Right, so I've been meaning to get this ball rolling for ages, and here it [finally] is. The following five posts will cover my research on Disney's representatio of women, which I hope will at least proves interesting to those of you who love Disney, fairy tales, reading and feminism – if you can actually love feminism – and maybe even useful to those of you researching these subjects. I'm more than happy for people to use my findings in their own writing, as long as it's properly referenced – only fair – and I'll endeavour to clearly show the references that I used. Any questions though, please do comment. Enjoy.
Spoiler
The following posts examine the role of women in Disney's Renaissance period, specifically The Little Mermaid (Clements & Musker, 1989) and Beauty and the Beast (Trousdale & Wise, 1991), and will compare them to previous literary versions to achieve an understanding of the studio's principle agenda. These posts will feature a close textual analysis of the Disney films, and Propp's theory on the functions of fairy tales will be used to compare the morals and values of these versions with their most famous literary predecessors; those written by Andersen and de Beaumont. It is then posited that the filmic adaptations have been manipulated in such a way as to reflect the corporation's patriarchal and capitalist ideologies, by suggesting that girls like Belle and Ariel are merely submissive constructs of a male dominated society. The supposed autonomy of these characters is explained as signifying the post-feminist tendency of women to seek liberation by gaining access to the workplace, and becoming independent earners. However, Belle and Ariel both long for more; desiring to belong to the 'outside' world, which promises beauty, admiration and freedom. The fact that neither girl is satisfied with life indicates the media's pressure on women to appear a certain way; to change themselves in order to correspond to a set of prescribed norms; and to ultimately become happy and successful. Thus, the outcome is that Disney's young women stand as metonyms for the anxieties of many female viewers, who feel they should work hard to fit into society, and then appear grateful to their male colleagues, for allowing them these freedoms to succeed.
So far so good? On to the intro then.
The Intro
So far so good? On to the intro then.
The Intro
1989 witnessed the beginning of Disney's 'Renaissance era' (Byrne & McQuillan, 1999, et al); lasting roughly until 1999, where the studio once again became a popular, and much-loved, household name – after nearly going down the pan in the late 70s/early 80s. Giroux writes that Disney's increasing economic power, as shown through the buying up of numerous television and film networks during the 1980s and 90s, demonstrated not only domination of the media industry, but of cultural and political hegemony. In other words, Disney acquired authority and influence due to its vastness and, because it is practically impossible to avoid this conglomerate, it is similarly impossible to avoid its beliefs and values. Furthermore, the phenomenon of marketing; the selling of 'tie-in' products such as toys, clothes and even specially packaged food items to coincide with a film's release, plays right into the hands of consumerism which, in effect, is one of the ways an individual feels a sense of belonging to the wider society or, as Giroux states:
If we imagine the Disney Company as a teaching machine whose power and influence can, in part, be measured by the number of people who come in contact with its goods, messages, values, and ideas, it becomes clear that Disney wields enormous influence on the cultural life of the nation, especially with regard to the cultural life of children. (2001:19)
In reference to Disney being positioned as a teaching aid, Giroux claims that the studio's long-standing commitment to the portrayal of innocence, happiness and imagination in contrast to the realities of contemporary American life, became like a system of educational tools. By standing as the chief signifier for family entertainment and escapism, and with the promise that Disney will fulfil its consumers' hopes and dreams, as encapsulated in its 'When You Wish upon a Star' theme tune, the corporation sought to re-educate audiences, particularly children, in the spheres of consumerism, self-identity, and even nationalism. Shrouded in its cloak of innocence, Disney's dominance of culture, economy, politics and the media means that its underlying strategies of control, consumption and commodification can be filtered into the minds of its billions of users. In addition, as Giroux notes, the magical world of Disney acts as a site of fantasy and distraction for children from the hectic and stressful lives of adults, creating the illusion of a kinship between its young spectators, who are made to feel secure enough to readily receive the teachings of this substitute guardian:
Stripped of the historical and social constructions that give it meaning, innocence in the Disney universe becomes an atemporal, ahistorical, apolitical, and atheoretical space where children share a common bond free of the problems and conflicts of adult society. Disney markets this ideal, presenting itself as a corporate parent who safeguards this protective space for children by supplying the fantasies that nourish it. (2001:31)
Thus, from a young age, audiences are taught to believe in Disney's magic, as it provides a world of safety and unity, far removed from that of its real-life alternative. The innocence that the company endorses effectively becomes truth, largely because it is what individuals want to believe, but also because it is what they are provoked into believing via the processes of marketing, merchandising and advertising, as well as Disney's omnipotent involvement within the wider realms of society and culture.
The fact that two of the first three films of Disney's Renaissance are based on fairy tales is interesting to note in relation to Giroux's comments, and it is these two films; The Little Mermaid (Clements & Musker, 1989) and Beauty and the Beast (Trousdale & Wise, 1991), that provide the foundations for this discussion. For now, a brief initial observation would surmise that Disney's recreation of these 'classic' tales at the beginning of its own reinvention demonstrates the desire to situate itself as the purveyor of fantasy and escapism, and that these particular stories, in their familiarity and resurgence of childhood nostalgia, enhance the connotations of storytelling and, consequently, of the educative passing on of wisdom, advice and valuable life lessons by an elder to a child.
Leading Ladies
The protagonists of both The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are girls, though as will be discussed later, Disney's filmic adaptation of the latter has made Beauty, or Belle's, role much less significant in comparison to her literary predecessors. Hence, due to Disney's fascination with the heroine, and its repeated portrayal of seemingly strong, charismatic and determined young woman, it is from a feminist perspective that the films will be considered.
At the time that the Renaissance era began, feminism was experiencing great changes in its political and cultural hegemonies, as well as in its perception within society. Whereas the feminist movement of the 1970s was primarily concerned with issues of equality and sexual liberation, later polemics of the 1980s and 90s were more interested in the attitudes of society as a whole towards women and, while still focusing on equality in the home and workplace, shifted attention to the ways that women were publicly presented; specifically by such institutions as politics and the media.
This new wave of feminism, often termed Third Wave or post-feminism, tends to be more celebratory of women's roles in society; their achievements, in terms of academic, employment and politics; and their freedom to express themselves via their appearance, mannerisms and body postures. Women are encouraged to openly display their personalities, even if they do not correspond to society's traditional views on what is considered customary and expected. This allows for a 'modern' breed of on and off screen female character with which to identify and aspire, as Walter argues:
Young women can now explore a range of different ways to behave; aggressive and articulate behaviour is rewarded as well as passive or quiet behaviour. Women now have countless naughty, large and noisy heroines to emulate as well as the good, small and quiet heroines of the last century. (1998:58)
Tasker develops the notion of female emancipation further, claiming that a woman's ability to choose what she wears has the effect of turning her into a powerful consumer. By this, Tasker means that women gain power from wearing clothes that they have chosen and paid for, not only because these items say a lot about their owner's character, but because shopping for them carries with it a sense of autonomy, satisfaction and enjoyment. Additionally, the importance that has been placed on consumerism and physical appearance as sites of pleasure has resulted in women being revered as articles of beauty and perfection which, instead of constituting objectification, enhances female liberation and authority, according to Tasker:
In line with this peculiarly silent visibility, postfeminism also perpetuates woman as pinup, the enduring linchpin of commercial beauty culture. In fact, it has offered new rationales for guilt-free consumerism, substantially reenergizing beauty culture [...]. (2007:3)
In this way, consumerism can be seen as beneficial to women; acting as a form of [retail] therapy, as it provides a means of expressing identity that is, seemingly, related to internal desires and wishes, as opposed to the external viewpoints of society. This concept can then be applied to feminism in a wider context, as contemporary attitudes towards women can, at first glance, appear to have the effect of allowing them to make their own choices, which are generated by individual needs and wants, not by those of society.
However Walter has revisited the key ideas in cultures of feminism, proposing that this alleged trend towards freedom through consumption is falsely justified. While women are now able to buy, wear and [within reason] do what they want, the privileges set out by the beauty industry specifically mean that sexual objectification can be equated to female empowerment. The necessity for women to look beautiful connotes a certain amount of vulnerability and lack; in that perhaps they wish to fulfil this aspect of their lives in order to gain success in other areas, such as business and education, and coincides with the recent acceptability of the sex industry into mainstream culture. As Walter notes, children's dolls, which are often modelled on such cinematic heroines as those featured in Disney films, have become highly sexualised over the past decade, as have their on-screen counterparts; who regularly appear in skimpy clothes, have big hair, and faces covered in make-up, no matter their age. Far from denoting emancipation and equality, the sexualisation of girls, and the suggestion that attractiveness leads to happiness and achievement, actually suggests the opposite.
It appears that, contrary to cultural belief, little has changed in regards to society's attitude towards women since the feminist movement of the 1970s, and that while it may seem women have been granted greater freedom in terms of their private and public spheres, this 'freedom' is in fact a disguise or 'masquerade' (McRobbie, 2009:79), working to conceal the truth; that women are not free to be themselves, because it is still society that sets out the, somewhat antiquated, terms and conditions or, in the words of Walter:
The rise of a hypersexual culture is not proof that we have reached full equality; rather, it has reflected and exaggerated the deeper imbalances of power in our society. Without thoroughgoing economic and political change, what we see when we look around us is not the equality we once sought; it is a stalled revolution. (2010:8-9)
In order to relate this post-feminist critique to the women of Disney's The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, the issues of equality, consumerism, sexualisation and objectification will be looked at in detail. The following three posts will address a specific theme: fairy tales, adaptation and representation, with post-feminism providing a theoretical framework and analytical approach for all three. There will then be a conclusion, to sum it all up nice and concisely. Don't go skipping to that part first though, cheats!
The aim of this disscussion is to evaluate how women are presented in Disney's versions of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast; and whether this is positive, as 'Renaissance' denotes, whether the studio's adaptation of these tales signifies negative attitudes, or whether indeed these aspects co-exist in tension. By looking closely at the fairy tale and theories of adaptation, and relating the findings to a comparison of the literary texts with Disney's renditions, a greater understanding of the films' subtexts will be reached, and the corporation's position on the depiction of women will become clearer, as any alterations made in the move from page to screen should carry significant implications.
Keep 'em peeled for Part II: the one about fairy tales.
KT xxx
Bibliography:
Byrne, E. & McQuillan, M. (1999) Deconstructing Disney, Pluto Press:London
Keep 'em peeled for Part II: the one about fairy tales.
KT xxx
Bibliography:
Byrne, E. & McQuillan, M. (1999) Deconstructing Disney, Pluto Press:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to comment, I welcome both positive and negative feedback. However, due to some recent weirdness, I now moderate all comments, so any abusive, threatening, or offensive comments will not be shown.