COMM 380:  Media Criticism

The Walt Disney Company is unmistakably one of the most influential media giants in the world—the company’s website explicitly identifying itself as the “leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise.” The company’s relationship with the media ensures they maintain control over the influence of popular culture, holding “a controlling interest in 20 television stations, ownership of over 21 radio stations, three music studios, the popular ABC television network, and five motion picture studios” (Hill, 2010, p. 85). In 2009, Disney reported that their Disney Media Network alone had grossed almost 4 billion dollars in one year—not including the additional billions of dollars earned from their theme parks, resorts and cruises, studio entertainment, merchandise or interactive media.

 

Though the release of Disney’s first animated princess movie occurred in 1937, conception of the popular Disney Princess brand did not occur until 2001 (England, Descartes & Collier-Meek, 2011). The brand began as a marketing campaign for young girls, and helped to revive interest in the Disney Princesses and their associated films. The company’s influential presence in the media provided the perfect outlet to introduce the “princess package,” developed to market the entire collection of Disney Princess movies that had been released in the nearly 100 years since the company’s establishment in 1923. The highly successful campaign encouraged children to personally identify with the Disney Princesses, influencing the sale of related merchandise. This “princess phenomenon” has been a powerful influence in youth’s depiction of gender roles, promoting gendered stereotypes to children around the world. England, Descartes & Collier-Meek (2011, p.555), explain, “Disney and its princess phenomenon have been identified as a powerful influence on children’s media and product consumerism, contributing to a new ‘girlhood’ that is largely defined by gender and the consumption of related messages and products.”

 

This critique identified the shared characteristics found in the Disney Princess genre, exposing the impact of society’s evolving gender roles in the characterization of the Disney Princess. Characteristics depicted in these popular animated films demonstrate a link between the stereotypical representation of the Disney Princess and the era in which the movie was released—the Disney Princess embodies the common female stereotype that was prevalent in the time period in which the film was created. Characterization of the Disney Princess has evolved over time to satisfy the brand’s growing multicultural consumer base, and recent Disney Princess movies aim to promote capable, female protagonists who take a more active role and offer a more relatable heroine for ethnically diverse audiences. The historical progression of society’s popular views on gender and ethnic stereotypes is clearly demonstrated in the evolution of the traditional Disney Princess role toward the contemporary Disney Princess, whose ideals are shaped to align more closely with children in today’s society. Diversification of the Disney Princess brand offers more relatable princesses that appeal to the international media conglomerate’s global audience.

 

Analysis

 

Genres provide a framework for rhetors that guide the development of messages to emphasize particular ideas in the adoption of a shared, generic identity. Specifically, generic analysis reveals the how value is created within a structured genre by identifying responses to recurring situations to foster our understanding of rhetoric in varied historical and geographical contexts (Foss, 2009). Evaluation of the Disney Princess genre revealed the relationship between the characterization of the princesses and their reflection of society’s views on female stereotypes, acting as “allegories for the dominant representations of women at the time of each film’s production”(Higgs, 2016, p. 63). The Disney Princesses can be grouped into three distinctive eras—Disney’s first, second and third generation princesses—to describe the evolution of societal values as expressed through their portrayal in film.

 

Disney’s first generation princess. Disney’s earliest princess movies—including Snow White, Cinderella, andSleeping Beauty—portray the societal ideal of the domesticated, American housewife that was prevalent at the time of the movies’ releases in the early-to-mid 1900s. In Disney’s Cinderella, (1950), Cinderella is enslaved by her stepmother and dreams of one day finding her prince and escaping her life of servitude. With the help of her fairy godmother, Cinderella attends a grand ball where she and the prince instantly fall in love, but must abruptly depart at midnight before the fairy godmother’s magic wears off. The prince, determined to marry his mystery maiden, proclaims that he will use the glass slipper she left behind to test the foot of every maiden in the kingdom until he finds his true love. Cinderella proves that she is the mystery maiden by demonstrating her perfect fit of the glass slipper, and she and the prince get married.

 

The characterization of the princess is rooted in her delicate nature, suggested by her association with flowers in the film. Higgs, (2016, p. 64), theorizes that the “association with flowers can be seen as a comment on the characters’ fleeting beauty—their only power to gain a husband before they wilt and lose their bouquet.” Though the princess is aware of her fleeting beauty, she waits for her prince to come and rescue her. While she is waiting, the princess shows that she is content with her domesticity, often humming or singing while performing household chores. Each princess finds herself in an adverse environment—typically gender or race—suppressing her from ultimate happiness and fulfillment. In first generation princess films, “the princesses encountered adversity brought upon them by evil older female counterparts” (Hill, 2010, p. 88), who were envious of the princess’s physical beauty and charm. In Cinderella, the stepmother holds Cinderella captive, enslaving her in servitude. Characterization of Cinderella illustrates that her submissive nature explains the need to follow rule and order, and is associated with her feelings of entrapment.

 

In each film, the princess transforms by overcoming obstacles to gain social value, usually regarding gender or race. The first generation princess takes a more passive role than that of her following princess peers. Cinderella dreams of finding true love—love that can save her from the abusive home life she experiences while working as a servant to her stepmother and stepsisters (Stephens, 2013). Prior to the royal ball, Cinderella experiences a physical transformation with the help of her fairy godmother. After her stepsisters destroy her gown, inhibiting Cinderella from going to the ball, her fairy godmother intervenes to magically produce an even more beautiful dress than she had before, along with an accompanying carriage crafted from a pumpkin, and a coach and footman from her various animal friends. Because of this transformation, Cinderella is able to attend the ball and meet the prince. The princess relies solely on the help of their prince to save them, often requiring a true love’s kiss to break them from an enchanted spell (Hill, 2010), and are content in sitting around, waiting to be saved. Cinderella waits for the prince to come to her house in search for the maiden that fits the glass slipper left behind at the ball. If the prince had not taken the initiative to find her, she would have continued living an oppressed life under her stepmother’s rule. Cinderella experiences fulfillment of her wish by fitting the glass slipper, therefore, finding true love and living happily ever after. It is through finding her prince that she is ultimately relieved of her oppression and can move on to live a fulfilled life.

 

Disney’s second generation princess. Second generation Disney Princess movies—including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan—represent the empowered female gender role depicted in the 1980s and 90s. In Disney’s Aladdin (1992), Princess Jasmine feels restricted by palace rule requiring her to marry a prince before her next birthday. Every suitor presented to Jasmine is deemed unworthy, as she dreams of marrying for love, not obligation. After a brief encounter in the marketplace and the acquisition of a powerful genie that is willing to grant him three wishes, “street rat” Aladdin wishes to become a prince so that he will be worthy of Jasmine’s hand in marriage. Aladdin, succeeds in wooing Jasmine under the guise of Prince Ali, who is unaware that he is the same boy who saved her life in the marketplace. The revelation of Aladdin’s dishonesty displeases the princess, and he must prove his worthiness by defeating the corrupted royal vizier, Jafar, and saving the kingdom. Jasmine realizes that Aladdin is the one she wants to marry, and the couple is allowed to marry despite Aladdin’s non-royal status.

 

Though this princess seeks to challenge traditional patriarchal values, reinforcement of similar values from Disney’s first generation princess still apply. Higgs, (2016), explains that the problem of the second generation princess is not the princess herself, but the society in which she lives: “She is not the norm, and the norm finds intelligent, independent women strange, funny and odd” (Higgs, 2016, p. 67). In addition, the significance of the romantic relationship is clearly expressed in the princess’s ultimate dependence on her romantic male interest. In addition, while earlier films focused mainly on fulfilling the princesses’ desire for true love, later films also depict the princesses’ loyalty to their families. In these later films, a romantic interest is still present, but the relationship is not the princess’s main goal.

 

Oppression stems from the dominance of the patriarchal society, restricting the princess from “investigating a world that has been taboo and beyond a father’s rule” (Do Rozario, 2004, p. 51). Jasmine is restricted by her father’s enforcement of marriage law requiring her to marry a prince before her next birthday, culturally binding the princess to marry not for true love, but in fulfillment of the law (Stephens, 2013). Due to restriction from her father, as well as societal law, the princess’s requirement to follow rule and order deem her incapable of finding fulfillment in her life. Each princess has a defined goal that she must reach, or circumstance that she must overcome on her journey to fulfillment (Hill, 2010). This second generation princess embodies a more active role in her life fulfillment, and often chooses to rebel against the patriarchy in order to create change. Jasmine fights against her patriarchal system to relieve the oppression she experiences in life (Higgs, 2016). The princess embarks on her quest in the attempt to manage her own life, deciding to escape the palace walls in rebellion of her father’s enforcement of the marriage law, wishing to find a man she can marry out of true love and not societal obligation (Stephens, 2013).

 

Disney’s third generation princess. The release of Disney’s third generation princess depicts the progression towards more contemporary values of the female’s role in today’s society. Films—such as The Princess and the Frog, Frozen, and Brave—portray a princess that is more independent and capable than princesses previously depicted by Disney. The Princess and the Frog, released in 2009, depicts the story of Tiana as she strives to open her own restaurant in New Orleans, working multiple jobs and forgoing a social life to devote her life to the dream. She meets Prince Naveen, who has been transformed into a frog by voodoo magic, while she caters an exclusive event. Naveen needs to kiss a princess to change back, and, assuming Tiana is a princess from her gown and tiara costume, requests a kiss that will undo the spell. To their surprise, the kiss does not turn Prince Naveen into a human, it transforms Tiana into a frog just like him. The two consult Mama Odie, who informs them that Naveen must find the princess of the Marti Gras parade and kiss her before midnight or they will both stay in their frog forms forever. Tiana and Naveen go to New Orleans in search of princess of the parade but does not kiss her in time to break the spell. Tiana and Naveen, who have developed feelings for each other during their quest, decide that they are content with living as frogs if it means that they get to be together. On their wedding day, the married couple’s first kiss as husband and wife changes them both back into their human forms. Tiana finally buys her own restaurant, and with the help of Naveen, becomes a successful restauranteur.

 

This modern princess’s ”defining quality is that she butts against the system” (Higgs, 2016, p. 69), working to correct the oppressive culture encountered by women and proving that the female is strong, intelligent and should be seen as an equal to men.They continue to deal with adversity in their lives, generally depicted as being “trapped” by the constructs of her life situation. Tiana faces the traditional confinements of race, who is forced to submit to racial confines of the stereotypical working-class conditions of African-Americans.

 

Much like Cinderella—one of the only other characters who do not begin her story as a princess, but becomes a princess at the end—Tiana’s life consists of hard work. She is financially restricted from fulfilling her dreams, and her hardworking behavior is frowned on by the members of her society, “and they deride her for trying to take on all of that responsibility” (Hill, 2010, p. 89). The evolution of the Disney Princess has shifted the princess’s role as a damsel in distress to the role of a capable heroine.

 

Discussion

 

Findings of this analysis promote the diversification of characters in children’s animated films. By establishing character roles that promote contemporary societal values, the media can depict more relatable characters that a variety of children can identify with. The significance of this generic analysis is beneficial to media critique—arguing that the classification of shared characteristics in a film genre allows for the critic to expose potential trends or developments in modern society by comparing the pattern of rhetorical responses expressed within the series of artifacts and how the responses evolve over time. This generic critique supports the relationship between the female stereotypes depicted in Disney Princess movies and society’s popular views on gender roles and ethnicity at the time of the film’s production. 

 

References

 

Do Rozario, R. C. (2004). The princess and the magic kingdom: Beyond nostalgia, the function of the Disney Princess. Women’s Studies in Communication, 27(1), 35-59. doi: 10.1080/07491409.2004.10162465

 

Foss, S. K. (2009). Rhetorical criticism: Exploration and practice (4th ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

 

England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-Meek, M. A. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the Disney Princesses. Sex roles, 64, 555-567. doi: 10.1007/s11199-011-9930-7

 

Higgs, S. (2016). Damsels in development: Representation, transition and the Disney Princess. Screen Education, 83, 63-69.

 

Hill, K. M. (2010). The making of a Disney Princess. McNair Scholars Journal, 11, 83-94.

 

Stephens, J. (2013). Disney’s darlings: An analysis of The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Brave, and the changing characterization of the princess archetype. Interdisciplinary Humanities, 95-106.