1. Looking into the Magic Mirror: Disney's Impact on the Fairy Tale Genre - Haas, Lynda and Shaina Trapedo
It is an essay about gender in Disney's animated films
In this paper, the author discusses that Disney's films are like magic mirrors. The princess they created in Disney films reflects the social problem. Besides, From Snow White to Frozen, the image of the princess is changing over time. The princess's image in Disney fairy tale has shifted from a passive females role, which was motivated by finding her prince and having a happy end to an independent female role. And, the male role continues to be weakened.
This essay can support my view that Disney's social construction of female characters has changed from the original Snow White-style negative female image that entirely relied on men to the new female roles who are no longer bound by the male-and-female relationship, have independent thinking, and can define their own lives.
2. Why Disney Princesses Are Problematic - Nicholson Kalyn
It is a podcast.
Kalyn uses this podcast to tell a viewpoint that the messages conveyed by Disney's fairy tale animated movies were installed in girls' brains in various forms when they were little. The author supports her point from three perspectives. The first is that women's weakness can attract men; The second is that men can make girls' lives better even if they are not good people; The third is that The unrealistic and unhealthy beautiful images in Disney movies mislead young girls.
This podcast uses many personal stories and analysis of Disney's animated films to support her idea. Our question is How Disney films contribute to the social construction of our values and perceptions about gender and acceptable gender roles. This podcast gives us a great view of this. For instance, 00:04:10 - The first one is that women are damsels in distress that is pretty much the common denominator of every princess movie that princess as a damsel. She said, "She is in some sort of distress that she cannot seen to figure on her own for whatever reason. And she need to be save by some handsome prince. Like Snow White and sleeping beauty where the girls are pretty much dead or unliving to the world until she gets kiss by the man. The kiss are power and bring her back to live." the author's idea at this moment can support my idea that Snow White shows a passive female role. Besides, we can clearly understand that the social construction of gender in Disney animated movies will be unconsciously transmitted to the audiences through the protagonist, especially for the little girls without cognitive ability. The value to the female role in the films will make little girls think that they should be as weak as Snow White, and then they can get the attention of boys.
3. Gender Values in Pixar's Brave - Aquinasmedia
It is a review of the film from Aquinasmedia.
This is a review about analyzing the gender value in Brave. The author uses many details in Brave, such as action, reaction, and dialogue, as examples in discussing two dominant values embedded in the film, the equality between man and woman and female independence. The princess, Merida, was used to opposite the traditional value of how women must act.
In my opinion, Merida was the first heroine in the third stage who say no to male-and-female relationship and marriage. The review analyzes that her image is the opposite of the traditional female image. This view can prove that she broke the conventional female image, not for her prince but for the most freedom.
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