The New Wave of Disney: Feminist Progression vs. Suppression in Disney’s Animated Musicals, The Little Mermaid(1989) and Tangled (2010).
The Disney ‘Renaissance’ began in 1989 with Michael Eisner becoming the new CEO of Team Disney, when they released The Little Mermaid (1989, Clements and Musker). Immediately, the film became extremely popular with young girls, perhaps because Disney began to return to the same techniques used in the Classical Era; including traditional, conservative representations and ideologies. They also returned to using the fairy-tale musical genre that Disney was widely known for, which was lost during the Dark period of 1967-1988. The character of Ariel, in The Little Mermaid, was much more liberal than the characters of Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora for example, as she signified curiosity, intelligence and rebellion. However, the film presents unrealistic standards of body image, male hierarchy and a misogynistic viewpoint of the female villain. In this essay, I will be exploring how The Little Mermaid is an anti-feminist film, contrary to popular belief at the time of its release. In comparison to The Little Mermaid, I will be analysing Tangled (2010, Howard and Greno) which is categorised as part of Disney’s second Renaissance. I will be researching how Disney has progressed between these two films in terms of the feminist movement, gender representations and conservative ideologies.
The feminist movement is the encouragement of women’s rights, aiming for equality between the sexes. It revolves around giving men and women equal opportunities in the workplace, home and in everyday life. Daily, women face discrimination or suppression from males, or in some cases other females, and are emotionally and psychically degraded based on false stereotypes that have developed over the years. These stereotypes include the belief that a woman belongs in the home instead of at work, they must spend their life serving their husband and children, and they do not have the right to express their opinion in any situation. Feminist theory has spread into literature and film, by analysing if women are symbolised as equal to men in the media, or if the representation is based off of traditional, conservative ideas about a woman’s ‘place’ in the world.
One of the most popular and well-respected feminist film theorists, Laura Mulvey, successfully summarised why women are depicted as sexual objects in many popular medias. In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975) she states that a woman is constructed in the media solely to satisfy the male viewer. This can be applied to the two Disney animated musicals that I will be researching, as the women protagonists are connoted in a way that is favourable to men. For example, both Ariel’s and Rapunzel’s costumes are highly sexualised; with Ariel’s midriff exposed and apart from her tail, wearing only a bra, and Rapunzel wearing a feminine dress which accentuates her figure, especially her breasts. This is favouring the Male Gaze. Ariel and Rapunzel are animated “with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness” (Mulvey, 1975, p11).
Feminist film theory also covers the ways in which women view themselves, and the ways in which women view other women. Although not explicitly mentioning the female viewer, Mulvey states that pleasure is obtained by “identification of the ego with the object on screen through the spectator’s fascination with and recognition” (Mulvey, 1975, p10). This is reflected in the two films I am analysing, in that the young princess desires to escape from the confinements she has been subjected to her whole life, “their stories tend to focus on the contents of their traps, the minute and mundane features of everyday life around which their trapped lives revolve” (Paul, 1987, p190). This may be relatable to some viewers that are perhaps wanting to ‘escape’ the confinements of their parents, school etc. Both characters eventually are freed from their original home, but have now found a husband to live with, therefore being under the constraint of a man once again. In the case of Tangled, Rapunzel escapes from her overprotective step-mother, to have freedom in the real world. However, she then returns to her original family by re-joining the patriarchal kingdom under the rulership of a king. This reiterates the ideology that a woman can only be happy when she has a husband, and family, furthermore conforming to the sexist stereotype that a woman belongs in the home under the control of a male hierarchy.
In The Little Mermaid (1989), Ariel is first seen exploring the sunken ships of the sea bed when she is meant to be performing with her sisters. She is immediately characterised as intelligent and brave as she saves Flounder and herself from the shark, portraying her first sign of heroism. This is straight away contrasting with the sexist opinion that “women are helpless and in need of protection” (Towbin, 2004, p31), as found in Towbin’s content analysis of Disney feature length animated films. As the film develops, she discovers Prince Eric and saves his life, therefore showing athletic ability as she heroically rescues him, a trait usually only given to male characters. This strength shown by Ariel gives a glimpse of hope that “heroism, egalitarianism and autonomy are [slipping] into the conventions of Disney princesshood” (Rozario, 2004, pg47). Her desire to live on land is then motivated by her desire to be with Prince Eric instead, as she begins to disobey her demanding father even more and seek help from Ursula, the sea witch. Ariel’s resilience to gain independence from her father’s control represents the feminist notion that a woman does not need to live under the control of a man, as mirrored with Ariel’s costume being purple and green, connoting the colours of the suffragette movement. Consequently, Ariel does in fact embody feminist ideas and beliefs throughout The Little Mermaid, possibly adding to one of the reasons why the film was such a major success.
Although Ariel was considered a progressive feminist character for Disney, her exemplification is also highly contradicted by more significant moments in the film. Towbin suggests that female characters that are “portrayed as strong initially, in the end, they often require rescue from even stronger male characters” (Towbin, 2004, p35). After giving up her tail and voice for a pair of legs and her chance to marry Prince Eric, her male sidekicks have to save her life by dragging her to the surface – therefore reinforcing the dominant ideology that men are the natural heroic saviours, and women must be protected. At the end when Ursula attacks, Eric and King Triton are the ones that eventually defeat her, not Ariel; emphasising this ideology once again. Also, Ariel giving up her voice to Ursula symbolises that “to win the love of a prince, she must forfeit her thoughts and intellect… she must rely solely on her body to win his favor” (Towbin, 2004, p38). This proves that Eric only fell in love with Ariel for her physical appearance, perhaps this is suggested in the sexualization of Ariel’s figure, although she is only 16. She is shown the “importance of body language” by Ursula in her musical number ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’, as she demonstrates that men are more attracted to sexually confident women rather than intellectual, as she is animated to replicate the “‘cheesecake’ poses, mimicking the traditions of a Busby Berkeley dancer” (Bell, p114 in Rozario, 2004, p45) as she seduces Eric on the beach. These symbolic moments reflect the idea that “a woman’s appearance is valued more than her intellect” (Towbin, 2004, p30). So perhaps The Little Mermaid is not a progressive tale, and actually holds strong anti-feminist concepts and viewpoints.
Originally the conventional fairy-tale, Rapunzel (The Brothers Grimm, 1812), involved a narrative of the Prince coming to Rapunzel’s rescue and falling in love. However, the recent Disney film adapted the fairy-tale with a more feminist mindset, making the character of Rapunzel more complex to therefore subvert the traditional gender stereotypes that Disney had commonly used. “In Tangled, the movie’s premise is centered around the idea that it’s wrong and horrible to expect a woman to spend her whole life at home.” (Mollenhauer, 2011). Flynn accidently comes across the tower (not to intentionally rescue her) and is met with a frying pan to the face followed by Rapunzel tying him up with her hair and interrogating him. This dominance proves that Rapunzel is not the typical damsel in distress character, and that she can actually defend herself. The use of the domestic item of the frying pan being used as a weapon is a clever symbol that illustrates the post-feminist awareness that women can defend themselves too, while still being a domestic figure. Using her magical hair as a weapon also “signifies Rapunzel as able to protect herself… Thus, further representing the idea of an independent post-feminism woman.” (Wilde, 2014, p137). On their journey to the lanterns, Rapunzel and Flynn encounter various obstacles and life-threatening dangers. Unlike previous Disney films, Rapunzel is commonly the hero in these situations, saving Flynn’s life multiple times, for example; using her hair to help him escape, saving them from drowning and even bringing him back to life at the end. This final act of heroism that she portrays is an example of masochism, which Sigmund Freud describes “in the form of pleasure in sacrifice, as more or less a normal component of femininity” (White, 1993, p190). This can be compared back to the sacrifice that Ariel had to make of losing her voice to achieve her dream of love, in The Little Mermaid. However, Tangled shows a more advanced reasoning as Rapunzel risked her life to save another’s, whereas Ariel’s dream was selfish, while putting others in danger too.
Nevertheless, Tangled does comply to Towbin’s statement that female characters of recent Disney films do eventually require rescuing from the male character/s (Towbin, 2004, p35). After being captured once more by evil Mother Gothel, the remaining male lead characters all collaborate to save her from the tower. Here, the original Grimm tale is recognized as the film returns to the established notion that “men are naturally strong and heroic.” (Towbin, 2004, p29). Flynn even makes the smart decision of cutting Rapunzel’s enchanted hair to prevent Mother Gothel from stealing her again, also killing her in the process. This can be read as a step back from the feminist messages seen throughout the film thus far. Another way that Tangled regresses from the feminist messages,, is seen right at the beginning of the film. “The fact Rapunzel’s narrative is led through the eyes of a male protagonist signifies that she is subjected to conventions of Mulvey’s notion of patriarchal ‘male gaze’” (Wilde, 2014, p139). This is an insightful point that identifies Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory. This is evident in this male narration in Tangled, and also in the sexualisation of Rapunzel. Her wide eyes, petite figure and pink dress demonstrate that “mainstream cinema encourages an inevitably voyeuristic male gaze and reproduces fetishistic stereotypes of women” (Humm, 1999, p4), that have been created to suit men’s ideal of what beauty is. Rapunzel may be a feisty, feminist character, but much like in The Little Mermaid, she still requires rescue from the male protagonists and is psychically very similar, sexualising her to appeal to male audiences.
These Disney princesses denote unrealistic standards of body image to the younger, more impressionable audience members, which can be seen as an anti-feminist trait. “They [young audience members] may learn that psychical beauty is associated with positive traits and, in turn, strive for the cultural ideal of female thinness” (Herbozo, 2004, p30). In The Little Mermaid, Ariel is unrealistically thin as her waist is so small it can fit through the tiny pot-hole of a ship, whereas her fish sidekick Flounder cannot. Some theorists have even claimed that she is almost anorexic (Trites, 1991, p149). She is consistently praised for being beautiful and is positively reinforced when Eric falls in love with her. This affirmation from her male lover provides the message to young viewers that you must be as thin as her to receive love from a romantic partner. Psychologists say that “Even positive comments may lead to body-image problems because they reinforce the idea that appearances are important.” (Guo, 2016). Although Ariel is always praised for her beauty and thinness, this can still be damaging to the young minds watching as it teaches that that they must have an appearance that meets the social standards of what ‘beauty’ is, at all times. “Since young children are frequently exposed to sociocultural ideal body shapes, it is likely they have internalized these ideals as well as the prejudice against obesity” (Herbozo, 2004, p23). The unrealistic standards that Disney portrays can be very damaging to young, female audiences; even so that some mothers have prohibited their children from watching the film because of the female suppression and manipulation that is present throughout.
More recent films that fall under the second Disney Renaissance, attempt to use fewer positive reinforcements related to the psychical beauty of the princess by praising women for their skills instead. “On average in these films, 40 percent of compliments directed at women involve their abilities or accomplishments, while only 22 percent involve physical appearances.” (Gou, 2016). This shows a large advancement from previous Disney films that would only praise the princess on psychical appearances. Nevertheless, this development can also be seen as consumer feminism, where Disney are advancing in the way they make and market their films to appeal to the feminist audience. Raising the debate of whether Disney actually care about the feminist movement, or if they are tactically using it for their own financial gain. It is clear that Disney continues to supress this feminist growth by still objectifying the female protagonist, in comparison to the male. This can be seen in Tangled at the very beginning when Rapunzel is referred to as having “beautiful golden hair” (Tangled, 2010). This compliment regarding her psychical appearance, already at such a young age, highlights the belief to young viewers that they must have this beautiful hair/psychical appearance to live the life of a princess and to be liked by others. Unlike Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel is actually criticized for gaining weight by Mother Gothel in the musical sequence ‘Mother Knows Best’ where she refers to her as “getting kinda chubby” whilst also using insults such as “immature, clumsy”. This is linking weight gain to negative traits, portraying that it is not acceptable to be anything but thin, even if you are locked away in a tower. White states “in determining whether a narrative reinforces the dominant cultural codes concerning gender, race and class… we must consider the uses to which that narrative is put, as well as its context” (White, 1993, p184). The context of Tangled is that it ultimately follows the conventions of the romance genre and uses the dual-focus model proposed by Rick Altman (1989) to conform to it. By connecting thinness with romance, the film subjects the viewer to believing the harmful dominant ideology that love cannot be achieved by anyone who is not conforming to what the social expectation of beauty is. As White states, “male desirability is still considered much less important than male desire in cinema and elsewhere” (White, 1993, p189), explaining why Disney princesses are designed to be observed and desired by the male gaze.
Disney emphasizes destructive ideologies of body image by representing characters who are anything other than the ‘average’ thin/muscular body type, as abnormal. “Obese characters are commonly depicted as evil, unattractive, unfriendly and cruel” (Herbozo, 2004, p27). In The Little Mermaid, Ursula is animated as being obviously overweight, and is the clear villain of the film. These negative characteristics relate obesity and unattractiveness to villainy, which can lead to crippling insecurities and self-hatred in young audiences. Herbozo found that “obesity is equated with negative traits in 64% of the children’s videos” (Herbozo, 2004, p27). The Little Mermaid follows these conventions, and so cannot be considered a feminist empowering film. Ursula’s characterization is also an example of vilifying female power by her being the only other leading female character in the film, apart from Ariel. This, along with Ariel’s mother being absent from the film, highlights Ursula’s ‘maternal’ role, reiterated through the musical sequence of ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’where Ursula teaches Ariel how to use her sexuality to seduce a man, rather than using her personality, “you’ll have your looks, your pretty face”. “Ursula coincides with the return of Disney’s animated musical, and she is also the only femme fatale who takes on the princess in song and dance” (Rozario, 2004, P45). This musical sequence takes place in Ursula’s cave, which is designed to symbolize the womb or the female body, contrasting with King Triton’s palace resembling phallic imagery. This may have been done to contrast the two characters, and to metaphorically illustrate Ariel’s visit to Ursula as her entry into womanhood, and her rebellion away from her father’s patriarchal society. Ursula’s soulful performance can be read as a way for Disney to represent the obese body as being sexually promiscuous for the first time in a Disney Animated Musical. Contrary to popular belief about her body being used to portray negative connotations, this can be a positive representation as it allows the overweight body to be seen as sexually confident. However, we never see Ursula having any romantic partners, and she is ultimately killed at the end which shows that “the film implicitly vilifies any body that does not fit the paradigm that it presents” (White, 1993, p189) and prevents her from achieving any form of happiness.
These ideologies are not present in Tangled, although there are still anti-feminist representations. The obese characters of the film (the thugs of the Snuggly Ducking) are warm hearted towards Rapunzel, and even help save her at the end. Perhaps the thugs are allowed to have heroic, friendly characterizations because they are male, and therefore can subvert the negative stereotype of obesity. Much like in The Little Mermaid, the other leading female character plays the antagonist, conforming to Disney’s trademark of vilifying female power. The evil Mother Gothel is not obese and she does not possess any magical powers of her own, but she uses Rapunzel’s hair for her own selfish gain of staying young forever as she is afraid of becoming old. Her vanity is presented through her observing herself in the mirror constantly. Her gerontophobia is Disney’s way of suppressing females, once again, by portraying the insulting message that women become unattractive and evil when old. The elderly males of Disney films, for example King Triton, are never criticized for aging, instead they are praised with strength and heroism, proving that the negative traits of aging are only attributed to females. This depiction has been present in many other classical Disney films, so it is clear that Disney has not progressed in this area of representation. “She exploits Rapunzel’s magical hair to keep herself looking young and beautiful, but there’s no string of lovers coming to the tower to visit her – it’s purely for her own happiness” (Bayles, 2016). Gothel may not be staying young to please anyone else, but this is contributing to the ideology that older, unattractive women cannot achieve love or pleasure.
Conclusively, The Little Mermaid subscribes to conventions in representing the female gender, furthermore presenting damaging ideologies to the very young audience that it is targeted at. Disney’s lack of strong female characters makes it difficult for feminist viewpoints to be acknowledged in this film, as the leading female characters feature a grotesque villain and a naïve, love-blind princess whereas the male characters are given extremely heroic, idealized traits. This is subverted in Disney’s Tangled through the strong-willed, free-spirited character of Rapunzel whose dream is not to find love, but freedom. While these feminist notions are addressed, Tangled still conveys unrealistic body standards for women and ultimately conforms to the Disney fairy-tale musical genre, where the woman’s ‘happily ever after’ always involves romance.
REFERENCES
1. Bayles, P. (2016). Why Tangled Is Disney's Most Feminist Film - One Room With A View. [online] One Room With A View. Available at: https://oneroomwithaview.com/2016/11/30/tangled-disneys-most-feminist-film/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2019].
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FILMOGRAPHY
1. The Little Mermaid. (1989). [film] Directed by R. Clements and J. Musker. United States: Walt Disney Pictures.
2. Tangled. (2010). [film] Directed by B. Howard and N. Greno. United States: Walt Disney Pictures.