The Subordinate Position of Women in Shrek 2
Media representations tend to highlight the binary opposition which
often depicts female as negative inferior and male as positive
superior in the hierarchically arranged modern society (Shaughnessy,
Stadler. 2002). By repetition, the media can naturalize the
subordinate representation of women that no other interpretation is
possible, thus leading to the legitimization of masculinity and
denigration of femininity (Rayner, Wall & Kruger. P83). Male, or even
female, unconsciously accept this subordinate femininity as both
natural and inevitable and in some way correct. The film – Shrek 2 –
although attempted to challenge the tradition stereotype of female in
a male hegemonic society, its success was limited. The film actually
helped reproducing and legitimizing the dominant position of men and
the subordinate position of women.
The film attempted to challenge the dominating position of hegemonic
masculinity. The fairy god mother played an important role in gaining
superior position for female. She was a single mother, who owns the
biggest magic company and supports her own family financially. She has
the power over her employees and the king. Her intelligence was
demonstrated by the number of books she read, and the plans she
carried out in separating Shrek and Fiona. She was not seen in a
domestic situation or as partners to men, thus tried to obtain a
superior position over male. Furthermore, Fiona showed her dominated
position in making the last decision of what kind of happiness she
wanted. Although the Fairy Godmother Song stated that girl need to be
pretty in order to attract a p...
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... the night
he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
and he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasies
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning strikes the sea
I would swear that there's someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
and the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood
Repeat chorus x 2
Appendix III – Shrek 2 VCD & Songs
This female inferiority idea has been imbedded in the world for many years. Fairy tales are a very good example of how this notion has been present in the United States. The themes that exist in these stories normally deal with masculine heroes who come to the aid of young women who are seemingly helpless. After they are saved by these male heroes they become obedient docile beings. These old fairy tales are part of the beginning of this inferiority idea.
In addition to her manly behavior, Fiona also rejects Farquaad’s marriage proposal and choose to stay with Shrek instead because she rejects the conventional life she has been told to have. She wants to marry whoever she loves and to take control of her life, showing her independence. This shows that being different from the Disney princesses choosing to live “happily ever after” with a prince, Fiona defies society’s expectations and stereotypes of a ‘’good’’ woman who is thought to be submissive and domesticated but not rebellious or independent (Barker 317). Undeniably, fairy tales are so important that they facilitate children's imagination, but on the other hand, they limit their ways of thinking and somehow set gender stereotypes in youngsters’
...le. Movies like this resist gender stereotypes that say women have to be beautiful and ladylike to live like a princess. There should be more films like Shrek because it breaks norms and teaches people that the only thing that matters is what’s on the inside.
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
Throughout the world of writing, including short fiction, women are portrayed as good, evil, funny, dry, smart, stupid, almost any adjective you can think of. Kate Chopin, a primarily short story writer, does not fall short of this statement. Through her stories, “The Storm,” and “The Story of an Hour,” the women seem to be trapped in confining gender roles. By the conclusion of each story all the women find a way to challenge their everyday roles and overthrow them in some matter. Although these stories are dissimilar from each other, both show the struggle that women have against one or several antagonists in their lives. Chopin shows hardships through internal and external struggle within and family environment and within a personal environment. Whether the women depicted are escaping from their horrid lifestyle, or just plain escape from life, she is able to embody the hardships women face.
Disney 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 the article Construction of the Female Self: Feminist Readings Of the Disney Heroine, Jill Birmie Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith are looking at the female self and how it was developed based on two theories: Standpoint by Parker Follet and the psychological development of girls by Gilligam. That by examines gender identity especially girls and how media exposure affects them through analyzing five of Disney movies: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas. They segmented the article into three titles: The Oxymoron of Power and the Perfect Girl where they introduced the two theories in which they built their critic on, Construction of the Female Self where they talk about the evolution in the female character from Cinderella to Pocahontas, and Construction of Self in Relation to Others where they talk about the evolution of the self in relation to others from power-over to power-with until power-to. Finally they concluded that even if the female character in Disney’s movies was changing to become more
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
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
The female gender role in society has created a torturous fate for those who have failed in their role as a woman, whether as a mother, a daughter, or a wife. The restrictive nature of the role that society imposes on women causes extreme repercussions for those women who cannot fulfill their purpose as designated by society. These repercussions can be as common as being reprimanded or as severe as being berated or beaten by a husband or father. The role that women were given by society entails being a submissive homemaker who dotes on her husband and many children. The wife keeps the home impeccably neat, tends to the children and ensures their education and well-being, and acts obsequiously to do everything possible to please her husband. She must be cheerful and sweet and pretty, like a dainty little doll. The perfect woman in the eyes of society is exactly like a doll: she always smiles, always looks her best and has no feelings or opinions that she can truly call her own. She responds only to the demands of her husband and does not act or speak out of turn. A woman who speaks her mind or challenges the word of any man, especially her husband, is undesirable because she is not the obedient little doll that men cherish. Women who do not conform to the rules that society has set for them are downgraded to the only feature that differentiates them from men; their sex. Society’s women do not speak or think of sex unless their husband requires it of them. But when a woman fails to be the doll that a man desires, she is worth nothing more than a cheap sex object and she is disposed of by society.
fired at them and all the time would have to think what the person you
es indeed, animation is fun for children, but it also expresses important ideas for people of all ages. In some ways, ‘Shrek’ is your classic fairy tale for example, it has a hero, a beautiful Princess, and a dastardly villain. But unlike the traditional fairy tales, the hero is an ugly, ill-tempered ogre, the Princess is not all she appears to be, and the villain has some obvious shortcomings. The award-winning animated film, ‘Shrek’, is directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the viewers learn that being a good person is more important than just being good-looking. It also shows that true friends help each other in difficult situations and that women can be equally as strong characters as men. These ideas are portrayed through characters such as Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey. The directors use camera angles and dialogue to express their ideas.
The movie, The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994), is one of the most well-known Disney films out there, and continues to be a favorite among children and adults of all ages. For those who are not aware of the plot of The Lion King, it might help to know that it is an animated, lighter, lion version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Throughout the movie, The Lion King expresses a deeper idea of male dominance and stereotypical gender roles. It does this by emphasizing the notion that males have to be brave, heroic, leaders and females should be more nurturing and dependent on men.
Throughout the movie,Shrek takes us deep into the concept of inner vs outer beauty. Whilst Shrek, the protagonist represents a non-stereotypical prince, there is also Princess Fiona. The traditional fairy tales portray princesses as dependent, ladylike and weak. Although in the beginning of the film, Fiona embodies the typical feminism and ladylike qualities, a thin, beautiful princess. As the movie goes on Fiona acts more comfortably and breaks these princess qualities. There is a scene where Fiona interrupts Shrek and Donkey with her rather unfeminine
Disney and old fairytales threaten gender politics and ideal women roles by giving certain stereotypes for domestic and personality traits. Fairytales that have turned into Disney productions have sculpted domestic roles for women that consist of cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Disney has also created these princesses with personalities that are shy, passive, and vulnerable. The cause of these stereotypes are making individuals obliterate their own identities and becoming clones from the mold that was prepared for