GRSJ224/Disney Princesses As Magical Role Models

Overview

Among the many role models in modern society, several of Disney's classic female characters, have adapted to fit this template of being strong, individual and brave female leads, meant to inspire young generations to also be strong and independent young women. Several of these female characters are more than just a facade of a helpless princess waiting for a prince to save them. But they are strong, fearless women who have the ability to make their own decisions. Rebecca Rozario determines that in terms of the ideology of the Disney princess “Many Disney heroines at times wear the princess mask, for the appellation of princess is not exclusively tied to social status.” (46) The princesses in these films sometimes appear to be that of just a princess, but they are individualistic and strong. In this ability to be strong and confident young women, they act as role models for every generation. The older version of Disney princesses, such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella differ from more modern makes of the Disney princesses which act more as individual women who have something to prove.

History

Early Portrayal of Disney Female Princesses

Some of the first portrayals of Disney princesses include the well-known characters from fairytales such as Snow White from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, Cinderella from “Cinderella” and Aurora from “Sleeping Beauty”. These three princesses were portrayed as women who were in trouble primarily caused by the villain of the story, usually related to them by family ties and having to be rescued by another character; again usually a man or prince. These female princesses are portrayed as being feeble and shallow women, unable to solve problems on their own. They act upon the use of a male character to free themselves from their situation and gain independence through the male character’s help.

Example

The film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was released in 1937. It follows the journey of a young girl with unattainable beauty, being despised and hunted by her stepmother for having such beautiful features. This causes Snow White to go into the forest, be poisoned and then awoken by a prince. Hardly anywhere along the story line are the audience given the image of a strong female lead who is able to fight against her step mother. Rather, it is left up to the Prince to rescue her and give her a happily ever after. A similar situation happens to the other Disney princesses which were first created in animated films; Cinderella, which was released in 1950 where the female character can only have a fairytale happy ending through the use of her fairy godmother. Her ability to attend the ball can only be possible by her fairy godmother granting her wish, and Cinderella is unable to overcome her situation through her own personal means. Sleeping Beauty which was released in 1959 follows the life of a young girl who is destined to prick her finger on a spinning needle and by cursed with eternal sleep. Although her parents do their best to protect her, the spell comes true and she sleeps. She is only able to awaken through the kiss of true love which does happen at the end of the movie. Prince Phillip awakens her and destroys Maleficent, the evil in which her life is in jeopardy from. Much like Cinderella and Snow White she acts as a frail female character who cannot give herself her own happiness and safety. Each of these princesses are rescued by a strong male character and brought to a better life away from the problems that had currently been in their lives. Without the intervention of these men, each of these princesses would have been unable to overcome the obstacles in their way.

Competition against Men

The male characters seen in the above three films all take the strong leads and are seen as brave, handsome and they act as a savior for their respective princesses. These female characters not only have to be strong but they also had to stand out and above the enviable male characters that were paired along with them. Here, genders are taken note of as each role is given to a specific gender model: the male characters tend to be the saviors, coming to rescue the princess from her distressing situation. This occurs in "Snow White" when the Prince kisses her awake from her slumber, and in "Sleeping Beauty", when Prince Phillip also rescues her from her eternal sleep. The gender role of the man in each of these films displays the female character having to be rescued by a male character. The princess is not able to rescue herself, therefore she has to rely on her prince to save her.

Female Role Models Portrayed In Modern Disney Princess Films

Femininity is noted throughout many of Disney's creations; from the fierce and independent Merida in "Brave" released in 2012 to Rapunzel's acceptance for adventure in "Tangled", released in 2010 and Belle's desire for knowledge and acceptance in the 1991 version of "Beauty and the Beast". These portrayals of strong female leads do differ from the original princess roles from Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White. Each of these women decide on their own journey’s and are able to change their own fates without the help of a male character directly. These princesses act as the strong female leads in these films which act as female role models for both children and adults. This acts as a form of female empowerment and allows women the chance to believe, that just like a Disney princess, they are able to do anything that they want to.

Belle Inspired by Books

Beauty and the Beast

"Beauty and the Beast" was released in 1991. The primary female lead Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” is a young girl with a sense of adventure and a keenness for knowledge. Throughout the movie Belle is ostracized by her entire town as being a young girl who is more interested in books and gathering knowledge (learning new things) than about how she looks or who she is trying to impress. She is proud to be different. We later find out that the male hunk of the town has his eye on Belle and intends to make her his submissive wife and doesn’t even take her feelings into consideration. Belle breaks from this image being forced upon her by her fellow villagers of being a submissive girl and values intelligence and creativity and won’t let anyone get in her way. This film bases a lot of Belle’s character on her interest in learning. She does not let any man change the fact that she loves to read and continues to pursue her interest in knowledge. She promotes learning and self-knowledge, rather than romance.

Rapunzel being Courageous

Tangled

“Tangled” was a Disney film released in 2010. “Tangled” is again another example of a Disney princess that breaks from the traditional view of what a princess should be like. Rapunzel is unknowingly a princess but the villain has her locked up in a tower for her own personal purposes. Rapunzel excels in bravery when she leaves her tower and begins to explore the world in which she lives in and finds out that she is of royal birth. She demonstrates both bravery and courage and the desire for self-realization, even if it means having to leave the only place in which you know. Rapunzel offers the view that a person can do anything as long as they have courage and the desire to continue to learn, even if it might be daunting to do so.

Brave

“Brave” was a Disney Pixar film released in 2012. Many Disney princess films prior to “Brave”, such as “Cinderella”, “Princess and the Frog” and “Sleeping Beauty” created primary female characters that appeared to be weak or needed help from the strong male lead. When the Disney Pixar film “Brave” was released in 2012, it bought on a new perspective on the traditional Disney princess. Merida, the female protagonist, is introduced to the audience as young, fun princess with the whole world ahead of her. However strong family traditions appear to hinder Merida by forcing Merida to marry a young man from a neighbouring clan, something she has no say in. However instead of being submissive, like Disney princesses before her and listening to her parents, Merida speaks up and opposes these traditional views, ending the movie by her being able to live however she wants and being able to find love in her own time. “Brave” wavers from the traditional image of a perfect princess.

Picture of Merida

Feminist Issues

Are these Women Realistic?

With the creation of Merida, Belle and Rapunzel,new princesses were created that did not follow the traditional conventions of what a princess should be. This allowed the creation of a new character that was more realistic to the audience and someone that they would be able to relate to. No one is able to relate to being a princess, but several of the problems faced by these princesses, the audience face in their everyday lives, such as being able to make personal decisions and being faced with challenges. By demonstrating that these strong role models are able to face their problems, it gives the audience an image of how they can overcome their own issues if they too can be brave and strong. By having characters like Snow White, they almost appear flaky and unrealistic, something created for show, unlike a character like Merida.

== Individualism ==

By focusing on the princesses being separate from the other characters in their respective films, individualism comes to light. This term indicates that the focus in the film is not on the plot or relationship between each of the characters, but focuses mainly on the character in question. Merida acts as an individualistic character; she at first thinks that she does not need any man or family member to help her change her destiny. She sees her moral self-worth as being only for herself, not of her social group, indicating her family. This mistake leads to her mother being turned into a bear and having to defeat the villain character. Merida takes it upon herself to take control of her destiny, valuing her independence over the safety of her family. This demonstrates an issue with Merida as a character; her flaw shows that her individualistic nature leads to unnecessary consequences of the film.