Walt Disney Influence On Society

Introduction

Walt Disney’s reputation as a promoter of social activism was not established at the time of the company’s creation, however it did assert its powerful influence over younger audiences seventeen years after the company’s founding in 1920, with the first full-length animated musical feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The portrayal of iconic Disney princesses such as Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel shows early twentieth century’s emphasis on women’s domesticity, and, as professor Christine M. Yzaguirre shares, the common characteristics of female subservience and male dominance. Writer Danielle Morrison affirms this stance in her article Social Justice and Art Education by specifying that the impact

films, both animated and live-action, with docile female heroines and malicious female villains influenced Western society, in which young girls sought to be as obedient as the movies’ main characters in hopes that young boys would be attracted to them.
However, the classic animated Disney films presented the common thought of female vulnerability and purity in comparison to the movie’s villains, who displayed no clear reason for their transgressions other than the fact that it was the male lead’s duty to defeat them; in addition, research by Professor Serena Daalamans indicates that Disney villains did not pose a threat to society by imposing evil social values, but instead targeted a specific character and sought to corrupt them. Nonetheless, Disney animated film creators changed gears with the type of movies they produced by implementing social activism into their stories and showing children how an organized effort with allies can defeat a collectively unjust system.

Turning Point: The Disney Renaissance
Beginning in 1990, with what Walt Disney Studios refers to as the Disney Renaissance, the company shifted their approach on the films they were releasing in accordance with the massive movements of that time by changing the portrayals of villains and heroes’ responses to those villains. The film The Hunchback of Notre Dame focused on the persecution of gypsies and other non-Catholics, as well as the rise of vocal women who spoke out against this injustice through the character Esmeralda, as the movie’s release in 1996 aligned with two major movements of the 90s—Third Wave of Feminism and “Spiritual but not Religious”, or SBNR. According to political writer Celeste Lacroix, the film’s directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise intentionally designed the character of Esmeralda after Third-Wave Feminist Rebecca Walker, who gained popularity as a biracial, bisexual, and non-religious affiliated author. Through Esmeralda, Trousdale and Wise sought to demonstrate the power of female activism and society’s acceptance of other belief denominations; in addition, Lacroix continues her argument by stating that The Hunchback of Notre Dame’s featuring of a disabled main character brought recognition to the disabled community by showcasing a disfigured man as the underdog.
In contrast to adults’ responses to the film, younger audience members favored the movie because of the sense of heroism and gratification of establishing justice that the film created. Lacroix argues that while parents feared what their children’s perceptions of religious communities would become after watching the film, those children instead found the bravery of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus to be more exciting as they could both root for the main characters and empathize with the fear that the villains, Judge Claude Frollo his armed forces, were instilling into the film’s society.
The same film creators were also involved in the creation of movies such as the highly acclaimed motion picture The Lion King as well as Atlantis: The Lost Empire, as they wished to continue creating movies that featured subject matter such as dictatorial behavior, which was yet to be shown by other large scale animated film companies. Professor and writer Dr. Debra R. Comer shares her analysis of Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff, Gary Trousdale, and Kirk Wise’s take on William Shakespeare’s renowned play Hamlet by stating that the animated film was one of the first of its kind to put the audience into the emotional state of the hero. Comer states that the movie’s plot transition from the fear of tyranny, to self-discovery, to finally developing the courage to overrule dictatorship, with the support of allies, created a sense of duty in children that was not as emphasized in Disney films prior to 1994.
Shortly after the success of The Lion King, Disney animated studios released Mulan, which was a hit in western countries for featuring a film with a non-European female capable of physical combat, and just as with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Lion King, children were inspired by Mulan’s courage against the dangerous Huns.

According to feminist writer Mia Adessa Towbin, many children across America saw Mulan’s bravery in becoming involved in establishing justice in Chinese society, for both women and against the villains, as motivating to overcome fear and stand up for what is just. Likewise, Towbin shares that younger audiences expressed the desire to assemble a group of friends in order to defeat corrupted powers attempting to control a population after viewing Tarzan and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. As stated in her essay, Towbin asserts that these films from the late 1990s to the early 2000s promoted a mindset that people of various backgrounds, whether it be age, ethnicity, gender, or birthplace, are capable of instituting justice into society with the assistance of allies and collective

effort.

The New Era of Disney Films
Since the Disney Renaissance, Disney’s animated filmmakers have released movies promoting children that are facing injustice to take matters into their hands, reach out to others for help, and jointly work to overpower those instilling or practicing evil values.

As Dr. John Abraham Stover Iii states, movies such as The Princess and the Frog, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, and Big Hero 6 have defined modern Walt Disney Studios as a film company that encourages children to never allow unethical values define a society. Most recently, Walt Disney’s Zootopia directly addressed political and social corruption, as well as how to resolve discrimination, in which Chinese journalist Shirui Xue identified the social values of the film for children given the current political and social climate. According to Xue, young audience members develop the understanding that assumptions about someone’s capabilities, innocence, and intentions based on their background rather than character is discriminatory, moreover ineffective when striving for a society that stresses equal treatment and opportunities. Additionally, the teamwork of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde asserted to children that people of different ethnicities and genders can work alongside each other to achieve social activism so long as their differences are set

aside.

Potential Adverse Values Taught to Children
Opposing authors have expressed their concerns with Disney animated films during the Disney Renaissance, in which they state that such movies do not provide children with examples of social activism, but violence and discrimination. Professor Richard Wunderlich states how promoting social activism in children’s movies can still encourage violence at an early age given that often times, like in the case with animated Disney films, that activism is achieved after an intense battle. In the case of Zootopia, writer David Crewe discusses how parents across America expressed strong criticism of the inclusion of bullying amongst children and displaying physical harm against the story’s heroine, Judy Hopps, as it could potentially ruin children’s innocence by revealing harsh realities at an early age.

Conclusion
Iconic animated Disney films from 1937 to 1989 presented enjoyable stories for viewers of all ages, however the Disney Renaissance set in motion the wave of movies that implemented social justice while maintaining the company’s sterling use of fantasy to appeal to massive audience. The evolution of Walt Disney Studio’s ultimate message to its viewers has influenced children’s understanding of social activism by revealing how corruption within a ruling or powerful body can exist in a community and demonstrating how characters can counteract their actions; and while the incorporation of violence in order to achieve justice in these films may be deemed inadmissible, the underlying and powerful themes have created a generation of socially aware children with a firm grasp on the meaning of social activism.