Growing up, most of us (if not all of us) were at some point exposed to the world of Disney. Disney is something that we never really think of as a teaching tool for society “norms” between men and women; but in fact it is just that. In almost all older Disney movies, the princess is saved by her Prince Charming and they live happily ever after. This in fact teaches many young girls that they will one day be “rescued” by a man and almost shows that they can’t be their own hero. One movie that comes to mind that is the opposite of these Princess tales is Mulan. In Mulan, we see a strong, independent woman who saves a country almost on her own. However, at the end of the movie, she is still “saved” by the Prince, or in this case the warrior. This is showing little girls that even if they’re strong, they still need a man to save them; and that is what I am trying to depict here.
The girl in this photo is obviously adopting certain male characteristics, whether it’s the skateboarding or the superhero shirt. In this case, she has “dropped” most female characteristics, minus the bow and a touch of purple which tends to be a feminine color. In the photo, she is looking away from the camera. I did this to show a sort of search for her “Prince Charming” because as we have seen, Disney projects that even the strongest girls must be saved. The difference between the light and dark is also an interesting set up. She is in the light of the photo, and whatever she is looking for or towards is in the dark portion of the photo, symbolizing that whatever she is looking for may not be what is best for her. The photo was also angled to aim slightly downward on her figure. Although in most cases, girls adopting strong, masculine characteristics is acceptable, she is still obviously “below” the men because she “needs to be saved” by one. This photo relates to gender socialization because it shows that women and girls are not capable of saving themselves in the eyes of society, they need men to come to their rescue.
1 comment:
Although Disney is making progress recently with their movies pertaining to romantic socialization, you are completely correct when you point out how Disney may be teaching little girls that they can’t be their own hero and need to be saved by a man, generally Prince Charming. I can see the similarities in your picture and Mulan. Even though the girl in the picture can skate and is wearing a superhero shirt, typical boy objects, she still has a touch of femininity to her with the bow in her hair and her purple shoes. That little touch of girly objects shows that even though she is a strong girl, she still needs to be saved by a man. The fact that she is in the light shows that she has a good life and the darkness she is looking into may not be everything that the girl hopes being saved by a man is, but she still longs for that fairytale ending that she has been taught since she was little. The fact that the girl is looking away from the camera shows that even though she may be happy with her “tom-boyish” personality, she is still looking for something. She may be looking for prince charming, whom society is telling her that she needs him to be happy.
Post a Comment