Princesses are everywhere. While “boy’s toys feature superheroes, trains, cars, building sets and a range of colours. Girls’ toys, swathed in an endless sea of pink and purple, are dominated by princesses.” (Hains, R. C. 2014:1) With princesses ruling the world of young girls today it is important to consider the messages these characters deliver. “Without question, Walt Disney sets the standards for feature-length fairy-tale films in the world of cinema” (Bazalgette, C. and Buckingham, D. 1995:109) and has provided us with the most popular examples of princesses in modern society since Snow White in 1937. These films teach girls a number of things, including values, ideals, and what it means to be female, “gender is about what we are but what we do. By repeating certain acts, we learn how to perform ways of being male or ways of being female,” (Mallan, K. 2009:197) these lessons can influence young girls and shape their own identities.
For this project, I will be using a combination of secondary research, both academic texts, and online resources, to examine the way in which Disney represents women, specifically Disney princesses, within their films. Throughout Chapter One, I will be examining the latest Disney princess film, Frozen. I will be looking at a range of internet sources to determine how Frozen has been received since its release. Chapter Two, is a review of current literature already available on the topic, looking at other texts which focus on the Disney Company. These include volumes which focus solely on Disney, as well as books that touch on the subject of Disney, princesses and fairy tales. Chapter Three discusses the Disney princesses of the past, concentrating on the differences between the princess representations and how the portrayals have evolved over the years. The princesses will be divided into sub-chapters; ‘The First Generation Princess’ (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty), ‘The Second Generation Princess’ ( The Little Mermaid , Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and Mulan), and finally ‘The Twenty-First Century Princess’ (The Princess and The Frog, Tangled, and Brave.) I will also be doing a content analysis of the previous princess films, generating qualitative data on similarities present within the films. Chapter Four looks in depth at Frozen carrying out a textual analysis of the film determining whether Frozen is a break away from the previous representations of princesses or whether the evolution was a more gradual one. By looking critically at Frozen in comparison to other Disney princess films, this research project seeks out to establish how princesses are represented within Disney films, and how the representations of women have adapted and evolved. Chapter Five, the concluding chapter will draw upon the ideas and arguments presented in the previous chapters, to establish how the representation of Disney princesses has evolved over the years. Focusing particularly on Frozen and the work of Disney to adapt its approach to gender stereotyping in their princess franchise. I will be exploring the evolution of Disney princesses to determine whether Frozen is a break away from the “traditional” Disney representations who existed “to be threatened or victimized and then rescued, or to be the hero’s reward for his accomplishments.” (Green, P. 1998:160)
For this project, I will be using a combination of secondary research, both academic texts, and online resources, to examine the way in which Disney represents women, specifically Disney princesses, within their films. Throughout Chapter One, I will be examining the latest Disney princess film, Frozen. I will be looking at a range of internet sources to determine how Frozen has been received since its release. Chapter Two, is a review of current literature already available on the topic, looking at other texts which focus on the Disney Company. These include volumes which focus solely on Disney, as well as books that touch on the subject of Disney, princesses and fairy tales. Chapter Three discusses the Disney princesses of the past, concentrating on the differences between the princess representations and how the portrayals have evolved over the years. The princesses will be divided into sub-chapters; ‘The First Generation Princess’ (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty), ‘The Second Generation Princess’ ( The Little Mermaid , Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and Mulan), and finally ‘The Twenty-First Century Princess’ (The Princess and The Frog, Tangled, and Brave.) I will also be doing a content analysis of the previous princess films, generating qualitative data on similarities present within the films. Chapter Four looks in depth at Frozen carrying out a textual analysis of the film determining whether Frozen is a break away from the previous representations of princesses or whether the evolution was a more gradual one. By looking critically at Frozen in comparison to other Disney princess films, this research project seeks out to establish how princesses are represented within Disney films, and how the representations of women have adapted and evolved. Chapter Five, the concluding chapter will draw upon the ideas and arguments presented in the previous chapters, to establish how the representation of Disney princesses has evolved over the years. Focusing particularly on Frozen and the work of Disney to adapt its approach to gender stereotyping in their princess franchise. I will be exploring the evolution of Disney princesses to determine whether Frozen is a break away from the “traditional” Disney representations who existed “to be threatened or victimized and then rescued, or to be the hero’s reward for his accomplishments.” (Green, P. 1998:160)
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