The classic Disney princess movie of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is often remembered as the first and foremost full-length animated movie from no other than Disney Studios itself, has brought delight to audiences of all ages. Although this movie is a timeless one and is accessible to viewers of any age, it seems to penetrate the mentality of the younger generation than that of the older. This mentality that a girl or a woman must wait for her "prince charming" to come and sweep her off her feet to ride away on his white horse can sometimes easily be overlooked, when in fact portrays a vast gender stereotype.
The movie focuses on a sweet, innocent princess who lives under the reign of her evil stepmother who is in fact the queen. When the evil queen sets out to be the "fairest one of all" it endangers Snow White's life which forces her with no choice but to flee. Snow White, who has no where to go, takes refuge in a small home owned by seven little dwarves in the forest. Later when the queen soon finds out that Snow White still remains the "fairest one of all", she decides to put matters into her own hands by showing up disguised as an old lady whom Snow White cannot recognize. The evil queen offers Snow White an apple which has been poisoned and persuades the princess to take a bite. Poisoned by the apple, the princess falls into not death but rather a deep sleep. The dwarves, who have grown to like Snow White, are now fairly upset and chase the evil queen away. They mourn and grieve over Snow White's death-like sleep when her Prince Charming comes and wakes her with "true love's kiss."
In this particular movie, we see that gender can be a major factor. Snow White who plays the damsel in distress and the male role of Prince Charming who portrays the character of a dominant figure who sweeps in and saves the day can often times paint a picture in the mind of young ones (particularly the female) that we actually need a man to come and rescue us. It makes it seems as though we sit around all day and wait for that prince charming to come walk through the door. For example, in one of the scenes we see Snow White displayed near a wishing well and she sings, "I'm wishing, I'm wishing for the one I love to find me today" and it creates a whole new scale of what our society thinks of how women need a man. It is very stereotypical to think that all women are just hoping for a man to show up one day and that we would need a male role in any time of rescuing. This movie of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs shows how our society sometimes may view women and it comes to be a perfect example regarding gender stereotypes.
Tori, I like how you brought up the image about how women and ladies in general need a man to depend on. I agree with your views on how gender stereotype is portrayed through a Disney movie. I do notice how in the movie, the young princess is very depend on her prince charming waiting to rescue her. Not all women are dependent towards males and are just as strong and powerful as males are pictured to be. It does show that men are ought to be more strong and the rescuers of troubles whereas women are just imaging a prince charming to come save the day.
ReplyDeleteTori, I do agree with you in that Disney movies are portraying an image of women to be dependent on men. Your views about gender are very similiar with mine. However, when we were little we had this image that males are suppose to save the day while the women cook, clean and wait for their prince charming to arrive. I thought this was a great way to show the stereotype between genders.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that Snow White shows the stereotype of a women needing a man, however the movie was made in 1937 and I think the stereotype was more prevalent in the 30's than now. Recent Disney princesses are more girl empowered like Tiana from Princesses and the frog.
ReplyDeleteTori, i agree with you when it comes to the point of women's independence. not only does Disney portray snow white as a damsel in distress, it shows how women are not encouraged to fend for themselves and they need their "Prince Charming" to rescue them. Another vital point that also is shown in Snow White, is the fact that "fairness" defines beauty. In today's world, with the amount of diversity we have, a vast variety of ethnicitys end up watching this movie. Young girls not only believe that men should be the ones who rescue them, they believe that beauty is portrayed through a specific skin tone. However, like Megan stated, Snow White was made many decades ago and in modern day movies, women are shown to be more independent, and beauty is shown in many other different ways.
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