Deconstructing Disney Princesses Reflecting predominantly on the theories of Laura Mulvey, I will discuss how Disney can internalise a false ideology in young women, and will conclude with whether Disney justifies such an accusation.
In Visual Pleasure and arrative !inema "#$%$&, theorist Laura Mulvey would use psychoanalytic theory to demonstrate how patriarchal society has 'een used to structure women in films. Mulvey argues how phallocentrism in film relies on the use of the image of a castrated female "passive female& to give order and meaning to its world, and (It is her lac) that produces the phallus as a sym'olic presence, it is her desire to t o ma)e good the lac) that the phallus p hallus signifies* "Mulvey, #$%$+p#& -herefore the male protagonist is used as an authority figure to 'ring credi'ility to a film, no mat ter how small his part may 'e, his power is reinforced 'y the female protagonists wea) and succum'ing character that appears to idolise him. ven if a male interest is not physically present in the film his sym'olism could appear as a phallus o'ject and the passive female can then even 'e overshadowed 'y an inanimate o'ject and she in turn feels the struggle to compensate for her own lac) of signification. Mulvey clarifies how women form the patriarchal unconscious and there'y join the sym'olic order/ (0he first sym'olises the castration threat 'y her real lac) of a penis and secondly there'y raises her child into the sym'olic. 1nce this has 'een achieved, her meaning in the process p rocess is at an end* "Mulvey, #$%$+p#& 2ltimately then, the main meaning of woman is se3ual difference, the a'sence of a penis enforces the woman to justify her 'elonging in the patriarchal order 'y giving 'irth to a child that can continue this order.
In furthering Mulvey*s argument 4erger o'served that (according to usage and conventions which are at last 'eing 5uestioned 'ut have 'y no means 'een overcome 6 men act and and women appear. appear . Men loo) at women. 7omen watch themselves 'eing loo)ed at* "4erger, #$89+p:,8& ;e depicts how this ideology is internalised in young women and how 'y o'taining a man she can then only 'e recognised in society+ (0he has to survey everything she is and everything she does 'ecause how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life. ;er own sense of 'eing in herself is supplanted 'y a sense of 'eing appreciated as herself 'y another* "4erger, #$89+p<&
=ac) David >ipes tal)s of the use of phallic sym'ols in Disney. ;e notes Donald !rafton*s discussion of the topic in 4efore Mic)ey+ -he animated film #%$%6#$9% where !rafton argues that the early animators were nearly all men and would literally draw themselves into animation using their phallic pens and camera wor) as a phallic function. !rafton uses the e3ample of Disney*s ?lice in
7onderland where they employed a cat named =ulius, (7ho would ta)e off his tail and use it as stic), weapon, rope, hoo), 5uestion mar) and so forth* ">ipes, #$$+p8%& >ipes argued that this was the (Phallic means to induce action and conceive a way out of a predicament* ">ipes, #$$+p8%&
Michele ?aron also lin)s to Mulvey*s patriarchal order theory as she notes @reud*s female 1edipal story that theoriAes the girls passage to maturity+ (?s the girls (change to femininity*, is mar)ed 'y her shift from the clitoris to the vagina as the site of se3ual pleasure+ a shift from a female6identified self6 pleasure to a pleasure in penetration "#$$#B+#:#&. It is also mar)ed 'y the transfer of her original attachment to her mother to her father+ the male C the correct C o'ject of desire. -hat this original attachment (ends in hate* is essential to the transfer, for, as @reud asserts, the girl 'lames her mother for her own castrated state which she see)s to amend 'y gaining her fathers penis or its su'stitute, a 'a'y "#$$#!+#::&* "?aron, 98+pE%& -here'y this desire for the male phallus encourages the longing to join the sym'olic order.
In considering further Mulvey*s theory of film as a patriarchal ideological institution she e3posed the ways in which narrative cinema endowed men with empowerment and entrapped women in the opposing 5ualities. -his was achieved through t he mechanism of the gaAe and her main charge was that the spectator su'ject was male, it was his loo) that was solicited and his ego that was massaged 'y films psychological strategies. ?aron argues that the psychological strategies in film revolve primarily around the female spectacle+ (0he functioned as 'oth the locus for harnessing that male gaAe and as the trigger for the re6enactment of his formative psychic processes* "?aron, 98+p9:&
Mulvey narrowly did not account for the female spectator in her thesis, (Visual Pleasure and arrative !inema* "#$%$&. 0he claimed that women can not 'e su'jects and can not own the gaAe and two that men can not 'e o'jects, they can not 'e gaAed at, they can only loo), and only loo) at women. -his contradicts all of Disney*s early c lassics where females play the part of the main protagonist and it is generally the female spectator that identifies with these female characters, the trou'le with these heroines however was that their happiness was usually mired in misery that could only 'e salvaged 'y the prince. In Mulvey*s follow up argument, (?fterthoughts on FVisual Pleasure and arrative !inemaG "#$%$& Mulvey ac)nowledged the e3istence of the female spectator, however the options were still 'lea) where she could identify with the inevita'le passive and masochistic female character such as Disney*s, 2rsula the 0ea 7itch or the many other evil witches that played the role of Disney*s antagonist. -he female spectator could only 'riefly 'orrow the male gaAe and identify with the male character. ?aron argues that Mulvey*s female spectator was, thus, (!haracterised 'y discomfort and
restlessness as she alternated 'etween one defeating alignment and another, 'etween identification with the masochistic (heroine* and the ill6fitting gar' of the male gaAe* "?aron, 98+pE<& !handler argues that 'oth eale and Richard Dyer "#$%9& also challenged the idea that the male is never the o'ject in mainstream film and argued that the male will not only loo) at women and isn*t always in control of the gaAe. !handler suggests (It is widely noted that since the #$%s there has 'een an increasing display and se3ualisation of the male 'ody in mainstream cinema and television and in advertising* "Moore #$%8, vans H amman #$$:, M ort #$$<, dwards #$$8&." www.a'er.ac.u) & @eminists amman and Marshment have also contested Mulvey*s pessimistic view of mainstream cinema, where they insist/ ( It is not enough to dismiss popular culture as merely serving the complementary systems of capitalism and patriarchy (false consciousness* to the duped masses. It can also 'e seen as a site where meanings are contested and where dominant ideologies can 'e distur'ed* "0torey, 9<+p#<&
-his image of Disney Princesses was altered 'y =eff 4runner and although the original of this image can*t appear to 'e found, therefore we )now little of what 4runner*s intentions or what influenced him to create this scathing review of some of Disney*s most classic creations were, it still managed to create mass waves of de'ate across media forums and 'logs across the world. De'ate seems to have 'een split 'etween mainly females that had grown up with such Disney tales and felt the need to defend their heroines, and parents that were going through the (I want to 'e a Princess* stage and who were forced to re6watch the fairytales with an open and more cynical eye, to the point where everything Disney in their house was 'anned. " www.feministmormonhousewives.org& "www.feministing.com&
Parents were concerned a'out the false ideologies in Disney films and although their : year old had yet no conception of female oppression or male dominated culture they were worried that these false ideologies would 'e internalised.
?n e3ample of Mulvey*s patriarchal order could 'e used in Disney*s tale of The Little Mermaid where ?riel*s desire to 'e human leads her to visit the evil 0ea 7itch 2rsula who grants her the wish of human legs in return for the sacrifice of her voice, conse5uently her wish can only 'e fulfilled 'y the )iss of her true love otherwise she will return to her former self. Mulvey would argue that this resem'les the image of a castrated woman where she first sym'olises the castration threat 'y her lac) of a penis and secondly relies upon (the ma)er* the man to form her into the male other. ?lthough in the story ?riel does not 'ear a child the signification of marriage is that she now has the possi'ility to raise a child to 'ecome the sym'olic and as Mulvey argues, (1nce this has 'een achieved her meaning in the process is at an end*, (0he turns her child into the signifier of her own desire to possess a penis* "Mulvey, #$%$+p#& Mulvey concludes, (7oman then stands in patriarchal culture as a signifier for the male other, 'ound 'y a sym'olic order in which man can live out his fantasies and o'sessions through linguistic command 'y imposing them on the silent image of woman still tied to her place as 'earer, not ma)er, of meaning* "Mulvey, #$%$+p#:& The Little Mermaid lin)s clearly with Mulvey*s description of the (silent image of woman* as she physically has to lose her voice to gain the acceptance of her true love and she physically and mentally has to ma)e a sacrifice of losing her fish tail and never seeing her family and friends again for the chance at 'eing truly happy. -his could instil a false reality in young females of having to ma)e great sacrifice in order to ma)e themselves physically more attractive to win the love of a man.
?riel plays the protagonist in The Little Mermaid as do most princesses such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella that gives the female viewer a chance to reflect herself onto the screen and identify somehow with the character giving a sense of empowerment to the viewer that this story is all a'out her, yet all these stories are contradicted 'y the fact that the actual part played 'y the princesses in overcoming some life o'stacle is generally heavily influenced 'y the man. In Snow White only the )iss from her true love can awa)e her from the poisoned apple, whilst 0leeping 4eauty is comatose for a good period of her film and again only true love*s )iss can awa)e her. -his could give the e3ample to young women that they are incapa'le of overcoming life*s o'stacles without the influence of a man.
Laura 0ells descri'es how the separation of the two worlds 'etween land and sea in the film The Little Mermaid mirrors the uno'taina'le reflection of females into the (white male system*. "0ells,
#$$:+p#88& 0ells notes that according to ?nn 7ilson 0chaef in 7omens Reality"#$%#& (-he white male system operates on several contradictory myths* "0ells, #$$:+p#88& 0ells argues that at least two of these myt hs are relevant to the complementary worlds of this film. -he first that (othing e3ists outside the white male system/ and second, the white male system )nows and understands everything* "0ells, #$$:+p#8%& -herefore those who are included in the white male system are o'livious to anything outside of it whilst t hose who are outside of it )now a'out this (dominant culture* as well as their own (marginalised culture* "0ells,#$$:+p#8%& -hese myths contradict themselves 'ut relate to the Prince*s land world and that of ?riel*s sea world. -his is due to the sea world 'eing rendered invisi'le 'y the Prince*s land world whilst his is 'lessed with cultural certainty. -he spilt 'etween the female and male world is fre5uently enforced through the language and imagery of Fup thereG and Fdown hereG. 0ells notes a )ey instance during ?riel*s song FPart of Jour 7orldG in which she desires to 'e Fup thereG. 0ells claims that (-he spatial imagery supports the hierarchy of dominant and muted cultures* "0ells,#$$:+p#8%& this is done through popular uses of visual language in cinema where the viewpoint of the camera plays a )ey role in portraying the passiveness or dominance of the character/ many camera shots give the audience the viewpoint of loo)ing downward on ?riel and the other is seeing upward through ?riel*s eyes. 0ells realises the resem'lance of eorgia 1*Keeffe paintings of sweeping seascapes and the female imagery of sea shells and cave openings.
?s with most Disney movies that rarely follow the path of the original fairytale, which are far more dar) and generally without happy endings, Disney has made a conscious decision to portray characters in such demeanours and is not merely visually recreating the original therefore many feminists are o'jectiona'le to Disney*s idealistic interpretations. In the original tale of -he Little Mermaid "#%E8& 'y ;ans !hristian ?nderson the mermaid dies 'ecause she regrets the sacrifice that she has made and wishes to return to 'eing a mermaid 'ut to do this she must slay her prince which she could not 'ring herself to do and therefore throws herself into t he sea, 'ut upon death she is rewarded for her good deeds and 'ecomes (a daughter of the air* c laiming an immortal soul. In the Disney version the mermaid does not attain her self6actualisation where as ?nderson*s version wanted the mermaid to earn a soul on her own and not as an attachment of someone else.
I 'elieve it would 'e unfair to say that Disney has directly enforced these false ideologies in young women as Disney has merely capitalised on ?merican innocence and utopianism of the social and political issues that related to the current era that the film was produced. @ilms such as 0now 7hite "#$E8& and !inderella "#$:& were 'oth released in cultural eras where women were not at that time viewed as 'eing oppressed and thought it nothing more than an achievement to 'e the loyal housewife, mother and part of the patriarchal order. 0tacey would contend
that/ (Parado3ically, whilst commodity consumption for female spectators in mid to late #$:*s 4ritain concerns producing oneself as a desira'le su'ject, it also offers an escape from what is perceived as the drudgery of domesticity and motherhood which increasingly comes to define femininity at this time. -hus, consumption may signify an assertion of self in opposition to the self sacrifice associated with marriage and motherhood in #$:*s 4ritain "9E%&* "0torey, 9<+p#%&
It is only now where feminism is of greater cultural interest that women have far more political and cultural freedom and we therefore loo) 'ac) with a critical view of the past. ;owever, it would 'e cynical to say that -he Little Mermaid was accurately reflecting cultural society in #$%$ and in even more recent Disney films such as 4eauty and -he 4east "#$$#& Disney did manage to produce a heroine of more su'stance and intelligence 'ut dragged her into the social issue of domestic violence, where she chooses to stay wit h her 'east that has captured her, swiftly falls in love with him regardless of his violence towards her and therefore inha'its the unfortunate stereotype of a wife that accepts her hus'and*s violence towards her 'ecause he tells her that he loves her afterwards. 1n the contrary, Disney*s Mulan "#$$%& portrays the protagonist woman in the fight to 'e e5ual with men and there'y offers an encouraging role model to young women and a more accurate reflection of current society.
Disney classics such as 0now 7hite and !inderella have and will pro'a'ly always remain popular with children, as our own nostalgic childhood memories of them will encourage us to share them with our children. ;owever we must 'e aware that such films represent former politics and societies and if we want our children to understand this we must ta)e into consideration the age at which we e3pose them to such films and entertainment and 'e prepared to sit down with them and 5uestion their false ideologies in relation to current society.
