Evaluating the Gender Performance of Anna and Olaf in Disney's Frozen - Movie Review Example

 Evaluating the Gender Performance of Anna and Olaf in Disney’s Frozen Anna is a complex character sustaining both masculine and feminine behaviors, in comparison to what society expects from typical female attitude and behavior. While many Disney films, historically, have portrayed main female characters as being deeply romantic and boy-crazy, Anna gives off more masculine-oriented cues such as confidence, aggressiveness and in some instances, social domination. Olaf, in opposite accord, defies the traditional masculine stereotype, giving and giving off more feminine characteristics and personal. Anna breaks the traditional mold of society-generated female behavior expectations to create a persona of a self-assured and assertive individual which is more akin to a male personality while Olaf the Snowman is portrayed as a more sensitive and emotional character akin to the stereotypical female persona. To illustrate these gender defiances, when Anna’s sister turns up missing, Anna decides to take on the responsibility of finding her in a very difficult natural environment. This illustrates that she is confident and self-sufficient, willing to give the impression that she can surely take care of herself. When she leaves Hans, a male, to maintain watchfulness of the castle, it again illustrates her capability to face the dangers she might encounter without assistance from a male character. In fact, it is not the male characters that, proverbially, save the day. It is Anna who releases a powerful punch to the enemy to be the heroine of the story, something typically reserved for the masculine persona under traditional male stereotypes. Anna determines that she must rescue her sister and spare her from danger, reasserting (giving) that she can be authoritative, dominant and even brawny when circumstances call for this behavior. Furthermore, there is a scene where Kristoff suggests that he “might cry” because of all of the ice he is witnessing. This gives Anna an opportunity to give a dominant persona, when she informs Kristoff to “go ahead, I won’t judge”. In a male/female relationship, it is typically considered that males serve as a comforting force for the more emotional woman in periods of stress or conflict. In this scene, Anna does not appear to be emotionally-affected by the environment and unconsciously gives off a more masculine personality. It is likely that if Disney producers were intending to support gender stereotyping, Anna might also have illustrated an emotional response and been witnessed crying in the heat of the moment. This too tends to break the mold of the concept that women are more expressive in their emotional states and use demonstrative behaviors to illustrate their sensitivity. Anna continues to assert her more mannish cognitions and emotional states and, instead, allows another male character to be this emotionally-expressive individual, as though she might be available to comfort him should the need arise. In another situation, Anna states, she does not know whether she is elated or “I’m gassy”. One need only watch television situation comedies and find a distinction between men and women when it comes to passing gas. It is a comedic situation where men pass gas under the sheets, which is always met with chastisement and anger from women. Anna has no problem indicating that she might be having an internal gas problem, suggesting she might be somewhere in the middle between elation and being gassy. In society, a stereotypical woman with typical feminine behaviors would avoid social discussion about this particular faux pas, while some men just pass this gas whenever it pleases them, even in social environments. Therefore, it should be recognized that Anna is more akin to giving a male-like performance to others in her social surroundings and maintains very little concern about her reputation as a women for admitting she might be gassy rather than excited. Olaf the Snowman, additionally, gives off behavior and discourse which is more akin to the traditional female persona as part of his performances. In one situation, Olaf states that “only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart”. Olaf seems to be very sensitive and warm, being a character that gives recurring knowledge about the joys of being in love and expresses his emotional responses toward the natural environment. Olaf also states, “Some people are just worth melting for”, again illustrating that he maintains a need to discuss matters of the heart in order to fulfill his emotional needs. In society, these are attributes mostly attributed to the female persona and for a man to discuss matters of love, he will often receive chastisement by other men. Instead, under the society-driven, general stereotype of masculinity, when a man pokes fun at romance and love, he will receive a slap on the back by his friends. Instead, Olaf seems to find comfort and a complete lack of remorse about matters of the heart, illustrating a gender performance closely aligned with sensitivity and feminism. Thus, he gives and gives off conscious and unconscious satisfaction with being obsessed and interested in love and relationship. In another situation, Anna inquires as to whether her hair “looks bad” when it begins to turn white, with Kristoff delaying a response that it looks good on her. Olaf states to Kristoff, “you hesitated”, indicating that the snowman is more empathetic with the needs of women when it comes to receiving compliments about their physical beauty. This is a giving off by Olaf that he understands the mentality of women and their emotional needs, while also giving that he is consciously aware that men should be more sensitive toward women. In typical society, men are often charged with being insensitive and uncaring when they do not make positive comments about women’s bodies and their clothing, even though it is just part of a less-emotional make-up that distinguishes men from women. Olaf breaks the traditional mold of masculine behavior, freely giving to Kristoff that he should be more empathetic toward Anna’s needs, illustrating a very emotionally-perceptive persona and delicate compassion for women’s needs, something not typical of men under traditional male stereotypes. As illustrated, Anna breaks the stereotypical mold of the female stereotype, with both giving and giving off at the deliberate and unconscious levels. She maintains dominance, assertiveness, confidence and portrays to others that she is self-sufficient and self-assured, attitudes most commonly attributed to men in a society. Anna’s gender performances are atypical of the orthodox female role in society and she is an excellent case study for feminist studies applauding Disney’s break from the boy-crazy and dependent persona attributed to women for decades. Anna is nothing of the socially-driven stereotype of female behavior, cognition and attitude. Olaf, in similar accord, illustrates several situations where he breaks the mold of masculine stereotyping. His sensitivity, emotional awareness of the female emotional condition, and openness to describe his fascination with love and romance is not typical of what society expects from masculine behavior. His visible excitement when others respond positively to these thoughts on romance and relationship further show that he unconsciously gives off a feminine-like personality and he seems comfortable with this even though such attitudes would be socially-punished if he described these feelings to other men in a stereotypical society. Read More