By: P.Z.
You can see the lead male in Disney movies as tall, muscular and they typically have an angular face. Along with the hyper masculine appearance the male characters also act in the same way. This image of men is consistent through Disney films and shows young boys what “real” men should look like and act like. At a young age, boys don’t have the cognitive ability to critically analyze these images of men in the Disney movies. Instead of deconstructing what they see they rely on “mirror neurons” to act out what they observe in movies. “Mirror Neurons” found in the brain and used for visual and motor sensory input. You can see how “mirror neurons” play a part in the bobo doll experiment conducted by Albert Bandura.
An article in the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, “Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney FeatureLength AnimatedFilm,” they talk about five themes observed in Disney movies; Men expressing their emotions physically or not at all; Men have no control over their sexuality; Men are naturally strong and heroic; Men have jobs outside of the home; Overweight men have negative characteristics. These themes are what most young boys view as how they should be and show young girls what to expect from boys.
Men expressing their emotions physically or not at all can be seen in The Little Mermaid, when King Triton and Arial get into a verbal fight over her being attracted to the prince. The fight finished with King Triton getting so upset that he destroyed some of her belongings and finally the statue of the prince. He left without saying sorry for over reacting and just left Arial there to cry over her lose. This message is telling young boys that when a girl isn’t doing something you agree with your response should be to yell and be physically violent. Without showing healthy ways of communication this is an observed reaction young boys have to call on when presented with the same situation in the future.
A man having no control over their sexuality is displayed in Sleeping Beauty when the prince sees the princess and doesn’t want her to leave. Rose, the princess, has to go back to her house after they sing a song together but the prince is persistent and wants to know when he can see her again. This is showing young boys that you can “fall in love” just after meeting a woman and not know much about her other than how she looks. If a woman is physically appealing that you need to pursue her at any cost.
Men are naturally strong and heroic is shown in Toy Story 3. In the introduction there is a battle between Woody and Mr. Potato Head where Wood is trying catch Mr. Potato from stealing the money. There was struggle between the two and Mrs. Potato Head tried to help Mr. Potato Head then Josie tried to help Woody. In the end the strong Buzz Lightyear was the hero by catching the train that flew off the tracks and bringing it to safety. In this scene it’s showing boys that you have to be physically strong in order to save the day.
Men have jobs outside of the home and leave the women to do domestic jobs. “In 17 of the movies, men were portrayed as having non-domestic jobs. In only three movies (Pinocchio, Jungle, and Tarzan) were men shown performing domestic tasks.” If boys only see other boys or men doing jobs outside of the home their schema of what a man should do will be warped into thinking they can’t do anything in the home. If men are under the impression that they aren’t capable to do anything within the home this will reinforce the oppressive notion that a woman’s place is within the home.
Overweight men in Disney movies have negative characteristics. In the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame Quasimoto who is a faithful and hard working man that has a hump in his back, short in stature and one of his eyes is slightly droopy. Throughout the movie Quasimoto fights for and helps save Esmeralda but in the end Quasimoto only earns the love and affection of his community. Esmeralda ends up with the tall, muscular solider, Phoebus and Quasimoto even gives them his blessing by placing their hands together. This is a horrible message to be sending young boys who are overweight or short in stature. Disney is telling these types of me that you’re not good enough to be with a woman you are attracted to.
These five different themes, aimed at boys, are not only helping to continue the oppression of women but are also oppressing men. By not having any male role models on how to effectively and healthily display emotion Disney is contributing to the communication breakdown of men in our society. To only show men in an image driven, no self control way towards women is perpetuating the objectification of women. If in order to be a man you have to be physically strong and constantly “save the day” that is not only putting high expectations on men but showing them false ones. To only show men doing jobs outside of the home is not allowing them to fully participate in the operation of his home and implies that women can’t do jobs outside of the home. To constantly show overweight men as not being good enough tells boys that if you’re chubby you won’t be desirable towards women. These themes effect kid’s thought process and helps shape them but are these messages we want to be sending our young people?
Robinson, Maria. Child Development 0-8: a Journey through the Early Years. Maidenhead: Open UP, McGraw Hill, 2008. Print.
The Little Mermaid. 1989.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 1996.
Toy Story 3. 2010
Mia Adessa , Haddock, Shelley A. , Zimmerman, Toni Schindler , Lund, Lori K. and Tanner, Litsa Renee(2004) 'Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length AnimatedFilms', Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15: 4, 19 — 44
P.Z.
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