Comparing the Representation of Female Characters in Snow White and Mulan
Disney is an international film company that dominates full-length
feature animations. Two feature long cartoons, Snow White (1937) and
Mulan (1999), are good examples where a female character takes the
central role, Snow White being from the first half of the 20th century
and Mulan from modern times. Between the times when these films were
made, one might expect the representation of women may have changed,
(as female equality has improved) as well as some of the stereotypes
of women that Disney has been criticised of conveying in the past.
Before Mulan was created Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The
Little Mermaid' had already marked a significant change in the
portrayal of women, but it can still be argued that behind the
audacious, attractive, and determined characters they are still happy
homemakers just waiting to settle down.
Other traditional Disney heroines are characters like Aurora (Sleeping
Beauty) and Cinderella. In many ways they are similar to Snow White
and became examples of how to act, what to do, and what was accepted
and expected as a role model or just a woman. All three of them are
shy, passive, and naïve towards the evils of the world. Their
appearance in many ways relates to their personalities. They lack
detail, are flawless, and are extremely unrealistic.
Snow White is portrayed, at the beginning of the film, as an innocent
obedient, domestic child, who dreams of finding the man she will
marry, but is inactive in doing so. In comparison with Snow White at
the start of the film, Mulan is very different. Although Mulan wants
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...to most forms of
entertainment, Disney's animated works have remained very much in the
public consciousness despite their age. A sexist society produces
sexist entertainment, even for its children. The two qualities of
Disney animation, its age and its stylization, make sexism much easier
to see, and have resulted in much more criticism for Disney than for
other companies producing entertainment for children. The fact that
Disney movies are marketed toward children also increases concerns
that they support sexism and for good reason. Society should not
impart sexist views on its youth. And although Disney may encourage
gender stereotyping it is by no means responsible for it. Disney has
produced films that do show more modern views of gender, and there are
definitely some qualities in Mulan that women should aspire to.
does it. The boy then realizes if he is caught he will be beaten and
Presently, many books and fairytales are converted movies and often, producers alters the original tales to grasp the attention of a large audience. However, some of these interpretations hide the primary interpretation. The original interpretations of the Disney classics Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are greatly reinvented from the original fairytales Sun, Moon, and Talia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of the brutal nature of the treatment women in these original forms. Although there are differences in certain aspects from the original tales to the movies, there are many issues that are influential to the young girls who are still watching the Disney version. I realize this when my youngest niece, Anella asks me, “Why can’t I be beautiful and fall asleep and suddenly wake up to finally find my prince?” This is true in all cases of the four different translations of the fairytales. Every single girl in these stories are in a “beautiful” state of half-death who wake to find a prince who if eager to carry them off. This can lead to negative psychological effects on young girls as they are growing up, creating a large amount of pressure and low self-esteem due to the beauty that these stories portray and maintaining restrictions that these women experience in the stories. While it is true that Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are considered Disney classics that entertain children and provide meaningful role models, it is evident that the true, vulgar nature of these tales are hidden; these stories are about women who are thrown away.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical centered on a confused individual named Hedwig. Her plight grows out of a botched sex change operation. She ended up with neither the working penis she had to begin with, nor the working vagina she had been attempting to gain. However, Hedwig, by nature, is neither completely male nor completely female, even when she had fully functioning male genitalia. Instead, she is something called gender fluid. John Cameron Mitchell, by writing a character that is gender fluid such as Hedwig, destroys the gender binary in order to illustrate that by avoiding polarizing concepts like male and female characters, stories can explore a more diverse range of human experiences.
Suzanne Collins’s novel The Hunger Games features a strong female protagonist that frequently defies gender norms and blurs the lines between femininity and masculinity. Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of the story, is initially depicted in what many would consider a more masculine role. She hunts, cares little about her physical appearance, and becomes the protector and provider for her family. However, when she volunteers as a tribute for the Hunger Games, her survival demands that she learn to embrace both feminine and masculine traits. To gain support from the Capitol and have a chance at winning the Games, Katniss must not only present herself as a fierce killer but also as a beautiful, romantic, and vulnerable girl. Likewise, A gender critique of The Hunger Games reveals that Katniss’s expression of femininity and masculinity is not based on
Gender inequality has been a disadvantage for women in society for many centuries. Women have always had a disadvantage in society, even though there's been many years of time for improvement. Women in the time of Shakespeare, were treated like possessions and how a man treated a women and how he controlled his women, was how masculine he was. Women in some work places get paid less than men do. In 2011, for every $1.00 a male worker earned, a women worker earns 74 cents. In today's society, people who are called Feminists, stand up for the rights of women and the issue of women being treated as equals compared to men. This topic of gender inequality, is very prominent in the play Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare. Even in the title
Gender roles refer to theoretical construction about how people who belong to different genders should speak, think, dress, act and interact within the context of community they live in. Moreover gender roles divided into two main elements, which are dependent on the cultural context as well as the personal preferences or tendency of someone. Gender representations in “The Hunger Games” represents classical shifts away from mainstream gender roles with some elements and reinforces established gender roles in others. Girls are presented as the fairer gender, with an inclination towards being emotional and kind and rarely have characteristics of toughness and strength as is characterized by boys. On the other hand,
Throughout history, a woman's role is to be an obedient and respectful wife. Her main obligation is to support, serve, and live for her husband and children. In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House and Susan Glaspell's Trifles, two different women make a decision to take matters into their own hands by doing what they want to do, no matter what the outcome may be and in spite of what society thinks. These two women come from different homes and lead very different lives yet, these two women share similar situations--both are victims, both are seeking individuality, and initially, both women end up alone. There are many ways that Nora and Mrs. Wright differ. First of all, both come from completely different households. Nora's home is "tastefully [. . .] furnished" and always "pleasant"(917). She lives in a lavish home eating macaroons, drinking champagne, and hosting banquets. Nora often has guests at the house and there are even maids to watch her children. Her husband, Torvald, is often home and has guests over. On the other hand, Mrs. Wright's home is unpleasant, in an "abandoned farmhouse"(977) in a secluded area. Mrs. Wright seldom has company, nor does she have any children. She does not leave the house very often and her husband, Mr. Wright, wants no outside interference. Mr. Wright refuses to get a "party telephone"(978) because he enjoys his "peace and quiet"(978). It is obvious that these two women lead different lives with different types of people, yet they share similar situations that are not so obvious.
The Disney movie, Mulan, is a fantastic movie that depicts gender-stereotyped roles, socialization of gender roles, and consequences of over stepping one’s gender role. Both males and females have a specific role in the Chinese society that one must follow. Mulan made a brave choice pretending to be a man and going to war against the Huns in place of her father, risking serious consequences if she were to get caught. She broke the socialization of gender roles and could have been faced with very serious consequences of her actions. The Chinese society in Mulan exemplifies the typical gender roles of males and females, the consequences of displaying the opposite gender role, and showed what the society expected in males and females in characteristics and attitudes.
Shrek, an enormous, disgusting green ogre falling in love with a beautiful princess (later turning into a nasty ogre) is a perfect example of a stereotypical fairytale, right? Well in the movie Shrek, the voice over in the trailer talks about a “hero” attempting to rescue a “fair princess” with the help of “his trusty companion." Besides the fact that the hero is a voluptuous green ogre and the companion is a donkey, everything fits in normally to the definition of a traditional fairytale (Diaz). Also according to Mary Kunimitsu, in fantasy films “There may be characters with magical or supernatural abilities such as witches, wizards, superheroes, mythical creatures, talking animals, and ghosts” (Kunimitsu). In Shrek, there are many of these different characters. Therefore, by explanation, a traditional fairytale with the beautiful princess getting saved by the prince and falling in love is exactly what happens in the movie Shrek, just with a twist. The voice over in the trailer for Shrek states it perfectly as he says “Shrek is a highly irreverent take on the classic fairytale” (Adamson). As an untraditional fairytale, and a parody, the movie Shrek poses the breaking of stereotypes of gender and film fairytales all the while keeping the criteria of a fairytale.
Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.
Gender-Roles in a Doll's House and a Streetcar named Desire. The roles of males and females in our society are subjects that entail great criticism, and have been under scrutiny for as long as a society' has existed. In analyzing A Doll's House by Henrick Ibsen and A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the effects that gender roles have on relationships is an evident aspect in both of the plays. The choice of words used by the authors strongly underscores the themes of supremacy, selfishness, inequality, and unmistakably, the roles of men and women in society.
The classic Disney movie, Mulan, is often praised as a film involving feminist empowerment, but upon closer look just the opposite appears to be true. The classic storyline includes Mulan, a young Chinese woman, taking over her fragile father’s place in the Chinese army, disguised as a man named Ping. She trains among the other soldiers, becoming one of the very best with her accompanying guardian dragon, Mushu and a cricket her grandmother gave her for luck for the matchmakers by her side. She ends up saving all of China by revealing that the Huns are back and invading the country, and is honored as a hero. This movie breaks away from the typical damsel in distress princess story by having a single woman save all of China. However, on Mulan’s journey she faced extreme female shaming, and experienced stereotypes attempting to belittle her; all
Some fairy tales are so iconic that they withstand the passing of time. One of those fairy tales is that of Cinderella. The rags to riches story that gives even the lowliest of paupers, hope that they may one day climb the social ladder. While the core message of the story has transcended time, over the years it has been adapted to address a variety of audiences. One of those renditions is Perrault’s Cinderella where the traditional idea of gender is conveyed and therefore associated with good/evil. This idea is challenged by a fellow 1600’s French author, L’heriter de Villandon’s, who’s version of Cinderella brings about a female protagonist who is also the heroine.
First we need to examine the cases where this is present. Less obvious stereotypes are those of women. Women?s roles in society have changed throughout the times. Are the...
Throughout history men and women have had separate roles in and out of the family. Henrick Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” and Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” are two pieces of literature placed within a timeframe in history where these gender roles were essential. From the outside, these two plays appear to be very different; however, a very similar theme runs through both. “A Doll’s House” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” have a very similar take on masculinity and femininity in a marital relationship; men must make all decisions and are dependent on the subordination of the women. Women are dimwitted creatures who must comply with what the men say sacrificing all other dreams. Ibsen and William make one idea evident: Daily life is often led by the stereotypical roles society places on the masculine and feminine genders.