Why Are All The Cartoon Mothers Dead Analysis

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In her 2014 article entitled “Why Are All the Cartoon Mothers Dead?”, author Sarah Boxer emphasizes her belief that the seemingly coincidental or harmless tendency to eliminate mothers from animated movies results in a cleverly incorporated patriarchy. Boxer’s article starts out by questioning the role of the dead-mother trope, mentioning the the overused plot device is dated back to ninth-century China. Moving on to the suspected reason for such a morbid plot device, Boxer claims that mothers are killed off in order for the father to take his position in the spotlight. The father now has the ability to come off as a charming, sensitive man capable of making mistakes while still being a good father. Boxer mentions the fact that animated movies

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