Disney films have made great strides in their portrayal of women, from the entirely domestic
and dependent Snow White in 1937
to the adventurous and unconstrained Merida in 2012.
It’s hard. to go a single day on the Internet without finding yet another blog post about the free-spirited
women in Disney movies, especially the Disney Princesses. They all praise Disney movies
for making great steps towards women’s rights in our society. But who cares? These are just
movies. Shouldn’t we stop relying on fictional storytelling to comment on reality? I want
to argue that film is in fact one of the best methods of commenting on a society, and a
Disney Princess can have more influence on a society than any politician or leader.
Every popular film, to some extent, conforms with the society it was made in. Think about
it. If a movie was released this year that generalized all African Americans as unintelligent
and sexually aggressive towards women and also made out the Klu Klux Klan as heroes,
would it be a commercial success? Probably not. That wouldn’t conform to the values
of our present society. But in the early 1900’s, this kind of film could be a critical hit
because that society conformed to those believes. And it was. In 1915, “The Birth of a Nation”
was released and became the highest grossing film of the year despite generalizing African
Americans as unintelligent and the KKK as heroes. What I’m saying is, people don’t
like seeing movies that greatly contradict their views, so the most commercially successful
movies generally avoid so much controversy that nobody pays to see the movie. In other
words, commercially successful movies are a commentary on what the popular beliefs were
at the time of its making. Of course, there are plenty of thought-provoking, society-critiquing
movies out there, but we certainly don’t see them topping the box office. So where
do the Disney Princesses fit into this? Disney produces some of the most popular films of
all time, with 13 of the 25 highest grossing films in history from the Walt Disney Corporation.
The Disney Princess films are some of their most successful. Let’s take a look at how
Disney films conform with the societies they were made in.
Snow White takes place in Germany in the 1500’s, but it’s very much a portrayal of life for
women in America when it was made in 1937. Women at this time were taught that their
place was in the home, and Snow White is a perfect representation of that view. For her,
a home is the only safe place. The outside world is scary, her safety is in a house where
she feeds, cooks, and cleans for others, and her life is eventually saved by a man. Snow
White is more telling a description of the societal perceptions of women at that time
than any textbook. Through fiction, we get a taste of reality.
Ariel reflects society's portrayal of women during the creation of The Little Mermaid.
In 1989, America has accepted the deviation from the “Nuclear Family” and a women’s
role outside of the home. Ariel leaves her home, the ocean, in search for her destiny.
But what is she in search for? A man. 1989 America still believes a woman’s main goal
is to find a husband and start a family. Society has not yet reached the milestone of seeing
women independent of a man, and that is reflected in the popular cinema of that era.
Merida in Brave shows society's current view of women. She is fierce, independent, and
doesn’t need a man. In fact, she outperforms other men in her world. In our society, we
now recognize that women can do anything a man can do AND don’t need men in their lives
to be happy. Women can now choose their own fate.
When you see a film, it may take place in the past, or the distant future, but the film
is always subtly commenting about the society it was made in. Wall-E is about a future where
humans had to escape an inhabitable planet, but it’s really a commentary about how we
mistreat the environment today. Mulan takes place in ancient China but is about how masculine
qualities are not exclusive to men in our current society.
So heres a question. Films are influenced by society’s views, but can society’s
views be influenced by film? They reach such a wide audience and can provide such powerful
messages that they change society’s views in radical ways. Like when Jaws led to a huge
drop in beach tourism, when men started forming their own fight clubs, or when a movie inspires
some southerners to bring back the KKK. Philadelphia is such an important film because it was the
first big production to portray a man with the HIV virus and was a major inspiration
for the founding of an international AIDS awareness association in 1997. Philadelphia
touched the hearts of Americans and brought an awareness to the struggles of the disease
in a way a simple awareness campaign never could have.
What makes Disney Princesses so important is that they’re marketed towards families
and especially children. Children, specifically girls, idolize these princesses. They dress
up like them. They mimic them. They act just like them. Don’t we want to raise girls
who become women with strong views of themselves? If Disney Princesses present demeaning, domesticating
values for women, then women will become that through mimicking that behavior. Disney Princesses
shape the character of the children that watch because girls want to be the princess they
see on screen. So what character should we show them?
Thanks for watching.