy while the fat lazy short men are nothing. I think that Disney purposely portrays these themes because they want people to think this is the norm. This can also influence a boy to think that he is better than women. We as a society should teach these children from a young age that these gender stereotypes are not always true.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mohamed, and believe that theres this stereotype that males always have to be the strong ones who save the weak, innocent women. There's barely any disney movies where the girl saves the guy for change.
ReplyDeletemost disney movies sterotype genders by making woman like cinderlla always falling in love with someone and lion king always making the male lion the hero. It encourages young girls to fall in love and young boys to think that they are a hero.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your points. I believe that disney films had an affect on gender stereotypes. When kids watch these movies, you always see the princess being saved by the prince and the male is always the hero. This had gone on long enough that movies are now have a man beign the hero.
ReplyDeleteI believe that gender stereotypes began when we were kids.
1) I think these female stereotypes have a significant affect on males both of which at a young age. (In my opinion Disney will not influence older youth or adults because it is primarily meant for younger audiences and family)
ReplyDeleteBoys would be influenced to think that women can only possess these stereotypical roles you have mentioned. In the future they may not want to accept the idea that women can be independent and such.
Funny you should mention disney. I've recently watched the movie Tangled, and the male protagonist in the story saves the lost princess from the evil clutches of the witch and she falls madly in love with him. Any young boy would be greatly affected by that story, and not in a positive way. Many of the male protagonists in the disney films are Princes, treasure hunterers or, in the case of Tangled, theives. This pressures a young boy into adopting one of these as his lifestyle under the false belief that he will always get the girl. Another negative affect it would have on boys is their treatment of women. With these films depicting women as vulnerable and weak, the boys would apply it to reality. They would treat other women as if they cannot survive without a man and are "objects" to be taken possession of. The main issue would be ensuring that these young children understand that these stereotypes do not apply to real life, which is where the adults step in.
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ReplyDeleteIsn’t it fantastic what they’re instilling in the minds of young boys and girls?
ReplyDelete(Note sarcasm)
Watching Disney movies was something I often did, and probably every child growing up has seen numerous Disney movies. This makes the tendency greater for children to have these stereotypes engraved in their mindset. By watching these Disney movies, boys could grow up with slightly misogynistic attitudes towards women since Disney’s movies always have to have a “night and shining armour” and a “damsel in distress” (Notice how even these words further perpetuate stereotypes) in their plot. Girls may grow up believing that in order to attain happiness in life they have to a dominant male in their life. Because of their warped perception, this might result in them falling for unworthy and abusive men because of their need to find happiness solely through men. I think Disney is unintentionally portraying these gender roles in their movies. Since Cinderella was a hit with children all over the world, I suppose they thought going with a similar plot line (for every movie!) to that would maintain their success in the movie industry.