The Little Mermaid Deconstructed

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Introduction
The text I will be deconstructing is the Walt Disney Feature Animation film The Little Mermaid released in 1989. The film was directed by Ron Clements and produced by John Musker. The Little Mermaid (1989) is the story of a young mermaid who gives up her voice in order to become human and find her one true love Prince Eric. I find the film to be incredibly significant, not only in its portrayal of feminine roles, the human body, and the willingness to sacrifice for true love, but in the film's vast audience and popularity. I will be using the feminist framework, as described in Critical Media Studies: An Introduction by Ott and Mack (2010), to deconstruct The Little Mermaid (1989).
It is important to note that I am viewing and analyzing this text from the positionally of a Caucasian, lower-class, female. Not only do I identify as female, but I also consider myself to be a feminist, which is one of my reasons for choosing the feminist framework. I also feel that it is critical to state that I identify as heterosexual, but consider myself an ally to the LGBTIQ community. Therefore, my views on gender may extend to my views on sexuality, since they often go hand-in-hand.
The purpose of this essay is to apply the feminist framework to the film The Little Mermaid (1989) in order to deconstruct Disney. First, I will provide a textual description of The Little Mermaid (1989), explaining the film's plot line. Then, I will describe my analytical framework, the feminist framework, using Ott and Mack (2010) and additional media related studies. Next, I will give an in depth analysis of The Little Mermaid (1989), using the feminist framework and several additional sources. Finally, I will give a brief conclusion, providing an...

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...ker, J. (Producer), & Clements, R. (Director). (1989). The little mermaid [Motion picture]. United States: Buena Vista Pictures.
O' Brien, P. (1996). The happiest films on earth: A textual and contextual analysis of Walt Disney's Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. Women's Studies in Communication, 19(2), 155-183.
Ott, B. L, & Mack, R. L. (2010). Critical media studies: An introduction. Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell.
Rotten Tomatoes (2013). (The Little Mermaid 3D (1989). Retrieved from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_little_mermaid_3d/
Towbin. M. A. et al. (2008). Images of gender, race, age, and sexual orientation in Disney feature-length animatedfilms. The Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15(4), 19-44. doi: 10.1300/J086v15n04_02
Wikipedia (2013). The Little Mermaid (1989 film). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Litt le_Mermaid_(1989_film)

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