When you were watching Frozen did you get the feeling that the hype about the film’s progressive take on the Disney princesses was lacking? You are not the only one. Self-proclaimed writer/activist/student and internet personality Alexis Isabel agrees. Which is why she launched the hashtag, #giveelsaagirlfriend. With the slogan, she hopes to leverage the internet and convince Disney to bring Elsa out of the closet. Responding to the controversy liberals and conservatives began slinging mud. On the left, well-meaning liberals are championing outing Elsa’s sexual orientation as a step forward for the LGBT community. On the right, reactionary conservatives are chanting the worn out slogans of family values and political correctness. Reality is …show more content…
Elsa’s struggle is a common struggle for anyone who has a similar disconnect. Which is why it does not surprise me that the LGBT community has taken the Let It Go as an anthem. But is Elsa’s identity struggle a sign that she likes girls? The song gives us no hint to struggle over sexual orientation. And the only evidence in the rest of the film is Elsa’s rejection of male suitors. Making the assumption that likes girls because she has not shown evidence of liking boys is fallacious. Just because I hate ice cream does not provide a ground that I love cheeseburgers. The two items are mutually exclusive until they can be related with evidence. Nonetheless, liberals have rallied behind the sexual orientation projected upon …show more content…
Elsa is struggling with some life defining problems, but the issue is not about who she wants to bang – the issue is power. Frozen’s inability to provide us with a female lead with a strong identity and capacity to rule a kingdom is a largely ignored failure. What would it look like to have a princess that didn’t take shit for anyone and grabbed live by the ovaries? A lesbian princess while progressive does not address the powerlessness of the Disney princess. What we need is a badass princess who takes life by the ovaries and doesn’t take shit from
When reading a book, is really hard to get the attention of the reader. Who is interested with hearing once upon a time? For me, I would eater the novel start off with something relatable then ease me into the plot. Life doesn’t always start off as a fairytale so I prefer that my novels don’t either. So while reading this novel, I was evaluating not only the author but the content and if it would live up to the hype.
We see how the presence of European settlers have affected the Inuit people and their ideals. They have seem to have abandoned their traditional garments and enjoy the same activities typical of the Caucasian people. We see the effect of the influence when it is time for Elsa to raise her child. Under the tutelage of a white woman, Mme. Beaulieu, she cares for her child in a manner which is strange for her culture. She baths him, and dresses him in the cloths suggested to her by Mme. Beaulieu. She also revokes all things Inuit, only allowing her mother to care for the boy when she is at work, a job she takes so she may offer the child the possessions she is told are necessary. We see that since she lives in a small town, she has little choice when it comes to the individuals who will play a significant role in her life, even her unplanned baby. This child had more influence not only because of his relation to Elsa but also because of his unique color, he was white, with blue eyes and curly blond hair. She didn’t seem to see Jimmy as an Inuit boy. There may be a chance she didn’t want her son to live as an Inuit because she saw how hopeless they are: her mother was a source of distain for her and if she raised her son the way her mother raised her, Elsa would have a greater chance of becoming the woman she despises. She radically raised him by ideas given to her by Mme. Beaulieu, a woman she considered a
“Fire away. Take your best shot, show me what you got. Honey I’m not afraid (Chris, Lines 4-5)…” Strength, love, heartache, all words that many people can identify with, but what about mental illness, depression, and suicide. These words are those that humans avoid, pretend they are not there, but in reality those three words effect many more people that was ever thought possible. Over 18.2% of United States citizens suffer from a mental illness (Depression), 6.7% of United States citizens suffer from depression (Depression), and each year in the United States there are on average 42,773 deaths by suicide (American). Now, many people can relate to the words love and heartbreak, but many more can identify with the three words that the world
She states that most, if not all, of the movies that make up this new genre of movie “works not to emphasize the difference between humans and nonhumans, as it does in so many other Pixar features, but instead makes the characters into virtual puppets…” (284). Once puppetized, these characters can be made to do whatever they, the directors, please. Such as re-write and re enforce gender roles, as it is shown in March of the Penguins, with how the directors showed how the males were in charge of watching and protecting the eggs while the females left to find food (whereas in human society it is the opposite). Or they can solidify heterosexuality, by stating that all of the penguin relationships are strictly male/ female. Then by taking this bourgeois concept of heterosexuality and advertising it as full of variety and elasticity.
Of course, this could be justified by the target audience, as it is a Disney princess film after all. However, this relationship between two sisters is special enough to be analysed. Indeed, female friendship is often depicted as conflictive, in films such as Bride Wars for instance, whereas male friendship is made more valuable, as seen in most Seth Rodgen films. Here, the feminine solidarity is the core of the plot in Frozen, which motivates each protagonist’s designs and solves central issues of the
In the video produced on TED “Embrace the Remix” by Kirby Ferguson, he discusses the importance of understanding that “creativity comes from without not from within and that we are not self made but dependent on each other” (Ferguson, 2012). Ferguson discusses how everything is a remix and defines remixing as copying, transforming, and combining. He makes a logical sound argument through the use of logical fallacies to convince his viewers. Ferguson argues how remixing helps creativity through the use of logos by providing cases of Steve Jobs building off ideas, appealing to ethos with poisioning the wall fallacy, and emotionally appeal to the viewers through pathos with appeal to tradition.
Disney promotes sexisim by forcing young girls to live in a patriarchal world. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White are all examples of popular Disney movies that encourage young viewers that they need a man to save the day. Yes, it’s true that there are recent movies such as Moana and Frozen that prove otherwise, but how long will it take to completely get over the fact that women are mainly viewed as secondary citizens compared to the men? There are countless examples of how Disney movies influence this theme, and how much the female characters’ actions, ideas and thoughts are not included in a Disney movie.
A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes. Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these accomplishments with stereotypes of women present in Walt Disney movies. These unrealistic stereotypes may be detrimental to children because they grow up with a distorted view of how men and women interact. Disney animated films assign gender roles to characters, and young children should not be exposed to inequality between genders because its effect on their view of what is right and wrong in society is harmful to their future.
Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite their mask of progression, Disney princesses still have the potential to corrupt the minds of young children through sexism and racism.
Some of my earliest memories of listening to Michael Jackson include his number 1 hit 'Beat It'. I can remember that when I was younger, Michael Jackson’s 'Beat It' was one of his first songs that I ever listened to. Between the driving rock guitar, the soaring vocals, and the overall story that the song delivers, the song has easily become one of my favorite Michael Jackson tracks to this day.
Disney films have always been a huge part of the pop culture. They featured instantly recognizable characters among every age group. These characters, especially the princesses, have been very influential, more precisely on young girls, from Belle to Frozen. However, the majority of these films revolve around the same plot with minor differences: it is always a tale about finding romantic love, a prince charming who saves the princess from a danger and they live happily ever after. However, in 2012, Disney and Pixar produced Brave, a movie that challenged the types of Disney movies we were used to. It favors feminism and gives girls a nontraditional princess model. Brave stars a strong female protagonist, Merida, and an influential plot that
The song that I choose to do this assignment on is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Fight the Power was written in 1989 and quickly became a street anthem for millions of youths. It reflects with issues dealing with both the Civil Rights Movement and to remind everyone that they too have Constitutional Rights. This particular song is about empowerment but also fighting the abuse of power that is given to the law enforcement agencies. It gave citizens of the U.S a more modern outlook on the many struggles that not only the African American community is up against but the other minority groups as well. The song’s message was eventually supposed to bring people together and make the world a better place, even though some teens saw it as a way
Through the duration of our lives we are inadvertently exposed to a plethora of social stereotypes that shape our thoughts and behavior. These stereotypes are instilled through various forms of media such as movies, tv shows, and music. Disney animated movies, specifically, are a popular and parent approved form of entertainment for young children. Yet, many parents are seemingly unaware of the fact that children to be easily susceptible to the subliminal ideas and actions seen in movies. This leads to young children, who minds are still in the developmental stage, to have misconstrued opinions, behaviors, and beliefs. Adolescent girls tend to base their perception of gender roles in society off the unrealistic story lines seen in Disney movies such as The Little
After Anna is accidentally hit in the heart with ice by Elsa, her whole body begins to freeze and the only way to break the curse is by an act of “true love”. Immediately she assumes that she must kiss Prince Hans to break the spell, but when he revels his evil nature, Olaf explains to her that she is really in love with Kristoff and that she can kiss him to break the curse. In search for him, on one side of the ice she finds Elsa in danger with Prince Hans, and on the other she sees Kristoff. Instead of saving herself and having a “true loves kiss,” Anna decides to sacrifice herself to save Elsa from Hans’ sword. When she jumps in front of the weapon he whole body turns to ice but since she risked her life to save her sister because of the love she has for her, she unfroze. This scene showed young girls that they do not need to focus on just romantic true love, but to remember and cherish the love that can be expressed to
Female, feminine, and feminism: the three “f-words” that may get more of a reaction than bargained for when spoken aloud. Like the other “f-word” that rhymes with duck, these words and the concepts they carry have been written on by many brilliant theorists, such as Toril Moi and Laura Mulvey, who all bring to the forefront issues with how women are treated and viewed in our patriarchal and sexist society. Each of these words has developed an assortment of associations, some of which are positive, but most of which are negative, in our society – to the degree that these words have effectively become what is sometimes treated as swearwords, mainly by the mainstream media. Feminism, femaleness, and femininity are very different things, despite their similarity in sound and look, yet they are frequently associated to be connected, if not the same thing. For example, it is commonly assumed that if a female is present, she will fit a defined set of feminine qualities. Despite this fact, relief from the overwhelming male gaze and power structure can be found in some of the strangest places, such as the occasional movie within the Disney Princess franchise. Although most of the Disney princesses are still stuck in patriarchal societies, and most of them have no feminism to speak of, some of the Disney Princesses do, such as Merida, Mulan, Elsa, and Anna. Most females present in the media, specifically movies, are there to be looked at and objectified, to be looked at through the collective male gaze of society. Through the lenses presented by Moi and Mulvey, it becomes apparent that these Disney Princesses possess agency.