The Little Mermaid Disney Film Research

1832 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender representation in the media

How are gender roles represented in films and how are viewers affected by this?
Contents:
Introduction
Disney Films
Top Grossing Films
Japanese Films
Conclusion
In this research report I aim to explore the way in which gender roles have been represented in films through time and to analyse if the representation of each gender role has changed. More specifically I would like this report to acknowledge, in particularly, if women’s representations have changed over the years, and if so why or why isn’t this. I want to explore how these representations can affect the viewers of these films by the stereotypes that they create.

Introduction The media holds an enormous amount of control and influence over society and the way …show more content…

She soon stopped hanging out with her friends and changed her entire personality, losing her voice, in order for Eric to fall in love with her. A thorough research has been carried out by linguists Carmen Fought and Karen Eisenhauer in which they researched how often each gender role spoke in each film. Their objective for doing this was to shine light on the way in which male roles used to dominate speech time, in comparison to recent Disney films that show women giving more vocal characters to play. Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950) and Sleepy Beauty (1959) all show that women characters get over 50% of dialogue, whereas all of the Disney princess films released in the late 80s and 90s show that females only had around 20% of the overall dialogue time. Considering these films all have a female lead, these statistics show that male characters withhold supremacy even when they aren’t the main character, overpowering the female lead in her own film.Throughout the majority of Disney’s films, there’s an underlying statement that normalises male dominance and in which holds a negative impact over the youth of today, if children’s films continue to portray this outdated message over and over again, then children will grow up with a huge misconception of how they should be, which leaves a worryingly foundation set for the upcoming generation of this time. Many children idolise the characters in Disney films that’s why it’s very important to analyse the representations these characters are portraying for the children of our society to see. When a child has been engraved with these stereotypes since they can remember, it will be difficult for a child to separate these

Show More
Related

  • The Role of Women in Screwball Comedy Films

    4993 Words  | 10 Pages

    Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.

    Read More

  • Miss Representation Summary

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    These movies allowed female characters to embody all the contradictions that could make them a woman. They were portrayed as the “femme fatale” and also “mother,” the “seductress” and at the same time the “saint,” (Newsom, 2011). Female characters were multi-faceted during this time and had much more complexity and interesting qualities than in the movies we watch today. Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is one of sexualization and dependence rather than complexity (Newsom, 2011).

    Read More

  • Media Portrayal of Gender and Cultural Stereotypes During World War II and Current Times

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Smith, Jeff, and Chloe Beighley. "Normalizing Male Dominance: Gender Representation in 2012 Films." Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Disney and Traditional Stereotypes

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. According to Disney films, it is important for women to achieve the stereotypical characteristics of a woman, such as maintaining their beauty to capture a man, and being weak and less educated than male characters. The women in Disney movies are always beautiful, which helps them to find a man.

    Read More

  • A Few Good Men Film Analysis

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender and the portrayal of gender roles in a film is an intriguing topic. It is interesting to uncover the way women have been idealized in our films, which mirrors the sentiments of the society of that period in time. Consequently, the thesis of this essay is a feminist approach that seeks to compare and contrast the gender roles of two films. The selected films are A few Good Men and Some Like it Hot.

    Read More

  • Women’s Roles in Classical Hollywood Cinema

    2563 Words  | 6 Pages

    Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. As a result of the changing societal norms, women have experienced more transition in their roles than any other class. During the period of classical Hollywood cinema, both society and the film industry preached that women should be dependent on men and remain in home in order to guarantee stability in the community and the family. Women did not have predominated roles in movies such as being the heroin. The 1940’s film Gilda wasn’t an exception. In Gilda, the female character mainly had two different stereotypes. The female character was first stereotyped as a sex object and the second stereotyped as a scorned woman who has to be punished.

    Read More

  • The Media is the Unofficial Fourth Branch of Government

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    The media has this immense power, this way of showing things how their network wants, and

    Read More

  • Disney Films: The Little Mermaid

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first thing to pop into one’s mind when they hear The Little Mermaid is most likely the Disney animated movie starring the beautiful red haired mermaid, Ariel. However, as with most Disney films, The Little Mermaid is an adaption of an original story written by Hans Christian Andersen in the 1830s. The creation of this classic fairytale into an animated feature required alterations from the Disney corporation, leading to a final product that is reminiscent of Andersen’s original story with added layers of American culture, sexism, and musical numbers. The initial release of Disney’s The Little Mermaid was highly successful both domestically and overseas, resulting in a total box office revenue of about 180 million. Although the film received rave reviews and substantial profit, I argue that the Disney adaption loses the fundamental elements of Andersen’s original story and presents a new narrative laced with negative values and inferior moral lessons. The changes in the Disney remake are closely connected to cultural and social aspects of America in the late 1980’s, making it arguably more relatable and successful for current audiences of the time. However, Disney’s adaption of The Little Mermaid perpetuates negative American ideals and incorporates classic Disney fairytale elements, ultimately erasing the positive moral overarching theme of Hans Christian Andersen’s original story.

    Read More

  • Disney Princesses' Influence on Young Children

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s modern age, young children are being raised by their TV screen. Reining from the original tales of Perrault and the Grim Brothers, the Disney princess line has been a staple on the screens since the 1930s (Do Rozario 1). However, these princesses have gone through dramatic changes to remain relevant to todays youth. The effects that can be influenced by the roles expressed in these types of films send mixed messages to the audience, causing them to ask themselves whether or not they should believe what the princess is expressing on the screen.

    Read More

  • Male Gaze Theory Essay

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Society is greatly influenced by the media as it holds great power and it is dominant in western society and culture. We see many different forms of media everyday and it can easily impact the way we view things without us even realising.

    Read More

  • The Representation of Women in Pretty Woman, Thelma and Louise, and Hollywood in General

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Representation of Women in Pretty Woman, Thelma and Louise, and Hollywood in General In this piece of coursework I will be writing an essay on how women are represented in media in general and also in the films ‘Pretty Woman’ and ‘Thelma and Louise.’ I will also be writing about how films usually use stereotypes which gives a judgement of a type of person or a group of people which may not true. In these two films women are represented as housewives/sex objects, for example in ‘Pretty Woman’ Vivien was on the bed half naked the camera, show a close up taking in her body which makes a sexy scene and usually in Hollywood films they use this technique most of the time. For example they’ve used it in the film XXX (triple X) as well.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Little Mermaid And Sleeping Beauty

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most children who grow up in America are familiar with Walt Disney Animation Studios and most importantly the princess films they make. The majority of the films consist of a joyful protagonist (woman) who overcomes an obstacle in their life. The obstacles will vary from princes to princess but in the end of the film the woman will have obtained a “happily ever after” with another person of the opposite gender. These movies that are mostly known for being joyful originate from a once tragic story. Two Disney princess stories that originally had a not so happily ever after for all of their characters are The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty.

    Read More

  • The Bond Girls

    3621 Words  | 8 Pages

    The depictions of women in films have changed in time with society to ensure the films popularity.

    Read More

  • The Little Mermaid Research Paper

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    This essay is about the Little Mermaid. Here you will read an overview about the Disney movie  To later compare it with the original fairytale on which its based. You will also be able to analyze the setting, clothing and characters that you love. The Disney version of the Little Mermaid is adapted in a way that can be enjoyed by all ages from the youngest child to the oldest men, it has a foolproof vocabulary, which makes you understand it and enjoy it without putting too much effort.

    Read More

  • Feminism and the Movie Industry

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...

    Read More

More about The Little Mermaid Disney Film Research

Open Document