Gender Roles in Disney Animation - Essay Example

?One of the first educators of children just happens to be animated films. These films are the first to influence the view of a child in relation to his/her sexual identity and role in society. Such types of films and television shows carry a considerable influence on the very young psyche of a child. Life principles, values, biases and stereotypes, gender roles and family standards – all these opinions and implicit guidelines and much more are spread and delivered today to the children maybe even more by mass media than by their environment and interaction with young and old. Of all these animated films, the Disney fairy tale cartoons have, since the first time they showed their first full length animated film, delivered the earliest gender role messages to the youth of the world. Thus, Disney fairy-tale cartoons deliver the same gender role message as the media in general. For instance, the Disney version of The Little Mermaid fairy-tale carries a clear gender-role message that a young woman needs not be too timid in life. Rather, a young woman filled with conviction and self confidence can achieve many great things. However, follies of the young women can come with great consequences that help build character strength and self-confidence in the long run. This is a message that the company clearly supported through their publicity and marketing campaign for the movie. From Disney’s first full length animated features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to their succeeding films, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan, all of these films share something in common with The Little Mermaid. It is a close marketing strategy that ties in closely with the production values promoted by the movie. This campaign has made Disney seem, in the public eye a company that sees gender causes as a commercial issue more than anything else. This, perhaps, has something to do with the unparalleled success of Disney in both the animated film and merchandising sales arena. It was in 2001 when Disney created the Princess line that aggressively targeted and marketed products to little girls and young women. The line was composed of the aforementioned eight traditional Disney Princess films each turning in a huge profit and marketing franchise for each as well. All eight movies are proven to have strong influence on children in terms of developing concepts of social behavior and norms (Graves 724-5). However, it is The Little Mermaid in particular that struck a chord with the little girls looking for a strong feminine image model that they could identify with in our contemporary society. The original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christen Andersen had its main character Ariel suffer a tragic fate as chose to love a man she could never have. In the original, Ariel died carrying an unrequited love to her watery grave with her. As with other fairy tales of its era, the original meant to serve as a warning to young women. It was meant to help control rather than empower them. Disney never believed that fairy tales should have tragic endings which is why their retelling of the fairy tale is a far cry from its original. In the Disney version, we see a playful and often times strong willed blossoming young lady in Ariel, the little mermaid. She falls in love with a prince whom she saved from drowning. The mere fact that Ariel interacted with human beings and even worse, fell in love with one, was in direct defiance of the edict of King Triton, her father. Meeting the young man feeds Ariel’s imagination about wanting to become human and how nice it must be to have feet instead of a tail. She now faces a struggle that most young women face when growing up. Asserting her independence as a person or remaining submissive to her father’s will. In the end, Ariel of the Disney film chooses to pursue her individuality by surrendering who she is in exchange for a chance to try something new in her life. Ariel is able to change her fate: she finds a witch and persuades her to help. Because of her active actions, by the end of the fairy-tale she totally differs in character and identity from any other mermaid portrayed in the movie. The Disney Ariel has rather mature characteristics in terms of personality, especially, if compared to the original text of Andersen. Even her appearance indicates she is a vibrant character: The fiery red hair is a symbol of active life position. Ariel is adventurous and very outgoing. She is active, optimistic and amiable but easily frustrated by rules that were meant to protect her. She views authority figures as stifling characters who refuse to let her discover who she truly is and what she is capable of doing on her own. The emphasis on these traits are obvious when we compare Disney’s Ariel from Andersen’s original, where she is portrayed as very juvenile, mourns her unfortunate body, and longs for an immortal soul. Ariel, on the contrary, is very much action-oriented and goes for what she wants without thinking of the possible consequences. She is in love and the dream-type love is portrayed by Disney as a more important symbol of the follies and impulsiveness of youth. One can even make a parallel to the notion of American dream, implicit but rather clear. The feminist approach towards this character can be found in a number of scenes. For example, upon rescuing Prince Eric, Ariel swims around the castle singing and humming in a love sick trance. A mermaid portrayed as active and self-confident. The shy and quiet ‘original’ mermaid is turned into a bright and curious young woman who totally focuses on the fantasized aspect of the human life when compared to her life under the sea. The emphasis is made towards Ariel’s self-discovery as a woman that could influence the average teenage girl to move in the same direction. Consequently, the logical result of the movie’s influence is a feminist social behavior of being active and independent and trying to fulfill one’s dream at any cost. From this film alone one can gather that Disney does not bother to hide their gender role agenda. That of breaking out of the stereotype that society has laid out for a young woman. The new type of a strong feminine character is easily identifiable in Ariel’s personality and identity. Disney version of The Little Mermaid fairy-tale advocates a clearly contemporary gender-role message in taking a female empowering approach to Ariel’s character, thus making it a large departure from the original text. Works Cited Graves, S. B. “Television and prejudice reduction: When does television as a vicarious experience make a difference?” Journal of Social Issues. Vol.55, no.4 (1999). Pp. 707-725. Read More