Examples Of Heteronormative Norms In Disney Movies

Disney’s Pixar has always had a traditionally “alpha male” role for its leading male characters, but there is possibly a “new male model” concept that has overtaken this predominant alpha male role as portrayed in the article, “Post-Princess models of gender: The new man in Disney/Pixar” by Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden. Within the article, Gillam and Wooden use a well-structured article with supportive examples that effectively strengthen their ideas and theories. The observation in Disney’s Pixar promotes a new male model in their films which expresses more feminine traits is effectively reinforced by the author’s success in organizing the evidence and examples which support their ideas: also the authors effective use of structuring the article to draw your attention to the main issues being discussed to successfully connect to their thesis. Effective introduction of their topics and ideas in a sufficient orderly fashion and present these ideas which give a lot of their theories and ideas strength in persuading the readers to think a certain way about the topic. The authors succeed in addressing their theory that in Disney’s Pixar films there is a new male model which has transformed the previously “unambiguous alpha” male role.

In the past years, Disney/Pixar has revolutionized the premise of their movies by shifting away from princesses and portraying resilient male characters as the protagonists of their highly successful animated feature films. From 1995 to 2008, Disney/Pixar released eight films, all of which included a male lead, yet these characters are arguably unlike any other protagonist in early Disney animated films. In their essay, “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden call attention to the new manner Disney/Pixar use to depict their heroic male characters in their movies. Gillam and Wooden claim that Pixar is using their movies to promote the acceptance of a new standard of masculinity capable of embracing feminine traits, as conveyed by the male characters within the films. As a viewer, it is easy to recognize the emasculation of the male protagonists within Pixar movies, however, the authors’ claim is faulty; they fail to acknowledge that society now has room for a new sympathetic man because it is straying way from a patriarchal beliefs of the past.

The Disney Renaissance era from 1989 to 1999 (Kearns) was the time when Walt Disney Animation Studious produced successful well-known stories into animated films that brought a lot of critical and public interest to the Walt Disney Company. One example is the article written by Laura Sells “Where Do the Mermaids Stand?” In the article she quarrels and critiques the narrowness of the representation of women in society and how they are assigned value based on the traditional practices of women and not accepting change or new ideas of new acceptable positions for women in the American culture (Sells, 176). She based the article on the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. Susan Jeffords focuses on another Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast” in her article “Curse of Masculinity”. Jeffords says that for a man to change into a good guy they must lose their hyper masculinity and transform their masculine heroisms. They need kindness, love and affection from loved ones to motivate change in a man (Jeffords, 163). After careful reading and analyzing these two movies, Walt Disney has a powerful force to send a message across about representation of gender roles and gender stereotypes on men and women depending on their looks, education and power in a form of entertainment that is fun to watch and never needs to be questioned. Children are raised on Disney and learn from these Walt Disney films how they should think, act, dress, speak... how to

perpetuated over the years throughout Disney’s movies. Disney is one of the largest media companies in the world. According to Forbes, the “net worth and market capitalization of Disney Company has been estimated as $103.96 billion in 2013” ("Walt Disney Company Net Worth - Celebrity Net Worth,”). From the premiere of the Steamboat Willie cartoons in 1928 Disney has transformed pop culture as we know it today. This paper is designed to look into four major issues gender identity, gender roles, ethnicity, social class throughout Disney’s Cinderella (1950) and Frozen (2013). I aim to show that in these films can be found a subtle manual for social norms, a supplier of dominant family values. I will assess certain sociological concepts that are represented in these films namely ‘The American Dream’, standardization, pseudo-individualism and the creation of false needs. As a society, the understanding of these issues are instrumental to our being since our identity is often distorted through long term norms, ideals and merits set forth through these animated films.

While growing up, it is safe to say that most children grow up watching Disney movies. A lot of little girls grew up wanting to be princess like Belle, Cinderella, and Ariel. These characters were idols for children because they portrayed every aspect they wanted to be when growing up. As grown ups, when one watches the films again, a sense of discomfort starts to arise. One begins to notice specific ideologies, stereotypical gender roles and racism in the films that were once admired.

All of the heroes and princesses in the Disney Princess films are hyper-heterosexual – they fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. However, the Disney villains are not, cross the gender boundaries by displaying masculine or feminine characteristics that oppose their sex. Through the portrayal and association of gender fluidity with evil, young girls, and children in general, associate being different with being bad. Several of the Disney villains display gendered behavior that opposes their sex.

This essay will identify and discuss heteronormativity and how it exists in our society. By making reference to relevant sources such as Steyn & van Zyl, the ideals of a heteronormative society will be explored and how they have been shaped by our social and cultural context. A recently produced Walt Disney film will be identified which portrays these standards of heteronormative gender structures. By analysing the film and making reference to an independent source, the background and history of this example will also be explored to determine if and why Disney films continually perpetuate heteronormative discourses of gender using the media. Steyn and van Zyl (2009:3) define heteronormativity as the institutionalisation of heterosexuality and

Disney has books, movies, and theme parks scattered across the globe so there is likely no question as to why Disney has become a household name. Though, some of the images and lessons portrayed in the motion pictures by Disney have been ridiculed for not upholding the values and beliefs of women. However, Disney was only pursuing the doxa, or the “commonly held opinions” (Aristotle, 34), of their times, which can be seen through the progression from Disney’s first princess film, Snow White (1937) to their most recent princess movie, Moana (2016). Over the course of the years, Disney, has changed their depictions of females in their movies since the releases of their classic Disney Princess films. In this essay, I will be dissecting the princess movies of Disney and how Disney created each of their films with attempts to keep up with the doxa, as discussed by Aristotle in On Rhetoric and how Disney portrayed the roles of women in society through their films.

The purpose of this research is to explain the stereotypes found in Disney animated films. Common stereotypes shown in Disney movies are the classification of gender roles and the perception of beauty. Almost every Disney movie has a villain in it. Villains are often easy to pick out because they are always portrayed a certain way. The females are

Since 1937, Disney has been creating several animation movies for children, as well as adults, to enjoy. From Snow White to Cinderella to Tangled, Disney has produced household names and characters for children to look up to. Without disregarding the happiness Disney has brought to billions of children, it has also enforced multiple societal norms that are otherwise alarming. At first glance the typical Disney fairytale seems entertaining, but when examining closer they have portrayed patriarchy, unrealistic body images and racial stereotypes. For years Disney has portrayed woman as tall, beautiful and thin.

In order to determine the significance of the change of Disney, the influences of media and gender roles in general need to be researched and described. Further, if Disney is changing in order to adapt to the surrounding culture, there must be certain movies or time frames that show a shift and change. What are these DISNEY’S FEMALE GENDER ROLES: THE CHANGE OF MODERN CULTURE Barber 5 cultural changes, and do they play into the adaptation and representation of the Disney central themes when it comes to their

The mention of Disney often takes people back to childhood memories about animated films that portray messages such as love, friendship, believing in one’s self, morals, good versus evil and happy endings for the princes and princesses. However, the stories themselves have a large of amount of gender stereotypes, cultural biases, class differentiation, and unrealistic expectations of how society is supposed to be compared to real life such as being a gorgeous thin Caucasian girl or a muscle man. Even though the stories have been made to be more mainstream than the original fairytales written by Charles Perrault, the Grimm brother’s and Hans Christian Anderson; the stories still keep the idealistic portrayals of gender types from their

Children’s television may be one of the most influential means of gendered images ( Andersen, 2011, p.65). Considering the amount of hours children spend watching television, this means that such images are a powerful source of gender socialization. Thus, Disney has enormous power to shape and transform people’s perception and attitudes. Disney is a dangerous corporation because it’s a subliminal kind of education that are observed by young infants ( movie, :30). Mickey Mouse Monopoly takes a close and critical look at the animated films produced by the Disney Company, and these films create stereotypes about race, gender, and class.

I have chosen to research the portrayal of gender roles in Disney Movies (specifically Snow White, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid). The term gender is used to describe the socially constructed differences between men and women, I will be investigating the portrayal of the male and female characters to see how today’s society respond to and accept the gender roles portrayed in the films. As well as this, I will analyse how these gender roles have changed over time, by comparing today's gender roles with Disney’s classic ones. The cross cultural aspect will also explored, to see the way different cultures, particularly Indian cultures, respond to the gender role portrayal in these films. I will research the gender roles in Indian societies

For decades Disney has given the wrong impression of female gender roles. Today many of the aspects such as women being the weaker sex and set roles for each denomination have not changed as much as the society thinks. Looking at male and female characters in animations, one can see how those two genders are portrayed differently in terms of their roles. In this case, Disney has crossed the line portraying gender stereotypes to their films, especially stereotypes of women.