Feminist Criticism Of Finding Nemo

As children, people watch all sorts of animated cartoons and entertaining TV shows. Children look for a good laugh and parents look for something partially educational. Of course, as young children, they do not pay attention to the true meaning behind the story or even look at the way the different characters are portrayed. Even more obvious, children do not pay any sort of attention to the differences between the male and female characters or the differences in the ways the genders are portrayed. But, as children grow older they learn to analyze simple things such as movies and TV shows more closely. When people do analyze more closely, they often find a different way to look at the same TV show or film. A good example of a movie that includes many details which are often overlooked, but can later be analyzed to uncover a hidden meaning, is the film Finding Nemo.

Directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Disney and first released on May 30, 2003, the film Finding Nemo is fairly recent.

Because this film is just about thirteen years old, most viewers would not expect to hear that Finding Nemo can easily be ripped apart with a feminist critique. Many people assume that male dominance is a thing of the past and that females are valued equal to men, but when watching Finding Nemo as a feminist critic it became apparent these statements are utterly false; and not just in this one Disney movie, but also in multiple other Disney produced movies as well. It is incredibly sad to learn a movie so popular to children really truly continues to promote the difference between genders and all each of the informed viewers can do is hope that children do not catch on to this nonsensical way of thinking. The film Finding Nemo contains many different scenes, characters, and dialogues which continue to promote male dominance over women and identify women as a lesser being when being compared to their male

counterparts.
Feminist criticism is a type of sociological criticism that is also known as Gender Criticism. Feminist criticism pays close attention to the way both males and females are represented, but usually focuses more on the role of the women in the film and the way the women are portrayed. This type of criticism looks at "… the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" (Tyson). Often times, when viewing a film through a feminist critique we want to start by looking at the gender of the author or director and the gender of the main characters as well. This may give us some insight into the way the author views women and how the author intended for women to be portrayed in their story. When viewing a film through a feminist critique there are many different and questions the viewer should question. For example, the viewer could question the way the relationship between men and women is being portrayed, the way masculinity and femininity are defined in the film, and how the characters embody these specific masculine or feminine traits (Allen). Other questions to ask could include "Do any of the characters have unique abilities or disabilities?" and "How does a character change and evolve over the course of a series?" The viewer may even ask "How does this film make you feel and how might someone from a different background feel while watching" (Hodge)? The viewer should pay close attention to whether the female characters are being portrayed from a male perspective or a female and also the types of roles the female characters are given. The setting may also be important when watching a film with a feminist perspective. Quite often, this type of sociological criticism is centered around the male role of dominance over a female character or group of females. But, there are three different ways a feminist critique may interpret a piece. Some critics may choose to look at a piece and view it as though women are put in charge to allow the male characters to understand how they feel and some critics may see the complete opposite and say that men and women are different, but should be valued equally. Lastly, some critics may take the middle ground and say that there is no difference between males and females (Gardner et al. 1269). Despite the huge differences between each of these views, a feminist critic will still look at the same general aspects of the film and ask the same questions. The well-known children's movie, Finding Nemo, is a perfect example of a film that can be analyzed through a feminist perspective to uncover hidden meaning.
To start, in the movie Finding Nemo, a feminist critique would clearly see an enormous lack of female characters, the portrayal of females as "crazy", and even a strong amount of male dominance. The main characters in Finding Nemo includes eleven males (Gurgle, Bubbles, Jacques, Bloat, Gill, Crush, Squirt, Nemo, Marlin, Bruce, Nigel) and four females (Dory, Peach, Deb/Flo, Darla) (Disney). Not only do these numbers easily identify this inequality, but the way the characters are portrayed and the different personalities do as well. The four female characters are all portrayed as either crazy or dumb. Dory is depicted as "the friendliest fish in the sea" but, suffers from short term memory loss. Dory consistently repeats herself and forgets where she is going. This causes Marlin to get frustrated as he just wants to find his son. The other female characters Peach, Deb/Flo, and Darla are also depicted as useless and unintelligent. For example, Peach the starfish stays stuck to the side of the fishbowl watching dental procedures all day. Peach the starfish does not say much, but just stares out of the glass all-day and all-night. Along with Peach, Deb/ Flo is shown as a fish who stares at her reflection all day and thinks her reflection is her sister. No one tells Deb that Flo isn't actually her sister, but rather her reflection, leaving her to look idiotic as well. Lastly, Darla, the dentists' niece, is portrayed as somewhat of a villain in the movie. She has crazy red hair and braces that make her easily identifiable. Darla try's to take the fish home and consistently attacks the fish bowl. Overall, we see the only somewhat important female characters be shown as unhelpful and unintelligent. In contrast, the male characters are shown as being brave, strong, and tough. If we look at the "Fish-Eaters" or the group of sharks, which are all male, they are thought of as vicious and tough. Even Gill, the leaders of the dentist's office fish tank, has scars on the side of his face and torn up wings that make him look tough. The major conflict revolves around male characters and the male characters are the ones who save Nemo at the end of the movie. Directed by a man, with the majority of main characters being male, it is obvious that there is a bias towards female characters.
Next, throughout Finding Nemo the movie, the majority of the main scenes and the main plot as well include solely male characters. For example, when the three parents meet to drop their children off at school, each of the parents are dads. These males are where Marlin gets his parenting advice from. The lack of mothers in this scene would raise a red flag for any individual looking at this movie from a feminist perspective. In many circumstances the mother is the one who drops the children off, and usually it is the mothers who will gather in groups and discuss their children. But, this is still just a stereotype. On top of this, Marlin is the head of his household. Nemo's mother was mysteriously killed just a few hours before Nemo was born, along with three hundred and ninety-nine of Nemo's siblings. The majority of the movie is following Marlin as he goes on this wild adventure to find his son. Marlin encounters other male characters such as the lobster and the sharks, who are all intelligent and point him in the right direction. The one main female character Marlin does come in contact with is easily distracted and can't remember where she is going. It is also ironic how the one human parental figure that is shown at the dental office is also male (Finding Nemo). Finding Nemo is basically a story of a father searching for his son who decided to rebel and swim off to where he is captured for a fish tank. This story revolves around a male character, Marlin, and involves a female character, Dory, who is depicted as idiotic. There is not one scene that focuses just on female characters and there is not one female character that is shown as intelligent and brave; a feminist critique would easily identify this problem.
In the film Finding Nemo, the male characters are valued much more then the female characters. The viewer does not know whether this was intended or not, but with this many examples of the male characters prevalence over female characters, many may say that this inequality was intended and not an accident. With the majority of male main characters and a lack of important female characters, Finding Nemo depicts a strong bias. Male characters are shown as strong and intelligent where the female characters are shown as the exact opposite. A feminist critique would look at this film and say that the idea of male dominance from centuries ago lives on. A good director, looking to promote equality amongst the genders, would value both genders equally and look to include both genders in lead roles. In general Finding Nemo contains many multiple different examples of scenes, characters, and dialogues which continue to promote male dominance over women and identify women as a lesser being when being compared to their male counterparts. This children's movie suggest a negative message to the youth. Being one of many movies that promotes this kind of injustice, hopefully as times change, directors and movie producers are able to see the importance of promoting equality amongst all genders; as the media individuals are exposed to on a daily basis has proven to be a large factor in the way people act towards themselves and towards others as well.