Gender Stereotypes In The Disney Film Moana - 1918 Words

There is a poem by Rupi Kaur that says, Representation is vital otherwise the butterfly surrounded by a group of moths unable to see itself will keep trying to become the moth. It is said that most of the decisions that we make in our lifetime are made unconsciously. Whether we’d like to admit it or not, the characters we grew up laughing, crying, hating, and falling in love with have shaped who we are and how we look at the world today. These characters have impacted our lives in ways that transcend far beyond the length of the movie or television show. This impact frames how we see ourselves, our aspirations, and our perception of the people around us. It is for these reasons alone that representation in the main-steam media is so†¦show more content†¦As a result, oftentimes young girls strongly identify with princess culture and even into adulthood we not only blindly seek our own â€Å"happily ever after† but we assume that girls innately love princesses, dress up, and anything magical, making children even more susceptible to gender stereotypes. Many of the â€Å"classic† Disney movies spend a great portion of their screen time painting its leading female character as a damsel in distress. This princess culture suggests that despite other defining characteristics, a females most valuable asset is her beauty above all else. These Disney movies also imply that girls should be sweet despite the lousy hand they were dealt. Sleeping Beauty is indeed beautiful and sweet, but spends most her movie hiding, and as a result, ends up waiting hand and foot on seven dwarfs who aren’t always kind instead of fighting for her kingdom. Cinderella was so set on getting away from her evil step-mother that she swans off with a prince she barely knows who was amazed by her beauty, with the assumption that freedom from the life she once lived would come from the security of marrying a prince. In Beauty and the Beast, it is highlighted several times that Belle’s appeal is not only her beauty but her intelligence as well. Yet despite how â€Å"smart† she is, she falls in love with a Beast who held her hostage against her will. It is not until Ariel in The Little Mermaid that we see a female character stand upShow MoreRelatedMulan Essay1541 Words   |  7 PagesThe representation of women in Disney films has indefinitely transformed throughout the decades due to Disney’s need to gradually creat e conventional views and ideas of women. 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