There is a documentary out there called Mickey Mouse Monopoly, and I am going to write about it so you don't have to watch it. It isn't that I found the movie incredibly offensive (I didn't) or that it wasn't making good points (because it was), but rather, it was filmed very poorly. If I wanted to point to one movie whose message was almost destroyed by the quality of the film making, this is the movie to which I would point. But this isn't a blog about cinematography, so I will proceed with only making one note on how the zoom function on the camera was basically abused. So keep that in mind, filmmakers of the future. Closeups are not always your friend.
But cinematic criticism aside, this documentary made some good points. While I will admit they weren't my favorite points, and would have been strengthened given a more objective point of view (you could practically smell the bias coming off this movie, and it just felt like one of the subjects had a personal vendetta against Disney). I swear that is my last criticism that I will level against the documentary as a film. Obviously, the movie concentrated on how Disney owns a lot of the media, which is true, and how that is not necessarily a good thing. Because Disney's main goal is to make a bunch of money. But I am not going to talk about that. That is a post for a different blog on a different day. I am here to specifically discuss the criticism leveled at the whole "Disney Princess" culture.
From: http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/just-another-princess-movie/
Image by Imp Kerr
In short, the film argued about the harm and negative reinforcement of gender stereotypes that is caused by the Disney Princesses. Looking back at all my favorite Disney films (including Pixar in this too), my favorite movies have never been the "princess" movies (my childhood favorite was Toy Story but in contrast, my younger brother's childhood favorite was Cinderella). I think that the early ones are all works of art (really, they are just stunning) but the characters fall flat (universally, pretty much, not just on the women's side). But the early Disney princess movies (think Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty) pretty much fall into the pitfalls of their time. Women in these movies are meant to be saved by men. And they pretty much rely on their beauty for that to happen. Like I said, pitfalls of the time period in which they were made in. You can't expect some kind of deviance from this because Disney isn't really out to make a statement. I will give all these movies a pass because I am pretty sure that eventually everybody learns that the times have changed.
Now things are a little different, and I think that you see that with the most recent Disney princess movies: Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, and Mulan. I will even add the 90s princesses into the mix as well (although Jasmine should be considered separately because the movie was not about her). You see a shift from characters being driven by beauty and love to being driven by motivations of their own. Rapunzel wants to escape the castle, Tiana wants to own a restaurant, Mulan wants to fight for her family, Jasmine wants to escape the palace walls, Belle wants to leave a life of monotony, etc. Even Ariel wasn't motivated by Prince Eric, she just wanted to walk on land. Do the stereotypes exist? Yes they do. But as the movies continue to be made, they exist to a much lesser degree. Which isn't something to necessarily be praised for (It's like "yay you are less sexist than you were in the past!") but it is something to be noted. I would still like to see more change being made, but it's a start. And hey, there is always Pixar (which gets really into making statements...aside from Cars).
By all accounts though this should be expected. By creating a princess culture, Disney has basically created a giant pot of money on which it can always rely upon to exist. I think that this is more harmful than any movie. Because the princess culture is what perpetuates the importance of beauty, not the actual movies themselves. And by doing this it can sell dolls, makeup, dresses, costumes, and other various toys. Disney convinces children to buy their toys and at the same time convinces them that all they need in life are beauty and true love to get by. It's a business model that works but not a business model that is the best from a stereotype perspective. Unfortunately I don't see this changing anytime soon. As long as Disney is making loads of money, why should it change?
In the interest of words, I will leave it here, but at another time I will definitely discuss what modern animated films have defined as a woman's place in the world is under a different perspective. And not just through a business model.
But cinematic criticism aside, this documentary made some good points. While I will admit they weren't my favorite points, and would have been strengthened given a more objective point of view (you could practically smell the bias coming off this movie, and it just felt like one of the subjects had a personal vendetta against Disney). I swear that is my last criticism that I will level against the documentary as a film. Obviously, the movie concentrated on how Disney owns a lot of the media, which is true, and how that is not necessarily a good thing. Because Disney's main goal is to make a bunch of money. But I am not going to talk about that. That is a post for a different blog on a different day. I am here to specifically discuss the criticism leveled at the whole "Disney Princess" culture.
Image by Imp Kerr
In short, the film argued about the harm and negative reinforcement of gender stereotypes that is caused by the Disney Princesses. Looking back at all my favorite Disney films (including Pixar in this too), my favorite movies have never been the "princess" movies (my childhood favorite was Toy Story but in contrast, my younger brother's childhood favorite was Cinderella). I think that the early ones are all works of art (really, they are just stunning) but the characters fall flat (universally, pretty much, not just on the women's side). But the early Disney princess movies (think Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty) pretty much fall into the pitfalls of their time. Women in these movies are meant to be saved by men. And they pretty much rely on their beauty for that to happen. Like I said, pitfalls of the time period in which they were made in. You can't expect some kind of deviance from this because Disney isn't really out to make a statement. I will give all these movies a pass because I am pretty sure that eventually everybody learns that the times have changed.
Now things are a little different, and I think that you see that with the most recent Disney princess movies: Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, and Mulan. I will even add the 90s princesses into the mix as well (although Jasmine should be considered separately because the movie was not about her). You see a shift from characters being driven by beauty and love to being driven by motivations of their own. Rapunzel wants to escape the castle, Tiana wants to own a restaurant, Mulan wants to fight for her family, Jasmine wants to escape the palace walls, Belle wants to leave a life of monotony, etc. Even Ariel wasn't motivated by Prince Eric, she just wanted to walk on land. Do the stereotypes exist? Yes they do. But as the movies continue to be made, they exist to a much lesser degree. Which isn't something to necessarily be praised for (It's like "yay you are less sexist than you were in the past!") but it is something to be noted. I would still like to see more change being made, but it's a start. And hey, there is always Pixar (which gets really into making statements...aside from Cars).
By all accounts though this should be expected. By creating a princess culture, Disney has basically created a giant pot of money on which it can always rely upon to exist. I think that this is more harmful than any movie. Because the princess culture is what perpetuates the importance of beauty, not the actual movies themselves. And by doing this it can sell dolls, makeup, dresses, costumes, and other various toys. Disney convinces children to buy their toys and at the same time convinces them that all they need in life are beauty and true love to get by. It's a business model that works but not a business model that is the best from a stereotype perspective. Unfortunately I don't see this changing anytime soon. As long as Disney is making loads of money, why should it change?
In the interest of words, I will leave it here, but at another time I will definitely discuss what modern animated films have defined as a woman's place in the world is under a different perspective. And not just through a business model.
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