The world's biggest animation company has some explaining to do
Once upon a time there was a sexist film company...when will Prince Charming save the day and improve Disney's view of women? Jack Hodgson investigates.
Disney films are great, aren't they? As a kid I loved the action, I loved the comedy, but most of all I loved the stories. Why then, upon watching these 'classics', do I feel differently towards them today? The women. I never realised just how devoted Snow White was to cleaning those dwarves' establishment. 'I'll wash and sew and sweep and cook'. Should children be subject to this? Or how about when domestic roles dominated Cinderella's life? I couldn't help but cringe when looking at some Disney 'classics'. One perfect example comes from that "charming" character Peter Pan, clearly an elderly man cursed with some kind of growth disorder. Upon speaking to Wendy, while posing as a twelve year old, we see Peter Pan impatiently demand her to sew his shadow back to him. The shadow appears to be a seemingly sentient being which clearly cannot bear to hear how Mr Pan treats Wendy, seen with his various attempts to escape. I especially can't blame it after Peter insists that Wendy 'Get on with it, girl'. This is not only insulting, it's also demeaning. It reduces the civilised young woman, who takes on the strenuous task of looking after her younger siblings, to a nameless 'girl'.
Despite Disney's past films, 'Frozen' can be seen to show a real change, surprising children and adults, including me. This came from the film's moral, showing us that 'True Love' is not simply the romance between a man and a woman, but comes from when people care about each other, a message that I hope will be continued in Disney's future films. In some past Disney films we see entire pinnacle plot elements that are sexist. This can be seen with 'The Little Mermaid' in which we see the, obviously attractive, 'Ariel' literally change her physical appearance in order to win the love of a man. Not convinced? We see Belle, from 'Beauty and the Beast', trapped in an abusive relationship. Instead of leaving the Beast, Belle continues to stay with him, leaving her family for complete isolation with him, with the hope that the beast would eventually change to eventually become nicer. Even with the ability to easily escape, upon leaving the castle, she soon returns, similar to victims of abuse in the real world.
The messages that these films give children, to change who they are or to accept a man's violent behaviour as 'normal', are unacceptable. There is a hint of reform in the late 20th century. Take Mulan, for example. A young woman that bravely goes against tradition in order to fight against an army which threatens China, replacing her aged father by disguising herself as a man. Seeing her ultimately save China, young girls can take a much more positive message from this film, to not follow the stereotype that woman are only good for domestic roles, but that they have equal capabilities as men. This is also seen in Brave with Merida, a Scottish princess, also going against tradition, refusing to be forced into a arranged marriage, emphasising the importance that, as individuals, woman have the right to choose who to be with. Sadly the representation of woman's independence and power is not the only representation that in need of serious change. Visually, female Disney protagonists haven't changed since 'Snow White' said 'Boy, this apple sure looks good'. The thin, unblemished 'perfect' presentation of them made the jump from 2D to 3D and hasn't changed since. Not once have we seen a female protagonist who didn't fall into this category. Part of the problem is that we are so used to seeing these presentations that to change would create controversy. However, just maybe, it would also create praise, promoting Disney to the company that changed the perception of women, truly bridging the gap between normality and fantasy. Change may be closer than we think. With the recent announcement that Disney has made for the 2016 film, created by their Pixar studios, we see a character that goes against the Disney norm. This comes in the form of 'Riley', a surprisingly plain looking girl living in a very normal world, facing very realistic problems. Despite not being in any way ugly, Riley lacks the immediate radiance of 'perfection' that we see with almost every other leading female character roles. The 'supernatural' element that we see with this film comes from within Riley's mind, in which we see the colourful characters 'Joy', 'Anger', 'Sadness' 'Fear' and 'Disgust' aid her in making the best decisions in her new life, as if taking a psychiatrist advice of letting 'Me step inside your mind' quite literally. The downfall here is that all the female iterations of these mind-creatures again go back to the typical female type, at least in appearance . There is a larger female character. It's just a shame this comes in the form of the character 'Sadness'… Hardly helpful.
Regardless of this, I have to admit I did double-take the first time I saw the 'real world' Riley. It's amazing how much a couple of 'imperfections' can change a character. Riley's slightly larger than expected nose, as well as her chipped tooth may just make her a better hero than any Prince Charming could ever be. So come on Disney, be Brave and continue to pave the way for other animation studios, we won't judge you.