Disney And The Polynesian Culture

Moana is a unique film that is released by Walt Disney in 2016. A typical Disney film consists of a beautiful princess who wants to find a true love in her life; however, Moana, the main character of the film, broke all the stereotypes and expectations of a Disney princess since Moana’s conflict does not arise from a love interest, but from a desire to save her island. The story of the movie is that there is a girl who lives on the island, but her island is dying because Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti. Therefore, her purpose is to across the ocean to find Maui and make him return the heart of Te Fiti in order to restore life on the Motunui Island, but the chief of the island “ her father “ wishes for their people to stay within the confines of the island’s reef because he thinks beyond the reef is dangerous, but Moana went against her father’s

Historically the treatment of Native Americans has been highly problematic, especially throughout the colonization of the New World. Although, when colonising some Europeans took a merciful and sympathetic approach to the Native Americans, generally the treatment towards the indigenous people was not humane. Not only did the Native Americans die at the hand of the settlers, they also died from diseases that had been brought to the new world by explorers for which they had no immunity. In some cases diseases such as smallpox wiped out entire tribes. Together, the introduction of diseases and the actions of the European settlers had devastating effects on the Native Americans.

I have chose to write my final discussion on the newest Disney movie Moanna. Moanna was the classic example of someone going through the Heros Journey. Although she already is held higher than most though because she is the daughter of the chief, so ultimately the next leader. She always longing for more. Her grandmother is the one that pushes her to go follow her heart, When the tribe is in trouble Moanna goes to the call of the journey to find Maui who is a shapeshifter. Maui was all about himself and did not care to help Monna help her tribe. Monna ends up helping Maui when he needs it the most, he teaches her how to sail and continue their journey. They are defeated though by a monster. Maui goes on about his way and Moanna is lost. Defeated

To best analyze the American understanding of the Polynesian Cultural Center, I will look at primary sources both in the time of its founding, the early 1960s, and over the next few decades through to the 1980s. These sources, including photographs from the first year of operation, newspaper clippings from mainland American newspapers, film clips from the first few years, entries from a blog created to allow former Polynesian Cultural Center employees (referred to as alumni), and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint’s official history of the center. From these sources, I will be able to gather a few different perceptions and opinions of the center- that of the majority Polynesian employees, the Americans visiting

Disney was justified in creating the Moana film and was not culturally insensitive to the Polynesian people because, Disney made sure that the Polynesian culture represented in the movie was accurate, made the movie more culture friendly by focusing on the important things, and Disney actually spent their own time researching to make sure the setting and the characters were just right.

Article 3 states, “Clements and Musker have been making trips to the Pacific Islands including Samoa, Tahiti, Mo’orea, and Fiji. Over time they created a coalition of anthropologists, historians, choreographers, musicians, and linguists called the Oceanic Trust. Together, this group helped to shape "Moana" and keep the writing and design as authentic as possible.” Moreover, this evidence shows Disney had taken in a lot of accounts to get the setting of Moana very similar to what Polynesian islands would look like. To add onto, the team took time out of their lives just to go visit these foreign places, to make sure that their movie was perfect.

Disney was justified in making the film “Moana” and was not culturally insensitive to the Polynesian people because, Disney has worked hard for 5 years researching Polynesians and their culture; they have hired Polynesian actors and songwriters; and Disney have made sure to truly depict the terrain of the Polynesians. Disney has sent many people to research the Polynesian islands, to truly understand the Polynesian culture. In article 3 it states, “For the past five years, Clements and Musker have been making trips to the Pacific Islands including Samoa, Tahiti, Mo’orea, and Fiji.” This shows the directors took great care to study the Polynesian people, their homes and their culture. It also shows that Disney did this to make sure they weren’t being insensitive or stereotyping Polynesian people.

Hawaiian is unique among the fifty states, especially in regards to its native music form, which is still preformed, and captivates audiences even today. Hawaiian chanting, music, and dance are not only key parts of life on the island, but have also become cultural icons as well as profound symbols of nature and religion in Hawaii. Hawaii has a rich history, beginning with the early settlers from Polynesia who brought their traditions and religions to Hawaii. Over the years, the inhabitants took those traditions and adapted them to their new home, creating the definitive culture that, even with Western influences, still is a captivating force within the society.

Culture is defined as a whole basis of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, and customs that define a person or group of persons. Culture differs is so many ways and that culture is what defines each of person as an individual. This concept comes from the cultural that was taught and developed from after birth and through our adolescent years. Our culture is the foundation of who we are. It identifies the lifestyle and pursuits that are practiced in the group of people we interact with in our society. Culture beliefs, values, and practices are learned from birth.

My topic is the colonialism of The Walt Disney Company. When defining colonialism, I will be referring to two general definitions that are applicable to modern day colonialism as seen through cultural appropriation, and cultural commodification of Disney and the tourist industry. Oxford Dictionaries defines colonialism as, “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically,” and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s defines colonialism as, “a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another.”

Walt Disney Animation Studios is a large part in America’s entertainment industry. Reaching children and adults through their many platforms, Disney has been influencing people for over 90 years. These films have played a huge role in the society displays of gender roles. This is seen in the representation in their characters, more importantly females. Culture has been going through changes in the past couple of decades and Disney reflects the changes in society through its characters. Popular culture rises with each of Disney’s films and become well known with their recognizable roles. The Disney Princess line up has been a rising influence since 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and continues to present with the current release of Moana, the most revolutionary Disney Princess as of yet.

The Disney movie Moana like many others introduced to us a different culture. What is unique about the Disney animated movie Moana is that you are being introduced to all kinds of Polynesian cultures. The movie begins with a story of creation. At the beginning, there was only the ocean. When Te Fiti emerged, her heart, allowed the creation of life and multiple islands.

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.

My second concept is Power and the direct connection it has with the ancestors of Moana’s people. For generations her family has had the power to control what goes on in the reef. Thousands of years ago, Polynesian people were architects at traveling the seas. Finding new land and providing new voyages for their people. Over time they found New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, and many other small islands.

When most people think about Disney movies, their mind often goes to the stereotypical princess movies in which the protagonist wears a pink ball gown. Time and time again these princesses must fight their way through the story in a luxurious ball gown in order to end up with a prince. However, there are many Disney movies that work to challenge these gender stereotypes. The movie Moana is a recent example of a Disney production that works to break the imposed stereotypes placed on children from an early age.