Subliminal messages

In recent years Disney conspires have been put forward, the idea of subliminal messages have also been publicised.

This well known image taken from the Disney film the rescuers (1977) can be seen as transmitting subliminal messages through the alleged poster in the background of a nude female statue.













Interestingly in the background a naked portrait of a woman is visible, which has put forward the idea of subliminal messages. It can be argued that subconsciously Disney is corrupting children and teaching them incorrect values. Critics of Disney believe that the films encourage the ideology of patriarchy as women are depicted as dependant on their male love interest.

Feminist may believe that the alleged naked female figurine exploits the female body and a female was deliberately chosen as opposed to male. It is also degrading to women as it objectifies them; their bodies are simply disrespected.

Analysis of Princess Diaries trailer

Similar to Enchanted, Princess Diaries is a Disney Picture film production; they use real life people rather than animation. Both films have the same demographic appeal of pre-teen girls so it uses a similar structute.In addition Princess diaries also corresponds to Props theory.

Princess Amelia like Princess Giselle are both beautiful which a young audience will desire to be like. At the start Amelia is perceived as 'ugly'; her thick hair, thick glasses and lack of fashion sense means that she is treated as insignificant. Then Amelia undergoes a makeover to conform to society's idea of beauty, proving to be accepted women must be attractive and perfect. Therefore the modern world is obsessed by appearances. Again the idea of 'perfection' is created which allows a young audience to have false aspirations.

However, unlike Giselle Amelia appears to be extremely authoritative and take control of the situation she is in. At first Amelia is reluctant to be a princess so she is unwilling to participate in Royal training. Her tenacity and persistence highlights her strength.

On the other hand in the trailer the scene where Amelia is crying in the rain depict her as helpless. She appears to be a damsel in distress that needs rescuing and in the end she is saved by Joseph; which means women are reliant on men.

Amelia is also depicted as an intellectual as she is an activist for Greenpeace and fights for her rights; which further exemplifies her strength. Giselle on the other hand appears to be helpless and is disjointed with the reality of the world. Although Amelia appears to be innocent, as she is a victim of bullying, Giselle is portrayed as simply minded.

In contrast to Amelia's naivety is her grandmother's wisdom, relating to Strauss's Binary opposition, there is juxtaposition between old and young. It is stereotypical representation for young people (in this case women) to jump in with their feet first like Amelia, instead of considering the consequences. But her Grandmother considers the full situation as she is wise. The young female naivety is prevalent throughout Disney films.

To conclude, the overall representation of women is stereotypical. However Amelia embodies characteristics associated with men such as her strength and determination. She is also not passive as other Disney female characters.

Analysis of the 'Enchanted' trailer

At the beginning of the trailer an emphasis on the authenticity of ‘Enchanted’ is displayed. However, the film clearly embodies aspects of previous Disney films. A kind innocent damsel that is aided by her animal companions is directly mimicking 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs'. In addition, the female protagonist portrays the conventional damsel in distress persona which portrayed throughout the film. Instantly Giselle (the princess) is depicted as innocent as her white dress connotes purity, stereotypical of Disney films.

Interestingly, despite the young female target audience a male voiceover has been selected. The deep authoritative voice relates to the idea of patriarchy as the man evidently dominates the trailer. Some Feminists may believe that this immediately encourages girls to be passive and subconsciously believe they are socially inferior.

Although Proppian theory is considered outdated, Disney still incorporate a princesses (Giselle), witch (Queen Narissa), a prince (Prince Edward) and many more Proppian characters. Therefore Disney remains tradition, but a study by Sue Sharpe in 1970s and 1990s highlighted that girl’s aspirations have changed immensely in the twenty years. The majority of girls consider their careers as vital and marriage as less important. Thus, the notion of a damsel in distress is outdated.

Prince Edward claims that 'Giselle I will rescue you’ as Giselle is 'lost'. The word 'rescue' manifests the princesses’ weakness, creating the idea that she needs a man to save her. He then bares his sword which is a phallic symbol; the sword is associated with violence. So weaponry is simply an extension of the male body and men are therefore stronger than women.

Giselle is shown as a domestic Goddess as she fulfils her household duties. In the scene where Giselle is cleaning the house she is ultimately displayed as the archetypical housewife, as she is participating in her household duties. Again this is a very tradition portrayal of women.

Unusually not all female characters are depicts as weak and passive, Giselle's character is juxtaposed with the strong black female bus driver. This conforms to Strauss’s Binary opposition theory as black women are opposed with white women. Despite being a women, the black bus driver stands her ground as 'nobody stabs [her] bus', proving that she does not fear men.

Conventionally Giselle is extremely beautiful, which appeals to young girls as they aspire to be like the princess. Disney attempts to create a character that displays perfection. However, this artificial persona has been criticised as it falsely brainwash young children into believing the notion of perfection, as it is non-existent.

In conclusion, 'Enchanted' clearly emulates its Disney predecessors through the storyline and the representation of women. The traditional fairytale idea is now outdated as it no longer relates to society marriage and a happy ever is not relevant to real society. According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of weddings in England and Wales in 2006 was 236,980, the lowest figure since 1895. Marriage doe not hold significance anymore.

Proposal

Title
To what extent does 'Enchanted' problematise the stereotypical representation of women in Disney films?

Hypothesis
Despite the alteration of female roles in society, Walt Disney films have remained conventional in the representation of women. The idea of a damsel in distress is prevalent in ‘Enchanted’; Disney films depict women as passive.

Migrain analysis
Media language
- A close up of the Princess's face whilst she's sleeping reflects her innocence.
-High angle shot of the princess makes her seem weak and feeble.
-Props such as the Princesses flamboyant dresses portray a glamorised look, which aspire to young girls.

Institution
-Walt Disney Pictures are a commercial company that target a young audience. However, Walt Disney Pictures release films that deal with more adult issues than associated with Disney films.

Genre
-It incorporates animation, comedy, adventure, romance and family viewing; therefore it is a hybrid genre as it embodies different genre conventions. The surreal storyline is associated with children’s fictional adventure which is prevalent throughout the film; which makes adventure the main genre.

Representation
-Stereotypically, the Princess represents innocence which is manifest through her confusion and attire. The white extravagant dress symbolises her childlike mindset but white also connotes her lack of experience. Her sweet nature is juxtaposed by the evil corrupt witch.
-Giselle (princess) urges to be rescued by the prince. Men in the film symbolise strength and bravery in stark contrast the unadventurous princess. A binary opposition between the men and women is evident through the contrast of the two.
-New York itself is glamorised but also portrayed as an unpleasant city, as nobody helps the princess.

Audience
-Clearly, it is aimed at a younger audience, in particular girls between the ages of 4 to 11. In addition, it appeals to adults, especially parents through the use of humour such as double entendre.

Ideology
-Patriarchal ideals are demonstrated by the princess’s expectation of being saved by a prince. However it can be argued that the evil witch is independent and has ultimate control over her assistant; thus a matriarchal ideology is being shown.
-Finally, when the princess discovers her true love a familial ideology is conveyed through the closeness of the family.
-Overall traditional values are exemplified in this film and reflected onto the audience.

Narrative
The narrative is liner as it highlights the princess’s life in chronological order. Proppain characters are created in the film.

Theorists/theories
I will be incorporating theorists which I have learnt about in year 12 such as Propp, Levi-Strauss, Laura Mulvey and Rabiger. In addition, I will be conducting further research into historical facts about women and the development of Feminism. Similarly, I must also explore new media theorist during my investigation. Additionally, my research will be examining the concept of hegemony.

Debates
I will also be contrasting and comparing previous Disney films to discover similarities with 'Enchanted'. Additionally it will be relating Disney to other institutions aimed at a similar audience demographic such as Pixar. Both institutions appeal to a young 3-12 years old and according to feminist sociologist Norman et al (1988) sex stereotypes are taught before children go to school. Therefore, prompting the question are Disney and similar institutions partially responsible for creating gender stereotypes?

Research required
Solely, I will be analysing the Disney institution it's representation of women and how it has altered in the past fifty years. Also my work will entail researching books, the Internet and articles for theorists and historically depictions of women.
A recent notion that Disney films contain subliminal sexual messages which corrupt children will be further explored in this research.

http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2003/gp13/gp13.pdf
http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/aladdin.asp
faculty.pepperdine.edu/rperrin/courses/soc200/Inquiry%20examples/Gender%20and%20Disney.doc
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3613496.ece
These websites discuss subliminal messages in Disney films, all of the undertake different viewpoints on The notion of subliminal messages. Thus, from this evidence I can conclude if the alleged messages are an explanation sexually exploit females and subconsciously teach sex stereotypes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company
http://www.famouspeople.co.uk/w/waltdisney.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/25/eadisney125.xml
These sites highlight information about Walt Disney and the history of Disney.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461770/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_(film)
http://www.enchanted-movie.com/
http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=163982
These website are contain detailed overviews of the 'Enchanted' and also
contain reviews of the film. This is important as it will prove whether my hypothesis suggesting that Disney films do present women stereotypically.

Sociology and social policy for the early years, By Alan Yeo and Tina Lovell
This book will demonstrate the development of children and the influence of media on them.

Women and the family, by Kate Hyndley
This book depicts the changing roles of women throughout history and will help my research by revealing whether Disney's presentation of females is outdated.