Stereotypes In Disney Movies

Once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a prince and his princess, who lived happily ever after. Although Disney movies do not always portray this formula for fairytale stories, the impact of the stories that they tell can have a profound effect on children and adults as they grow up and learn to express his or her behavior with others, and within themselves. Arguably, Disney movies are not good for children to watch because they invoke gender stereotypes, violence (such as death), and aggression, but are naysayers looking too deeply into these family-oriented movies, where entertainment is the only core-value? Disney movies have been passed down between generations, each with a different content than the previous movies; however, does

Unfortunately during the time when the early Disney films were created (1930s-1960s), women were predominately seen as the ones who took care of the family while the men worked financially. Such jobs for women included cleaning the house and making food for those living in it. During this era, this was seen as normal, so when movies were made during this time, the context was accurate (Fraustino, YEAR, pg. 127). However, as time progressed, more women were seen in the workforce and not a subordinate to men. The middle Disney movies, such as Beauty and the Beast (1991), Mulan (1988), and The Little Mermaid (1989), and current Disney movies, such as The Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), and Frozen (2013), depict strong, independent women who overcome the stereotypes previously mentioned in the early Disney

197). Furthermore, when Belle’s father, Maurice, is taken as prisoner in the Beast’s castle, Belle goes by herself, without the help of a man, to take her father’s place in his castle and live the Beast (Davis, YEAR, pg. 48). These acts of selflessness portray the young heroine as strong and brave, quite a distinction from the “damsel in distress” that has been seen earlier (Beres, YEAR, pg.