In completing my general education (at a Community College) I took an introductory women’s studies course and it was one of the most rewarding classes I took. It helped me to see the subconscious or implicit messages all around. The class I took did not just focus on women, but the views and portrayals of men as well. For this blog, however, I chose to narrow it down to a short critique on Disney movies and their efforts to marginalize and brainwash thousand of girls, whether they intended to or not.
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid tells the story of a single father raising 7 daughters, the youngest of whom, Ariel, is the most ambitious and rambunctious. This all takes place under the sea and they are, in fact, “merpeople.”
The main character of the story, Ariel, witnesses a handsome human man on a boat. She lusts for him but her father forbids her from ever going on land. Instead, she seeks out Ursula, the evil sea witch, who makes a deal with her: if Ariel gives up her voice Ursula will grant her legs, giving her the opportunity to find this man and woo him.
What this implies to the thousands of little girls who grew up watching this is that they do not need their voice, their ability to showcase their personality and language, but should, instead, use only their “physical mannerisms and dress,” as that is all they need. Giving up her ability to speak is giving up her ability to say “I am woman; hear me roar.” Instead, Ariel is forced to say something more to the effect of, “I am woman; I hope I look okay.”
The ending of the movie does not get any better. While she does gain back her ability to speak, to be with the man she desires she has to give up all ties to her former life. Most women would find it atrocious to lose the connection to their family, even more so if the man she was with did not allow it. While this is not what the man did in this movie, it is essentially the choice Ariel had to make to be with him: the man she likes or her family, she cannot have both.
Hercules
The film Hercules commits the usual horrors in regards to its portrayal of women. The female in this story, Megara, is a lonely woman without friends who sold her soul to Hades to save the life of her ex, who paid her in kind by running off with another woman.
As her soul is now in possession of the Greek devil, Meg, as she claims her would-be friends call her, utilizes her feminine charm to lead Hercules right into Hades’ trap. This character has no individuality. She is a seductress who is no more than a pawn in Hades’ plans. Meg “sashays her hips and [wears a] dress [that] clings to her body like a second skin.”
The character of Meg is no more than an evil seductress who is turned, or saved, by the man of the story, implicitly stating that without him she would be doomed. She in no way teaches young girls to assert their individually and strength, rather, she teaches them that they cannot be saved without the help of a man.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is Walt Disney’s “first full-length production” and a great example of Disney’s poor portrayal of women. In the story, Snow White is forced to leave the safety of the castle when an evil woman, her step-mother, believes Snow White to be the fairest in the land, with fair representing purity or virginity, beauty, and innocence, much like her last name: White. Fortunately for Snow White, she is spared from dying, thanks to a man, and makes her way into the scary woods wherein she is fortunate enough to find a small and dirty house.
After being spared by a man, Snow White cleans and washes the house of the Seven Dwarfs, who are all men who lust over and immediately take a liking to Snow White. As if she were a lost puppy, they decide to keep her, thus ensuring she is again spared by men only to end up doing all the cooking and cleaning.
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The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid tells the story of a single father raising 7 daughters, the youngest of whom, Ariel, is the most ambitious and rambunctious. This all takes place under the sea and they are, in fact, “merpeople.”
The main character of the story, Ariel, witnesses a handsome human man on a boat. She lusts for him but her father forbids her from ever going on land. Instead, she seeks out Ursula, the evil sea witch, who makes a deal with her: if Ariel gives up her voice Ursula will grant her legs, giving her the opportunity to find this man and woo him.
What this implies to the thousands of little girls who grew up watching this is that they do not need their voice, their ability to showcase their personality and language, but should, instead, use only their “physical mannerisms and dress,” as that is all they need. Giving up her ability to speak is giving up her ability to say “I am woman; hear me roar.” Instead, Ariel is forced to say something more to the effect of, “I am woman; I hope I look okay.”
The ending of the movie does not get any better. While she does gain back her ability to speak, to be with the man she desires she has to give up all ties to her former life. Most women would find it atrocious to lose the connection to their family, even more so if the man she was with did not allow it. While this is not what the man did in this movie, it is essentially the choice Ariel had to make to be with him: the man she likes or her family, she cannot have both.
Hercules
The film Hercules commits the usual horrors in regards to its portrayal of women. The female in this story, Megara, is a lonely woman without friends who sold her soul to Hades to save the life of her ex, who paid her in kind by running off with another woman.
As her soul is now in possession of the Greek devil, Meg, as she claims her would-be friends call her, utilizes her feminine charm to lead Hercules right into Hades’ trap. This character has no individuality. She is a seductress who is no more than a pawn in Hades’ plans. Meg “sashays her hips and [wears a] dress [that] clings to her body like a second skin.”
The character of Meg is no more than an evil seductress who is turned, or saved, by the man of the story, implicitly stating that without him she would be doomed. She in no way teaches young girls to assert their individually and strength, rather, she teaches them that they cannot be saved without the help of a man.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is Walt Disney’s “first full-length production” and a great example of Disney’s poor portrayal of women. In the story, Snow White is forced to leave the safety of the castle when an evil woman, her step-mother, believes Snow White to be the fairest in the land, with fair representing purity or virginity, beauty, and innocence, much like her last name: White. Fortunately for Snow White, she is spared from dying, thanks to a man, and makes her way into the scary woods wherein she is fortunate enough to find a small and dirty house.
After being spared by a man, Snow White cleans and washes the house of the Seven Dwarfs, who are all men who lust over and immediately take a liking to Snow White. As if she were a lost puppy, they decide to keep her, thus ensuring she is again spared by men only to end up doing all the cooking and cleaning.
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Disney movies are filled with numerous examples of the vilification of women and all three of the previous examples attest to that; Ursula, Megara, and the Evil Step-Mother are all portrayed as having ulterior or evil motives. It appears the most equal portrayal in the movies are the ones which showcase animals, where the relationships between, say, Simba and Nala are built on friendship while the relationships of the Disney Princesses and their respective Princes are built on physical attraction, thus “relegating a view of equality to the animal kingdom” that is not reciprocated in the human one. I encourage everyone to watch movies with some of these ideas in mind; try to see what they are telling us the perfect man or perfect woman is like.
I think the only real "counter example," is Disney's Alladin. In Alladin princess Jasmine is controlled and bossed around yes, but for living in an Islamic country many years ago she exercises a wide latitude of individuality. Ultimately, she doesn't give up anything (that I can recall) and she actually ends up with the man she loves, instead of some pompous prince.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis is pretty spot on, Disney does an abominable job of portraying women.
There are many examples where Disney strays from these awful portrayals, but remember, Jasmine was dressed in an outfit typical of a woman of a harem, not a modest and actual Islamic woman, making her an object, not a woman. While I agree with you that she is granted more fire and individuality than most Disney Princesses (and rarely included in most mainstream “Disney Princess”-related toys or books), Disney ultimately takes away more than it gives.
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