Is the Mouse Sensitive - A Study of Race, Gender,

Is the Mouse Sensitive? A Study of Race, Gender, and Social Vulnerability in Disney Animated Films Vincent E. Faherty University of Southern Maine ABSTRACT This study is i s a quantitative content analysis of character characterss appearing in the 19 most successful and most recent Disney animated movies. The focus is on the variables of diversity (including gender, race /ethnicity, and age), assigned roles within the films, and social vulnerability, defined as any life situation or condition that makes one susceptible to being hurt or disadvantaged in some manner, either physically, emotionally, or economically. Results are mixed. There are several positive outcomes for which the Disney Corporation should be applauded, but there are also a number of serious lapses.

The impact that the Disney Corporat Corporation ion has exerted on domains as varied as entertainment, leisure, aesthetics aest hetics,, educa education, tion, business manage management, ment, technology, technology, and eve even n regio regional nal land dev developme elopment nt can only be characterized as stunning. Disney’s animated characters, songs, story themes and trinkets are true cultural icons, venerated across the world by staunch believers, adults as well as children, who live in massive urban centers and in tiny rural hamlets. In academia, Disney’s development strategies, land acquisition practices, and marketing techniques are legendary case studies often presented and critically discussed in Schools of Business, Urban Planning, and Media Studies. Despite this phenomenal success, or perhaps because of it, controversy haunts the Magic Kingdom. Detractors from both the ideological left and right assail the Disney Corporation for its alleged cruel and damaging impact on children, families, society, and, indeed, on the very fabric of modern culture itself. This study is an attempt to isolate one component of the Disney phenomenon a sample of Disney animated films and to systematically analyze the portrayed character images with respect to issues of gender, race/ethnic ethnicity ity,, and socia sociall vulner vulnerabilit abilityy. These are issues which daily confront the child welfare professional as he/she relates to: children living in complicated, and sometimes precarious, family units; children who are labeled as different because they have lost a parent to death or separation; children who are adopted or in foster care; multicultural children; and children who have a physical or emotional disability of some kind. Literature Review

Using similes derived from classic Disney images, it is clear that what has been written about the Disney Corporation in the past 60 years is as broad as the smile on the face of Alice’s Cheshire cat and as varied as the colors floating through Pocahontas’ wind. From that broad perspective, literature means the columns of media critics distributed in our nation’s Sunday newspapers, the thoughts of leading intellectuals in the op-ed pages of literary magazines, as well as the dissertations, chapters, books, and articles published in professional journals in a range of academic disciplines. Viewed pragmatically, these published analyses of the Disney phenomenon tend to divide into one of three categories: unqualified support; cautious neutrality; or intense criticism. The following literature review focuses solely on professional books, articles, and dissertations. An attempt is made to create a balanced summary of the rese re sear arch ch th that at was re repo port rted ed wi with thin in th thes esee th thre reee ca cate tegor gorie iess re regar gardi ding ng th thee im impa pact ct of th thee Di Disn sney ey Corporation on modern society. There exists a moderate amount of literature that is decidedly positive in its orientation towar towards ds the Disney Corporation. Much of this category can be considered in-house, since the works are produced by Disney employees, close associates, or are published by Hyperion Press, a Disney corporate affiliate. Despite their overt subjectivity, however, these sources do fulfill a vital role by providing rich anthologies Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education , Volume 1, Issue 3 (August (August 2001), 1– 8 # University of Toronto Press. DOI: 10.3138 /sim.1.3.001

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and histories that are based on archival materials from within the Disney Corporation. Works such as the Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters by Grant (1998) and The Disney Villain by Johnson and Thomas (1993), for example, are invaluable for any researcher needing factual data and historical time lines. There is also a broad school of research that can be viewed as more neutral and balanced in its approach. As a general observation, this body of work tends to use qualitative research methods. The most common research technique employed is close textual and contextual analysis of a selected number of Disney films, theme parks, and/or merchandise. Koenig’s (1997) frank behind the scenes study of Disney’s animated films and theme parks reveals the extent of public criticism of the racial and ethnic stereotyping evident in Song of the South, Aladdin, The Lion King , and Pocahontas . Several other authors provide genuinely balanced treatments of controversies that have doggedly trailed Disney on the issues of race, gender, sexuality, morality, and traditional cultural values ( Edgerton & Jackson, 1996; Griffin, 1998; Hastings & Waller, 1996; O’Boyle, 1996; Self, 1999; Swan, 1999; Ward, 1996, 1997 ). Religious conservatives have charged Disney with embedding subliminal sexual images and phrases in animated films such as Aladdin, Who Framed Roger Rabbit , and The Lion King . Indeed, these accusations have assumed the status of urban legends in some quarters. Ostman (1996) offers plausible, even innocent, explanations for these phenomena, and reminds the reader that the Walt Disney Company has shown a continuing willingness to respond to public concerns ( p. 86). The core position of this neutral assessment of Disney images is openly championed by Allan (1999): Aesthetic, cultural, socio-political and feminist attacks upon all aspects of Disney proliferate, but the films continue to be popular, their layered richness proclaiming their classical status as the twentieth century draws to a close (p. xv). Finally, the professional literature contains material that is clearly antagonistic towards the Disney Corporation. It emanates from both the ideological left and right. Some of the commentary approaches a level that can best be described as shrill. Hiaasen (1998), for example, charges that . . . success after success has turned Team Rodent into a ravenous, fearless beast (p. 20). Similarly, from an opposite perspective, Ferraiuolo (1995) laments Disney’s desecration of Judeo-Christian religious institutions by promoting in Pocahontas . . . a new environmental spiritualism [in which] Mother Earth is to be worshiped (p. 143). Other critics indict Disney for discriminating against women and motherhood ( Fox, 1987; Hass, 1995; Reed, 1995; Urtheil, 1998 ); for being culturally insensitive and even racist ( Gagnon, 1994; Gooding-Williams, 1995 ); for appearing unconcerned about social problems and community needs ( Flower, 1991; Franz & Collins, 1999; Ross, 1999 ); and for serving as the standard bearer of a dehumanizing capitalist agenda for corporate America ( Giroux, 1995 ). Giroux (1999), cautioning the reader that . . . recognition of the pleasure that Disney provides should not blind us to the realization that Disney is about more than entertainment (p. 5), declares that What we don’t need is a culture industry that increasingly produces stories that turn children’s desires and dreams into fodder for the Disney imagineers and into profits for the Disney Stores and power-lunch brokers (p. 12). Based on this literature review, it is apparent that there remains much skepticism some moderate, some intense concerning Disney’s impact on children, families, and society itself. In addition, virtually all the research on Disney reported to date has been qualitative in nature and therefore open to varying interpretations based on the researcher’s subjective approach to text, context, and image. In order to go beyond qualitative approaches, the following study examines the Disney phenomenon using quantitative methods. The major and minor characters in a selected number of Disney animated films were systematically analyzed for manifest content indicators of gender, race and ethnicity, and social vulnerability. Methodology

This is an exploratory study, which sought to answer the following research questions. First, do the major Disney animated films reflect the polyglot diversity of modern life in their portrayal of males Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education , Volume 1, Issue 3 (August 2001), 1– 8 # University of Toronto Press. DOI: 10.3138 /sim.1.3.001

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and females, people of color, and people from ethnic backgrounds? Second, what can be discovered about the status of a character (i.e., major or minor) and the assigned role of a character (i.e., hero / heroine or villain) in each film? Finally, do Disney film characters express social vulnerability so that they are not mere two-dimensional figures, but real-life representations of the major problems and issues facing children and families today? For this study, social vulnerability was defined as any life situation or condition that makes a person susceptible to being hurt or disadvantaged in some manner, whether physically, emotionally, or economically. Data were collected using a systematic, quantitative content analysis of a purposive sample of 19 Disney animated films. The first 15 films are those listed in The Walt Disney Company’s 1998 Fact Book (1998) as the most popular Disney videos based on unit sales for home entertainment in the United States (p. 4). Four post-1998 animated Disney films were added to the lists to maintain currency. The 19 films are: The Lion King, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Aladdin, Cinderella, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Pocahontas, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations, The Fox and the Hound, Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp, Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998), and Tarzan (1999). A number of variables for each Disney animated character were identified visually and then quantitatively analyzed for descriptive and inferential meanings. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for all statistical computations. Table 1 contains a listing of the variables and their coding categories.

Results

There were 334 distinct characters portrayed in the 19 Disney films. Males comprised 63% (212) and females 28% (93) of the total, while the gender of 9% (29) of the characters could not be determined visually. In the age category, characters were portrayed as adults 45% (150) of the time, as young adults 17% (56) of the time, as young children 7% (24) of the time, and as seniors 9% (30) of the time. 76% (255) of the 334 characters appeared in a minor role in contrast to the 24% (79) who emerged from the story lines as major characters. Villains and their supporters were not very dominant in these Disney classics, appearing as evildoers only 22% (75) of the time. Heroes, heroines, and their friends appeared 69% (230) of the time. Data indicating the race and ethnicity of the 334 characters are presented in Table 2. This variable was measured by close analysis of each character’s body features, clothing, name, and any vocal accent, if present. For obvious reasons, this variable has most relevance for the human characters, in contrast to the non-human (i.e., animal or object) characters. Taken together, European and European American characters are the most dominant group, with Asian, Arabic, and American Indian characters lagging far behind. Europeans and European-Americans account for 47.6% of the depicted characters, while Asians appear at a rate of only 5.1%. Taken together, characters depicted as African-Americans, Arabic, Hispanic, or American Indian appear only 5.7% of the time. The high percentage of European and European-American characters may be due to the fact that many of the Disney classic films are based on Western European folk tales. Similarly, the high percentage of Table 1. Variables and coding categories used Gender Male, female, undetermined Age Infant, young child, adolescent, young adult, adult, senior Character status Major, minor Film role Hero or heroine, hero or heroine supporter, villain, villain supporter, neutral Race/Ethnicity African, African-American, American Indian, Asian, European, European American, Hispanic, Arabic, Animal or object, undetermined Social vulnerability Present, none Social vulnerability Physical disability, speech impediment, low intelligence, poverty, absent-minded, parent specified missing or killed, single parent, widow or widower, overweight, killed, prisoner, eccentric

Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education , Volume 1, Issue 3 (August 2001), 1– 8 # University of Toronto Press. DOI: 10.3138 /sim.1.3.001

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Table 2. Race/ethnicity of disney animated characters African-American American Indian Arabic Asian European European-American Hispanic Animal/object Undetermined

1 (0.03%) 9 (2.7%) 8 (2.4%) 17 (5.1%) 126 (37.7%) 33 (9.9%) 1 (0.03%) 135 (40.4%) 4 (1.2%)

the Animal /Object category reflects the many images of humanized animals and objects found in typical folk tales. There were 135 examples of overt social vulnerabilities expressed by the characters. Table 3 lists the frequency and percentage of these social vulnerabilities. By far the most common social vulnerability was a missing or deceased parent (29.6%), followed by a group of three social vulnerabilities: physical disability (15.6%); low intelligence (14.8%); and overweight (14.1%). Characters who are killed or taken prisoner constitute 8.1% and 6.7%, respectively, of the total social vulnerabilities present. In statistics, a chi-square test of association analyzes if any relationship exists between two variables at the nominal level of measurement. For this study, a series of chi-square tests of association were computed between various combinations of variables to gauge whether statistically significant relationships existed or not. A summary of the results of these tests, together with a statement of what the results mean in plain English, is presented in Table 4. Men are presented as villains much more than would be statistically expected. Female characters are portrayed as adolescents or young adults more than would be statistically expected. In addition, there is no statistically significant difference between male and female characters with respect to socially vulnerability. Discussion

At the outset, the limitations of this study should be identified. First, the animated films selected for study are a purposive sample of all Disney films, not a scientifically selected random sample. Thus, any results discussed should not be generalized to all the creative output of the Disney studios. The results relate solely to the identified listing of 19 Disney films. Second, only a very limited number of variables were examined, and even those were probed at a fairly overt level. Thus, for example, only the assigned role in the film was coded, and no attempt was made to determine if that role was stereotypical in terms of gender, age, or race /ethnicity. Finally, there is no report of any inter-rater reliability commonly found in content analysis studies. Viewing both the descriptive as well as the inferential data presented above, it is important to note several positive findings. The Disney animated films do document several critical areas of social Table 3. Social vulnerabilities present Parent missing or killed Physical disability Low intelligence Overweight Killed Prisoner Absent-minded Speech impediment Eccentric Single parent Poor Widow or widower

40 (29.6%) 21 (15.6%) 20 (14.8%) 19 (14.1%) 11 (8.1%) 9 (6.7%) 5 (3.7%) 3 (2.2%) 2 (1.5%) 2 (1.5%) 2 (1.5%) 1 (0.7%)


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Table 4. Chi-square tests of association Variables Statistical significance Gender & social x 2.74, df 2, p . .05 (n.s.) vulnerability Gender & film role x 21.86, df 4, p , .001 Film role & social x 6.34, df 2, p , .05 vulnerability Gender & age x 81.3, df 8, p , .001 ¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

¼

Age & film role

x

¼

37.66, df

¼

8, p

¼

,

.001

Age & character status

x

¼

39.53, df

¼

4, p

¼

,

.001

Meaning Male and female characters are equally social vulnerable Villains are much male much more than female Villains express some social vulnerability much more than heroes or heroines Female characters are adolescent and young adults more than expected Villains and their supporters are adult more than expected Adolescents and young adults played a major role more than expected

vulnerability which need to be raised to a level of public consciousness, given that they do affect so many children and families. Disney should be applauded for presenting in human terms what it is like to be an orphan or a foster child; to have lost a parent to death; to have a stepmother and be a member of a blended family; to cope with a physical or emotional disability; to be poor; to be discriminated against; or, to be simply different from one’s peers in some visible manner. These are uncomfortable issues, particularly for young children, but they have, indeed, been introduced with a dose of creativity known also as the Disney magic. Positive reinforcement for these activities and encouragement for future endeavors seems to be in order. Viewed quantitatively, female characters do not appear to be disadvantaged or to suffer negative consequences, as some critics have charged. In these 19 Disney films, at least, women are not more likely than men to experience a social vulnerability, and women tend to be placed less often in villainous roles. On the negative side of the ledger, however, other findings deserve serious attention. The virtual absence of minorities of color and of Hispanic ancestry in Disney films is troubling. This is particularly incomprehensible, given the fact that Walt Disney himself was sensitive to public criticism of racism that was leveled at the 1950s Song of the South . Furthermore, Disney produced a series of animated films after World War II in which the locale, along with the characters, was exclusively Hispanic. One wonders why Hispanic characters were never portrayed again. Finally, there arises the obvious question: how could the Disney Corporation produce two recent films based in Africa (i.e., The Lion King and Tarzan ) and not portray any human characters of African descent? On the issue of gender, the predominance of male characters in Disney animated films is equally nonreflective of modern society. Even in light of strong female character roles portrayed by Pocahontas and Mulan in recent films, the quantitative disproportion of male characters needs to be addressed if we expect children to be able to relate to appropriate role models. Similarly, the preponderance of males in a villainous role should be analyzed for its potential negative impact on children and their relationships with caring male adults. The accusations that Disney animated films portray very few mothers or two-parent families are supported by the data in this study. As shown in Table 3, the social vulnerability category parent missing or killed contains the highest number of occurrences. Furthermore, since females in the Disney films tended to be adolescents and young adults to a statistically significant degree, one would not expect many mothers to appear, since mothers would likely be adults or seniors. There also appears in these films an unfortunate stereotype of the stupid sidekick that faithful companion who is the butt of jokes and falls prey to all sorts of accidents and predicaments. As indicated in Table 3, 14.8% of the social vulnerabilities were categorized as low intelligence. All of these characters were in minor supporting roles to the heroes, heroines, or villains. At times, the dialogue and plot context suggested that the character was even borderline mentally retarded. A similar concern about stereotyping arises in the social vulnerability category of overweight. This category also reported a


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moderately high incidence rate (14.1%), and characters appearing overweight were often awkward and inept in social situations. Conclusion

The mixed findings of this study stand as a forceful argument for further research on the topic of what has been called the Disneyfication of culture, history, and behavior. Whether one views a Disney animation as exempt from material, historical, and political influences . . . pure entertainment somehow centrifuged from ideological forces (Bell, Hass & Sells, 1995, p. 4); or as a modern Trojan horse brimming with racism, sexism and materialism; or somewhere in between at least further study can be agreed upon as a common goal. I hope that some of this continuing research will be quantitative in nature so that a defined breadth of data can be collected and broad generalizations can be achieved. This suggestion is not intended to disparage in any way the wealth of qualitative research that has been conducted and reported to date. It is, however, intended to remind all researchers of the need for balance, given the inherent strengths and weaknesses of all empirical research, whether qualitative or quantitative in structure. Buckingham (1997), alluding to the narrow textual analysis method, laments that some qualitative researchers fail to consider other possible readings of the texts they analyze, particularly on the part of those who are their primary audience; and in this respect their critical discourse seems to replicate the authoritarianism of which Disney himself is routinely accused (p. 290). In addition to a call for continuing research, this study urges that a broader and more diverse array of individuals join in these systematic efforts to observe and explore the issues raised here. Indeed, if the Disney Corporation, or any other corporate entity, has even the slightest ability to impact the very structure and processes of society, then their activities must be scrutinized rigorously and objectively. That oversight task seems too unwieldy for academic researchers alone, particularly since most research thus far has been conducted in the humanities and the social sciences. Giroux (1999), highly critical of Disney’s attempts at cultural dominance, urges individuals in all walks of life to mount the ramparts and stand firm against the Disney onslaughts. His challenge is simple and forthright: Artists, lawyers, social workers and others need to acknowledge their role as public intellectuals engaged in a pedagogy that offers them an opportunity to join with other cultural workers to expand the noncommodofied public space (p. 169). If those public intellectuals answer that call and pursue their task responsibly and vigorously, society stands to benefit. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Rethinking Disney: Private Control and Public Dimensions Conference at Florida Atlantic University in November 2000. COLUMBIA ONLINE CITATION: HUMANITIES STYLE Faherty, Vincent E. Is the mouse sensitive? A study of race, gender, and social vulnerability in Disney animated films.Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education 1.3 (2001). http://www.utpjournals.com/simile (insert access date here). COLUMBIA ONLINE CITATION: SCIENTIFIC STYLE Faherty, V.E. (2001). Is the mouse sensitive? A study of race, gender, and social vulnerability in Disney animated films. Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education, 1(3). http://www.utpjournals.com/simile (insert access date here). BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Vincent Faherty is a professor of social work at the University of Southern Maine, where he teaches Introduction to Social Welfare and Research Methods courses. He received his MSW from Fordham University in 1970 and his DSW from the University of Utah in 1976. Dr. Faherty also earned an MBA degree in 1984 from the International Management Institute of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education , Volume 1, Issue 3 (August 2001), 1– 8 # University of Toronto Press. DOI: 10.3138 /sim.1.3.001

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He has taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Northern Iowa. He served as Chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of Southern Maine from 1988-1998. He has published and presented papers in the areas of child welfare, social work administration, and social work education, and has received several federal and state grants in public child welfare. In 1984, he received a Fulbright award for study in Perugia, Italy.

AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION Vincent E. Faherty Professor Department of Social Work University of Southern Maine PO Box 9300 Portland, Maine 04104 Voice: 207-780-4227 Fax: 207-780-4902 E-mail: [email protected] References Allan, R. (1999). Walt Disney and Europe: European influences in the animated films of Walt Disney . Indiana University Press. In Bell, E., Hass, L., & Sells, L. (1995). Introduction: Walt’s in the movies. Bloomington, IN. Hass, Bell L., & Sells, L. (Eds.), From mouse to mermaid: The politics of film, gender and culture (pp. 1– 20). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Buckingham, D. (1997). Dissin’ Disney: Critical perspectives on children’s media culture. Media, Culture & Society , 19, 285–293. Edgerton, G., & Jackson, K. (1996). Redesigning Pocahontas: Disney, the white man’s Indian, and the marketing of dreams. Journal of Popular Film & Television , 24(2), 90–98. Ferraiuolo, P. (1995). Disney and the Bible: A scriptural critique of the Magic Kingdom . Camp Hill, PA: Horizon. Flower, J. (1991). The prince of the Magic Kingdom . New York: Wiley. Fox, L. (1987). Disney’s magic: Dispelling the myth of the new heroine in Disney’s animated fairy tales. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT. Franz, D., & Collins, C. (1999). Celebration, USA. New York: Holt. Gagnon, M. (1994). Race-ing Disney: Race and culture in the Disney universe. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. Giroux, H.A. (1995). Animating youth: The Disneyfication of children’s culture. A Socialist Review , 24(3), 23–29. Giroux, H.A. (1999). The mouse that roared: Disney and the end of innocence . Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield. Gooding-Williams, R. (1995). Disney in Africa and the inner city: On race and space in The Lion King. Social Identities , 1(2), 373–379. Grant, J. (1998). Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s animated characters (2nd ed.). New York: Hyperion. Griffin, S. (1998). Tinker belles and evil queens: Consuming Disney queerly. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Hass, L. (1995). ‘Eighty-six the mother.’ Murder, matricide and good mothers. In Bell, E., Hass, L., & Sells, L. (Eds.), From mouse to mermaid: The politics of film, gender and culture (pp. 193– 211). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Hastings, A., & Waller, L. (1996). Bambi and the hunting ethos. Journal of Popular Film & Television , 24(2), 53 –59. Hiaasen, C. (1998). Team rodent: How Disney devours the world . New York: Ballantine. Johnson, O., & Thomas, F. (1993). The Disney villain. New York: Hyperion. Koenig, D. (1997). Mouse under glass: Secrets of Disney animation and theme parks . Irvine, CA: Bonaventure. Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education , Volume 1, Issue 3 (August 2001), 1– 8 # University of Toronto Press. DOI: 10.3138 /sim.1.3.001

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O’Boyle, J.G. (1996). Be sure you’re right, then go ahead. The early Disney westerns. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 24(2), 69–81. Ostman, R. (1996). Disney and its conservative critics. Journal of Popular Film & Television , 24(2), 82 –89. Reed, P. (1995). From Snow White to Jasmine: Sixty years of Disney fairy tale heroines, sixty years of women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Ross, A. (1999). The Celebration chronicles. New York: Ballantine. Self, R. (1999). Mickey and Minnie aren’t married? Disney, family values and corporate America. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. Swan, S. (1999). Gothic drama in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast : Subverting traditional romance by transcending animalhuman paradox. Critical Studies in Mass Communication , 16(3), 350–359. Urtheil, H. (1998). Producing the princess collection: An historical look at the animation of a Disney heroine. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Walt Disney Company. (1998). 1998 Fact Book . Burbank, CA: Walt Disney. Ward, A.R. (1996). The Lion King’s mythic narrative: Disney as moral educator. Journal of Popular Film & Television , 23(4), 171–178. Ward, A.R. (1997). Unearthing a Disney worldview: The rhetorical dimensions of Disney morality in The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.


Is the Mouse Sensitive - A Study of Race, Gender,

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