Walt Disney Film Analysis
analytical Essay
1049 words
Pop culture can be described as a wide range of mediums that are deemed acceptable and popular by society. Films, namely Walt Disney films being a clear example of a pop culture outlet that has a positive influence on society. In Adorno and Horkheimer’s critique of pop culture and society, they state that mass produced entertainment serves to shelter their broad audience to the harsh realities of their lives. That the culture industry offers a deceitful escape and a freedom from thinking. They further argue that mass produced entertainment suffers because it aims to please a broad audience. The critique states, “Every detail is so firmly stamped with sameness that nothing can appear which is not marked at birth, or does not meet with approval …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes adorno and horkheimer's critique of pop culture and society. they state that mass produced entertainment serves to shelter their broad audience to the harsh realities of their lives.
- Analyzes how the walt disney company continues its domination of the box office through a diversified catalogue of intellectual properties.
- Analyzes how walt disney films are successful due in part to how they introduce and deal with the issues of the modern times.
- Analyzes how disney films promote prosocial thinking in a manner consistent with real life. adorno and horkheimer criticized entertainment as an escape from thought.
In their analysis of pop culture, Adorno and Horkheimer conclude that mass produced entertainment to a certain degree has to be a safe bet. Cultured entertainment as they see it, succeeds because it safeguards audiences from the realities and controversies of the world. Walt Disney films however do not shy away from confronting social issues head on. A research article from University of Northern Iowa graduates on Disney films concluded on The Princess and The Frog, “The Princess and the Frog deserves credit for the creation of the black and beautiful Tiana, a strong-willed and talented heroine who is resourceful enough to participate in her own rescue.” (Van Wormer and Juby). Even though this may not seem issue in modern society, these ideas are still somewhat controversial. There is a portion of people in today’s world with a dissatisfaction of this film breaking the standard of Disney animated princess films, which prior only had portrayed two other ethnicities. Race unfortunately is still a controversial topic, Disney tackled this by introducing a strong heroine who is a minority and doesn’t fall within the damsel in distress cliché. Empowering a strong female lead that anyone can look up to is just one example on how Disney has successfully reintroduced a sensitive idea to the masses. Tackling social issues like these isn’t all that Disney films do, they …show more content…
Adorno and Horkheimer criticized entertainment because in their views it offeres an escape from thought, as a way to shut ones brain off while consuming it. Disney films dispel this because they excel at promoting the thought of prosocial behavior in a manner that is consistent with real life. In a study published by the academic peer-reviewed Journal of Communication, a research concludes that, “our findings suggest that Disney movies contain at least three times more prosocial behavior than regular children’s programming.” (Pandilla-Walker et al.). In that same study, the researchers found that not only did Disney films have prosocial cues at about one every minute, but that they were almost always not followed by any sort of aggressive behavior. This clear evidence of thought provoking, positive prosocial behavior contradicts Adorno and Horkheimer’s claim of the pop culture offering refuge from thought. Not only do Disney films challenge their audience to think, they push forward an agenda of social acceptance and friendship. This study goes through the entire Disney film catalogue and shows that this trend holds true throughout
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- Disney Film Analysisanalytical essayFor decades Disney has been the source of happy endings, fairytales, and family friendly stories for children of all ages. These stories range from realistic and familiar, to the eye-catching magical fairytale. The key to each of these stories are the happy endings brought about by each of the characters unique personalities and dreams. Disney’s films are attempted to provide children with the basic understanding of wrong versus right, but instead influences our society’s beliefs and awareness. Although Disney’s efforts to provide the basic morals to our children are misleading and affect our society strongly, they also contain the use of racism in a form which shows the major differences between characters. The once admired and well-known characters are seemed to be recognized by their species, ethnicity and even their social class. Disney films have taken out of context and have persuaded their viewers understanding of racial stereotyping, which is thoroughly explained in Henry Giroux and Grace Pollock’s novel, The Mouse that Roared. They bring awareness to the underlying racial stereotyping in Disney films, which deeply affect our societies understanding today. Giroux and Pollock bring into perception these admired and regularly watched films through precise examples and racist rendering of the specific characters species and ethnicities which strongly influence our society and lead children to intake these negative influences.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how disney's films are misleading and affect society strongly, but also contain the use of racism in a form which shows the major differences between characters.
- Analyzes how racial stereotyping in the form of slave-labor is easily caught by the eye in disney's film dumbo.
- Analyzes how giroux points out racially coded languages and accents which were displayed in disney's film aladdin.
- Analyzes how giroux's recognition of racially coded representations is evident in disney’s film the lion king.
- Analyzes how disney's film the lion king portrays racial stereotypes and racially coded languages, but older disney films teach children valuable lessons that could be racist and disrespectful.
- Analyzes how disney's film the frog princess shows that racial components which were once overlooked by most parents and children are now a wide spread controversy.
1043 wordsRead More - Disney Princesses' Influence on Young Childrenanalytical essayCritics have warned the public audience about Disney programming’s affect on the “invasion and control of children’s imagination” (Ross 5). These movies express the typical gender roles “such as males being physically strong, assertive, and athletic, and females being prone to overt emotion, inc...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that disney princesses have gone through dramatic changes to remain relevant to today's youth. the effects that can be influenced by the roles expressed in these types of films send mixed messages to the audience.
- Analyzes how disney princesses portray a typical female role in the film, showing the expected gender roles in american society. these gender-based stereotypes are influenced by the time period they were made in.
- Analyzes disney programming's affect on the "invasion and control of children’s imagination." the earlier films, snow white, cinderella, and sleeping beauty, showcase how women are supposed to take care of the house and children.
- Analyzes how the first three disney princess films, released during walt disney's lifetime, frequently showed the princesses doing domestic work.
- Explains that in most disney princess films, the mother is missing in the story. their void is filled with over-bearing fathers, or mother-like-figures consisting of step-mothers or fairy god mothers.
- Analyzes how in beauty and the beast, belle sacrifices herself to stay with beast instead of her father. pocahontas' father, chief powhatan, believes that her marriage to kokoum would be beneficial.
- Analyzes how ariel, from the little mermaid, showcases rebellious behavior by gambling her voice for the sake of legs. her lack of freedom by her father, king trition, reflect her behavior.
- Analyzes how the films show the princesses being conflicted on their decisions, but that selfish rebellion is essential for the plot.
- Analyzes how the effects on young children, mainly young girls, after watching these movies reflect the gender roles taught in the films.
- Analyzes how disney imbeds gender roles that are way past their prime, moving the stereotypes slower than the rest of the world, and changing them has taken a drastic overturn to make it happen.
- Cites monika bartyzel's article, "girls on film: the real problem with the disney princess brand."
- Cites england, descartes, and collier-meek for proquest's "gender role portrayal and the disney princesses".
1103 wordsRead More - The Impact Of Disney Movies On Young Children?analytical essayGiven the existence of modern technology, individuals are immersed in the mass media now more than ever before. Media, especially television, is a source of entertain for adults, adolescents, and also young children. According to research, children reportedly spend approximately 2.5 hours a day watching television (Larson, 2001). However, there has been increasing awareness of the potentially problematic implicit messages that may be communicating to children through media consumption (Smolak & Murnen, 2001; Freeman, 2007; Levine & Murnen, 2009). Disney, one of the most successful establishments in the film industry with a target audience consisting mainly of children, should not exception to this scrutiny. Though a majority of its movies are
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the media, especially television, is a source of entertain for adults, adolescents, and young children. disney movies are informing children of stereotypical gender roles and contributing to body dissatisfaction through unrealistic body images.
- Argues that the media's effect on young children internalizes the thin ideal, as well as the issue of sexualization of young girls and women.
- Analyzes the physical deviation of both female and male disney characters' body from the average woman and man based on crossley, cornelissen & tovée's (2012) research.
- Explains how media consumption contributes to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors, especially in women and girls.
877 wordsRead More - How Does Walt Disney Influence Cultureanalytical essayThe article Hop on Pop (2002) explains how culture is influenced especially by the tactics of mass media and popular culture. This aspect is one that Walt Disney and his company used and did so very well. This article opened me up to think about how the media is trying to influence
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the way they perceive the film wall-e has not changed much after attending the first semester of first year seminar deconstructing disney.
- Opines that disney was using symbolism to influence our culture so we don't get addicted to technology and take care of the planet before it's too late.
- Explains how disney's influence within culture and society is reflected and broadcasted through the many works and readings that they examined in class.
- Analyzes how disney influences popular culture by having viewers feel emotional connections to films that get them addicted to watching them. disney used short films to get people to join the war effort and push the ideology of communism.
- Analyzes how disney controls the media and uses propaganda to influence beliefs that shape a society's culture.
824 wordsRead More - Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood & Corporate Poweranalytical essayPresently, Disney known for its mass media entertainment and amusement parks technically bring warm feelings to many children and some adults. Personally, Disney elicits magical fantasies that children enjoy and further encourages imagination and creativity. For decades Disney has exist as an unavoidable entity with its famous global sensation and reach. Furthermore, Disney is a multibillion dollar empire with an unlimited grasp on individuals and territories. An empire per se, since they own many media outlets, markets, shops, etc., you name it they got it. However, the film Mickey Mouse Monopoly presents an entirely new perspective on the presumed innocence projected in Disney films. This film exposes certain traits Disney employs and exclusively portrays through its media productions, specifically cartoons for directing and nurturing influence beginning with children. Mickey Mouse Monopoly points out camouflaged messages of class, race, and gender issues in Disney films that occur behind the scenes intended to sway viewers towards adopting Disney values.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mickey mouse monopoly presents an entirely new perspective on the presumed innocence projected in disney films.
- Analyzes how the film mickey mouse monopoly utilizes several techniques to emphasize their message. for instance, cartoon clips or footage are inserted while simultaneously pointing out the hidden issue of the cartoon.
- Analyzes how disney has produced cultural ignorance through its content and embedded content portraying unacceptable values as acceptable.
- Disagrees with the critics in mickey mouse monopoly because they believe children are too young to understand these issues and may misinterpret them altogether.
- Opines that while disney has raised many children on their films, one can only wonder how we have come so far as not recognizing the horrendous and intentional placement of inappropriate representations.
828 wordsRead More - Disney Stereotypesanalytical essayThe Walt Disney Company is a pillar of American culture, and has had an immense impact on society as a whole, for decades. The films created are filled with beautiful messages, catchy songs, and colorful characters. When discussing Disney films, critiques, and viewers in general, tend to focus the conversation around the portrayal of women and the influence it has on young women. There has been an unavoidable debate concerning the ideologies promoted by the Disney films, and in particular its princesses, since Snow White came out in 1937. The princesses were in fact often represented as passive characters with tiny waists, who are constantly in need of rescuing. These concepts in creating female characters contribute to societal standards of
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the walt disney company is a pillar of american culture and has had an immense impact on society.
- Explains that every walt disney prince is based off of the same archetypal character: handsome men with a tendency to be dependent, diffident, and submissive.
- Explains that disney introduced only two types of men in their films: the dashing hero and the incompetent father figure, which are stereotypical one-dimensional characters that push the story forward rather than be an inspiration or role model for male viewer.
- Analyzes how walt disney allows his male characters to develop a personality and become part of the story in their own right.
- Explains that the young attractive heroes are only one side of the male characters in early disney films, as the older characters offer the humor in the story.
889 wordsRead More - Gender Identity In Walt Disney Moviesanalytical essayDisney movies, which can be seen as very strong influences on impressionable children, seem to unequivocally present the romantic lives of princesses. In every film, the audience watches a beautiful princess almost fall into a moment of danger, if not for the charming prince, quick to rescue her. Yet, at a deeper level, we see that Disney Films are vehicles of powerful gender ideologies creating. Disney, through its movies, has the power to create a generational time frame of attitudes and beliefs in future gender definitions and gender roles for billions of young girls and female adolescents around the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that fairy tales have existed for hundreds of years to impart lessons to young children and teach them the importance of certain behaviors, thoughts or attitudes necessary for cultural success.
- Analyzes how a young girl's journey into adulthood is constrained by the constructed ideals of femininity perpetuated by cultural traditions, education, and media.
- Analyzes how disney's movies are powerful gender ideologies creating a generational time frame of attitudes and beliefs in future gender definitions and gender roles for billions of young girls and female adolescents around the world.
- Explains the aim of this paper is to examine the kinds of gendered ideas that disney films has projected to young women with regard to femininity and how they construct very specific judgments about what is or is not desirable in females in their animated movies.
480 wordsRead More - Disney Argumentative Essayanalytical essayDisney promotes sexisim by forcing young girls to live in a patriarchal world. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little mermaid, Aladdin, and Snow White are all examples of popular Disney movies that encourage young viewers that they need a man to save the day. Yes, it’s true that there are recent movies such as Moana and Frozen that prove otherwise, but how long will it take to completely get over the fact that women are mainly viewed as secondary citizens compared to the men? There are countless examples of how Disney movies influence this theme, and how much the female characters’ actions, ideas and thoughts are not included in a Disney movie.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how disney promotes sexism by forcing young girls to live in a patriarchal world.
- Analyzes how disney's frozen, the highest grossing disney film ever, had less than 50% of the lines spoken by women. even though the film is centrally based around the two sisters, male characters still take over.
- Explains that women have struggled for centuries trying to keep up with the men who seem more outspoken than women. teaching the youth of the world that the role models they look up to need a man to save the day sets women’s confidence back years.
- Explains that fought, a professor of linguistics at pitzer college, asks where girls get their ideas about being girls.
- Argues that disney princesses are role models to girls worldwide, and if they see that the people they look up to are helpless, what skills will this teach them later in life?
- Analyzes how a video of girls being told "throw like a girl" showed that girls cannot throw equally and/or as well as any boy can. aladdin saves jasmine from jafar.
- Analyzes how men saving the damsel in distress is a common theme in disney movies. cinderella is dependent on other people to save her.
- Analyzes the subliminal lessons young women learn from these films have lifelong repercussions and negatively affect the female youth.
- Concludes that disney princesses set bad examples for children nationwide. the plots of women who can’t do anything for themselves or need a man to save the day are not role models that the youth of the world should be exposed to.
810 wordsRead More - The Underlying Truth about Disney’s Princessesanalytical essayOver the years, Disney has presented many movies to their audience—most having a Princess as the protagonist. These movies became a babysitter for most parents in the early stages of their child’s life. Most people found these movies as relatively harmless. The obvious assumption about the Disney Princesses is that they only desire true love since almost every movie ends in romance. Parents just viewed these movies as romantic movies on a child’s level. However, these movies were not solely intended for an audience of an age that can be counted on both hands. They were intended to speak to “an intelligent and active audience” (Sumera 40). However, there are many people who disagree with the ways of the Disney Princess movies. The disagreements lie within the portrayal of women gender roles in these movies. It is argued that Disney portrays women as a being nurturing individuals without any control over their identity. The women are unable to think for themselves, because they are uneducated, and they are quick to fall in love with the first man that pays them any attention. However, this is not completely true. The people that are against the portrayal of women in the Disney movies are failing to recognize the underlying concepts in these movies. For example, Belle, in Beauty and the Beast, was well educated, Mulan went to war despite the consequences, and Merida, in Brave, stood up to her mother in refusal to marry. The Disney Princesses desired intelligence, bravery, strength, and independence—not true love’s kiss.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that disney princesses were harmless, but they were meant to speak to an intelligent and active audience. disney portrays women as nurturing individuals without any control over their identity.
- Explains that beauty and the beast is a disney movie that debuted in 1991. the audience enjoyed watching the relationship of belle and beast evolve from absolute disdain to pure adoration for one another.
- Analyzes how disney's belle is an educated woman who enjoys reading and can think for herself.
- Analyzes how belle's willingness to search for her father and take his place in imprisonment exemplifies her bravery, which broke her out of the "feminine" ideology.
- Analyzes how mulan exemplifies bravery in "female chauvinist pigs." she stands up for her father against the king's messenger and cuts her hair and dresses like a man to fight in the war.
- Analyzes how disney redefines strength and bravery as "womanly" traits despite society's view of them as manly traits.
- Analyzes how merida, in brave, exemplifies strength in other areas than mulan. she is able to shoot the arrows perfectly in the center of three different bull's-eyes.
- Analyzes how merida is in turmoil with her mother over her lack of desire to get married. her mother recognizes that her daughter's happiness and passion for independence is far more important than all the years of preparing for marriage.
- Explains that independence was a key factor in each of the three disney movies, not just in brave. belle, from beauty and the beast, was educated, brave, and independent.
1780 wordsRead More - Fozen Film Analysisanalytical essayFor several years now, Disney seems to be determined not to offend anyone in order to keep its audience; indeed we are confronted with animation films full of compromises; they are not as degrading for women as Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), but they are nonetheless still filled with clichés. Films such as The Princess and The Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Wreck-it Ralph (2012), have in common the sense of being progressive and however we can notice the resurgence of harmful gendered stereotypes on the subjects of the social scale, women’s role in society, or the status quo. Frozen comes in and turns out to be no exception. Though it includes several encouraging and gratifying elements, it contributes insidiously to spread numerous
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how disney seems to be determined not to offend anyone in order to keep its audience. the princess and the frog (2009), tangled (2010), wreck-it ralph (2012), have in common the sense of being progressive, but we can notice the resurgence of harmful gendered stereotypes.
- Compares how to train your dragon to other dreamworks animation films, which challenge gendered stereotypes. the film lived up to its expectations by delivering a storyline and characters that are politically more interesting than most protagonists in the majority of animation
- Analyzes frozen's duo of heroines, which is unusual in animation film but even more in any given film genre in general, where the lead character is often a white young male.
- Analyzes how frozen is detached from the hierarchical relationship between men and women in disney films.
- Analyzes how the audience is presented with a main character, hiccup, who cannot find his place in the viking community he lives in.
- Analyzes how the film succeeds in not having a hero seek recognition from their mentor but instead accepts his differences and learns from them.
- Analyzes how disney stereotyping effeminate men and homosexuals in frozen shows that real men are tough and strong.
- Analyzes how frozen attempts to challenge and avoid the classic fairy tale schema and yet ends up recreating it.
- Analyzes how frozen's empowerment of women is a recurrent theme in gender representation, at least more prominent in the last decade.
- Analyzes how the film teaches us that elsa's biggest enemy is herself. the narratives within disney animation film have not thoroughly evolved with the years.
- Analyzes how the theme of empowerment of women is more interesting in how to train your dragon and not a false argument conveyed by the film as we saw in frozen.
- Analyzes how hiccup and astrid end up together in a heterosexual relationship, though she initiates the seduction process, which is always reserved to men. the final scene goes against what had been constructed about gender representation.
1892 wordsRead More