Disney and the media it produces have a huge impact globally, and it is incredibly rare to find someone who hasn’t seen a multitude of their movies. Due to this huge cultural influence, it seems to be a good idea to study the themes and understand what messages are being perpetuated and communicated, especially to younger children. As well as being important, I found the studies and the activity incredibly engaging due to my familiarity with the subject matter. The idea of representation in Disney is a topic I’ve thought about before, but this class allowed us to approach it in a more defined, analytical way.
My group’s hypothesis was that Disney movies were improving the diversity of their portrayals of certain groups, and it is reassuring to look through their recent film releases and see that the stories involve more than princesses in need of saving. However, it was also importantly eye-opening to realize the demeaning portrayals of many different groups that were showcased in older films and it’s hard to imagine how some of the scenes were ever thought to be acceptable.
Looking at the modern films, we focused on Frozen, Moana, and Coco. When we discussed the stark contrast between these films and older ones, it made me think differently about their reception at the time of release. I remember the way that the song “Let it Go” could be heard everywhere for a long time after the movie’s release, and how every girl dressed up as Elsa for Halloween. Now, I realize that it was not only a brand new, exciting Disney movie but it was also one of the first in which both main characters were women who fought on their own and weren’t asleep for the majority of the film. Maybe it was the most popular costume since so many girls actually felt connected to the plot due this representation and the focus on family, an accessible topic for young kids, rather than marriage.
It might be easy to think that since movies are for entertainment and fun, their contents aren’t as impactful as experiences we have elsewhere, but I think that in truth it is what we choose to spend our time doing which has the strongest impact. Furthermore, I considered a piece I read in a sociology course, which discussed the origins of advertising and how to spread messages to wide groups of people. It mentioned how television ads and strategically published photographs were some of the most impactful tools in convincing an audience to buy a product or think a certain way, and I think that the same principle likely applies to these movies as well. When we dream of living in a fairytale, it is easier to imagine a story we’ve seen before. When we include all types of characters in our media, we open the possibility for anyone to see themselves as magical.
