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Gender construction in childrens cartoons
Gender construction in childrens cartoons
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Steven Universe
Steven Universe is a part of a generation of the most compelling cartoon series produced, reeling in dedicated viewers across a wide demographic board. For plenty good reasons, most powerfully is its subtly social-progressiveness that’s channeled waves of positivity and impacted so many by breaking norms.
Notable for being the first of Cartoon Network Studios’ catalogue of series to have been created by a woman, Rebecca Sugar has also worked on the popular ‘Adventure Time’ as a storyboard artist. Steven Universe is an adventure, and a slice of life when Earth’s not in danger. It features a sweet and short backstory; hero the story is named after is a short, curly-haired and excitable boy whose inherited magic abilities from his late mother. While he figures out the magic ability that sprouts from a crystal gem implanted in his belly, his story humors, includes endearing moments at every turn, and develops into something that unexpectedly, but surely tugs at hearts.
Steven Universe strongest suit is its relaxing fantasy elements. The art is distinct and flurried with vibrant scenery that can stay with the viewer, inspiring a good portion of them to recapture it in various art mediums. Beyond the art, the characters themselves have larger-than-life personalities that are easily empathized with. The crystal gems are a group of 'gems ', their origins are of a magical alien species that have wreaked havoc on Earth for centuries, but they alone have evolved to defend Earth against their ancestral gem origins. The crystal gems are a group of three, there 's the misunderstood, fun-centered, and opposed to exploring feelings, Amethyst; the unconventional, mysterious, and silent leader, Garnet; and lastly, the ambitiou...
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...tially copy-paste creations. Where Disney seems to face challenges in breaking the same figures, appearances and expressions, Steven Universe, succeeds in representing females in a variety shapes, sizes, facial features as well as expressions.
The series has recently reared its second season and there’s a mutual support between the show and its unique range of viewers. Its biggest stand-out factor is its realistic representation of characters, whether powered or unpowered, possess qualities that are genuine, and unaffected by our mainstream society’s attitudes toward identity and gender.
Works Cited
Hearn, Kayleigh. "Steven Universe." Women Write About Comics. 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Apr.
2015. .
Rugnetta, Mike. "How Does Steven Universe Expand Our Ideas of Family? | Idea Channel |
PBS Digital Studios." YouTube. PBS Idea Channel, 1 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. .
The main character of this book is Susan Caraway, but everyone knows her as Stargirl. Stargirl is about 16 years old. She is in 10th grade. Her hair is the color of sand and falls to her shoulders. A “sprinkle” of freckles crosses her nose. Mostly, she looked like a hundred other girls in school, except for two things. She didn’t wear makeup and her eyes were bigger than anyone else’s in the school. Also, she wore outrageous clothes. Normal for her was a long floor-brushing pioneer dress or skirt. Stargirl is definitely different. She’s a fun loving, free-spirited girl who no one had ever met before. She was the friendliest person in school. She loves all people, even people who don’t play for her school’s team. She doesn’t care what others think about her clothes or how she acts. The lesson that Stargirl learned was that you can’t change who you are. If you change for someone else, you will only make yourself miserable. She also learned that the people who really care about you will like you for who you are. The people who truly love you won’t ask you to change who you are.
In conclusion, this show focuses on many aspects, particularly gender roles and sexism. Although this show could have more diverse characters, it focuses on male and female stereotypes very well. I appreciate that there are several strong female characters who aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves and perform typically masculine
Throughout time we’ve come to terms on different versions of stories that have been altered to fit what we want to read or see for our enjoyment. Having variations of a story can demonstrate what type of audience is in the sight of the creator. The term “disneyfication” is the word to describe the idea of turning a story into a modern day version that creates an illusion to the real story written before. This has happened several times in past decades, where stories are altered to set an example for the audience, whether it’s believing in oneself or getting the job done, to get what you want, is different from the original tale. The comparison between Hans Christian Andersen “The Little Mermaid” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” are a set
What if you could live for a couple thousand years traveling through time and space in a chameleon ship exploring the universe while averting disaster? In addition to that, what if you’re always the smartest person in the room regardless of where you are? If so, then you would be the Doctor, well almost except the Doctor’s chameleon circuit board in his ship is broken so he has to travel around in a small blue police box called a Tardis, but hey no worries, it’s bigger on the inside. This is the setting for one of the world’s most famous sci-fi television series. If you already knew all this, then you are probably a Whovian or at least know one. Doctor Who has been around for 50 years and is now broadcast in 94 countries across 6 continents (Guenigault). Whovians have become as large as, if not larger than Trekkies. Because Doctor Who has been around so long, it has lead to a massive fan base, annual conventions, and many other fan activities.
For hundreds of years, women argue that they have made an effort to gain equivalent equality with men. They bicker that don’t get the same opportunities as men do. Women believed they are being held back just because they are women. I, as a college student, do not see these issues in my everyday life. In Katha Pollitt’s article, The Smurfette Principle, she argues that in cartoons, the directors favor men over women as the lead roles in their cartoon series’. I believe that in society, there are no feminism, or Smurfette principle, attributes involved in any cartoons, nor is it entangled into the everyday world.
Is there a difference between a Carl’s Jr. Hamburger commercial featuring a scantily clad Paris Hilton and a Disney movie? Many would argue “Well, of course there is a difference!” Those looking through the lenses of feminism would see that both are highly sexualized and send a negative message to children. They teach young girls that they are only valued for what their beauty sells. In this age of technology, children are spending more and more time in front of their television. Whether it is an episode of an edgy situation comedy like Two and a Half Men or a serious, heart-to-heart episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, there is a very high chance that a child is learning about their gender role and what that entails. The trend of damaging stereotypical portrayal of women in animated films has not lessened and perpetuates poor role models for children.
Disney has portrayed women in movies by the use of animation characters for over a century since the 1900s. There has been a very big change since the early 1900’s to modern day in Disney’s depiction of the personalities of the women, their attitudes and ideologies towards men, and the way they are portrayed in the movies. This progression has had a distinct development, from passive damsels in distress in need of the help of men, to being superheroes. Therefore, the evolution of women in Disney movies will be analyzed through the use of university level feminist essays, as well as a research paper written about gender roles in Disney animation. The evolution will also be analyzed through examination of the clips of the movies themselves.
The graphic novel Watchmen written by Alan Moore looks at the world from a different perspective and allows the reader to see a universe that is parallel to the one we experience every day. Watchmen is snapshot of our history in which many alterations have taken place. These particular adaptations hold certain significance since they are comparable to the very reality which we live in. Through these comparisons we can analyze certain aspects of the novel and understand what messages are being conveyed. While reading this fictional novel there is an extraordinarily serious and depressing underlying tone which is prevalent. This dismal portrayal also arises from the characters within the novel and their pessimistic outlooks on the world which
In both of these series, representations and meanings of masculinity and femininity are affected by the ideology of patriarchy. Even though it is true that these shows tried to fight back against stereotypical representations of men and women, the subtle textual evidence in these shows show that there are limits to how gender norms can be represented on television, especially in the Classic Network
Henke, Jill, Diane Umble, and Nancy Smith. “Construction of the Female Self: Feminist Readings of the Disney Heroine." Women’s Studies in Communication 19 (Summer 1996): 229-49.
At the age of ten, Steven and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona because of his father's job. Spielberg considers Arizona his home because according to Steven ,""For a kid, home is where you have your first kiss; it's where you do your worst stuff and get your best grades"". Arnold took Steven to see a meteor shower which later inspired him to create one of his first movies, Firelight. Steven's father, Arnold, would film family trips, and Steven would criticize his father's home movies (Rubin 15). Arnold then gave him the 8mm Brownie camera to film with. He filmed his train cars crashing into each other and a family camping trip that gave his sister, Leah, the first glimpse of the “Spielbergian touch”. Steven even earned his twenty first merit badge when he made a short film of a gun fight, and was promoted to become an Eagle Scout. St...
The animated film Shrek is a Dreamworks fairy tale that teaches us to look beyond what we expect to see, by completely subverting the traditional fairy tale concepts of gender, appearance and beauty. The characters in Shrek are vastly different from what we would expect to see in their appearance and behaviour. With unexpected plot twists, the directors of Shrek create important messages and morals that would not usually be conveyed, using techniques such as humour. The techniques have been placed strategically to result in an entertaining and educational film.
Ross, D. (2004). Proquest. “Escape from wonderland: Disney and the female imagination”. Marvels & Tales, 18(1), 53-66,141.
Constant traditional themes seem to surface regarding women in various Disney animated films. A current study completed by Towbin et al. (2003) concerning a thematic analysis of gender roles in Disney featured animated films found similar themes. She found that four themes emer...
Disney has been an inspiration to kids since October 16, 1923. With the start of Mickey Mouse cartoons, Disney has created an empire of imagination. Ever since Snow White, Disney’s first princess in 1937, came on the screen, young females have been amazed by the vision of the “Disney Princess”. As the years went by, dozens of princesses have hit movie screens and Disney has made billions off of the profits from these individuals. In reality, Disney has influenced the immature views of what to expect of beauty from a woman.