COMM 380:  Media Criticism

Introduction

Once Upon A Time is a weekly TV series showing on ABC television network created by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. It first aired on October 23, 2011, and is currently on its 5th season and shows every Sunday at 8pm Eastern Time. There is action, romance, adventure and violence. The multiple plots within this TV series jumps around flashbacks to the fairytale world and the modern world which is set in Storybrooke, Maine. It can be hard to follow for some audiences due to the multiple flashbacks . The premise of the show is that the Evil Queen decides to get revenge on Snow White and other fairytale characters by transporting the characters to another world where they won't remember who they are, thus not being a threat to her. The characters have no memories of their former lives, and the show explores both worlds in the first season. Speaking to gender, most, if not all, of the princesses reified traditional, US feminity. In this TV series Snow’s story is woven over the course of the season. Once Upon A Time establishes a more modern, dynamic image of the original princess, indicating that Disney is moving in a new direction.

 

The Passive Princess: Stereotypes Embedded in Disney’s Franchise

Disney’s first princess appeared in the full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As a girl, Snow fulfilled some of the gender roles of her predecessor, but then her stepmother, the Queen, decides to get revenge on her with a poisoned apple. The Disney Princess franchise is often criticized for its stereotypical ,or traditional representations of women and society. In their quantitative study, Dawn England, Lara Descartes and Melissa Collier-Meek discovered that the animated princesses maintain stereotypical gendered behaviors and characteristics. The authors analyzed gendered behaviors and actions of the princes and princesses in animated Disney films. In order to decide if the characters conform to gendered stereotypes, they developed a list of feminine and masculine characteristics to analyze. Some of the masculine characteristics include strength, assertiveness, independence, bravery and leadership. The feminine characteristics include being physically weak, submissive, nurturing, and sensitive as well as collapsing in tears and being a victim (558-559). They discovered that 65.32% of the princesses’ characteristics remain feminine (560); the authors concluded that stereotypical gender roles and characteristics are still prevalent along Disney princesses (563).

 

These characteristics for feminine stereotypes are found in Disney’s first princess, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The film was created in the 1930’s, a time where women were associated in traditional gender roles. According to Thomas Inge, Walt Disney reshaped classic fairy tales so that they reflected values about the stability of the home and loyalty to the family. Furthermore it shows how Disney’s cartoons, particularly the princesses, reflect these traditional values. The film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, show how a woman’s place was as a nurturing mother who takes care at home (Inge 140-141). In the TV series, Snow becomes a warrior and a thief in order to survive as a loner. She is action-oriented and dominant. Once Upon a Time shows a balance between Snow’s character in being innocent and a fighter.

 

Snow White’s New Image

Gender roles and gender socialization are interestingly disrupted by intersexual and queer representations (Krijne, T., & Bauwel, S). We learn from different media forms in how to behave like a man or a woman, what to look like, how to act, et cetera. In other words, what is the gender norm and what is the gender stereotypes in media forms. The female characters, particularly Snow, in Once Upon A Time, are complex as they display stereotypical princess behavior, but also know how to fight and survive the wilderness. For example, Snow still wears feminine clothing and maintains her nurturing, sweet nature as a schoolteacher. However, there are new traits for this passive princess as she swing swords and fights the Evil Queen.

Postfeminist Ideas and Upholding Disney Values

 

Attempting to disregard the passive princess stereotype, Once Upon A Time seemingly transforms Snow White into a modern heroine who fights evil, but also maintains her femininity. The presence of strong heroines on prime-time television shows, like Once Upon A Time, is fairly a recent phenomenon. For example, The Hunger Games trilogy’s beautifully braided, quiver-slinging tribute Katniss Everdeen is the stoic Heroine from District 12, who gets sent to a bloody arena to fight to the death more than once.

 

TV producers Kitsis and Horowitz admitted that the purpose of making this series is to show female strength to its audience (Campbell, 2011). Thus, they tried their best at making female characters no longer “passive princesses” or “damsels in distress” like in classic fairy tales. The show attempts to disregard the passive princess stereotype. In Episode 22 of Season 1, Prince Charming states, “You’re a girl.” Snow White then corrects him before knocking him out with a rock, “Woman.” Although she is the prime-time heroine she is also treated as an equal to the kings, princes and wizards in her land. The ABC show seizes the chance to complicate the traditional image of the very first Disney princess.

 

Inge recognizes that the original princess Snow White displayed several of the traditional Disney ideas, especially “allegiance to the home and family” (141) as she cared for the dwarfs and started a family with the prince. I believe that true love is another traditional Disney idea as it is the chief storyline for most of the Disney princess movies. In the film, Snow displayed the importance of true love as she dreams about the day her prince will come and is actually saved by true love’s kiss. In Once Upon A Time, despite possibly representing postfeminist ideas, it also seemingly maintains these traditional Disney themes and ideas versions of the original princess. While Snow fights with swords, hunts with bows and arrows and even saves Prince Charming, she does these things in pursuit of love or in service of her family. The show continues to present the princess with modern characteristics but maintains Disney’s traditional ideas, such as feminine characteristics, but also larger themes, like love and family. Once Upon A Time capitalizes Snow’s status as a Disney princess while providing audiences with a new, postfeminist image of the fairy tale character with masculine traits.

 

Acting as Both the Traditional and Modern Princess

 While Snow makes numerous sacrifices, she does not sacrifice her image as a traditional Disney princess in order to uphold this new image of a modern princess. The old and new modern Snow White appears within the TV series. In Episode 3, the audience receives both images of Snow White. We see Snow as an angry thief awaiting the day to gain revenge on the Evil Queen. In Storybrooke, the audience is presented with the Mary Margaret image of Snow. Her aggressive attitude is replaced with her more recognizable personality of kindness and compassion. In Episode 7 she outwits the huntsman who tries to kill her, but ultimately gives up running away and depends on his pity and humanity to save her. In this episode, she displays modern behaviors of cunning and the ability to save herself, but reverts to a passive state and allows the huntsman to save her.

           

Snow further develops her contrasting, postfeminist behaviors as she explores her sexuality, but still tries to maintain her innocence and purity. In Episodes 13, 14, and 16, Mary Margaret has an affair with David (Prince Charming). She states, “I’ve never been a home-wrecker before,” and certainly this is a new trait for Disney princesses. Mary Margaret and David are really married to one another, as the audience is aware of this, they continue to view Snow as innocent and pure because the characters don’t remember due to the curse.  Snow is able to avoid the emotional distress that comes from acting as a postfeminist character as her dual personalities exist in different worlds. These two personalities make it a struggle for Snow in Season 2 as she shows emotional distress trying to balance her masculine and feminine chratceristics.

 

Conclusion

I found that this television series was able to reconstruct the ideal image of women in fairy tales through two different ways. Snow White was the object in the classic fairytale world but in Storybrooke she is the subject. The characters still uphold ABC by supporting traditional Disney ideas such as the importance of family and love. Although the characters and plot might differ, Once Upon a Time indicates that the company is moving in a direction with less stereotypical representations for women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Campbell, J. (n.d.). Lost’s Kitsis, Horowitz Start At The Beginning With Once Upon A Time.

 

England, Dawn E., Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. “Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses/” Sex Roles 64.7 (2011)” 555-67. Print.

 

Retrieved October 26, 2015, from http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2011/08/25/lostskitsis-and-horowitz-start-at-the-beginning-with-once-upon-a-time/

 

Horowitz, Adam, and Edward Kitsis. Once Upon a Time. ABC. N.d. Netflix. Web.

 

Inge, M. Thomas. “Walt Disney’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.” Journal of Popular Film & Television 32,3 (2004): 132-142. Film & Television Literature

 

Index. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

 

Krijne, T., & Bauwel, S. (2015). Gender and Media: Representing, Producing, Consuming.