Disney’s portrayal of its female characters in movies has developed significantly overtime. In old Disney movies female characters have been weak and dependent on men. In newer Disney movies the females are determined and independent. In my blogs and research paper I plan to explore and dig deeper into this topic. I am interested in this topic because I am a huge Disney fan. Even though I have always been a fan, I am gaining even more respect for Disney as they are producing movies with strong princesses that young girls can look up to. For background information on the topic, I have seen just about every Disney movie possible. I have also read articles and watched a documentary on stereotypes in Disney movies.
I first got the idea to write this paper after seeing the movie Frozen and reading this blog http://www.policymic.com/articles/79455/7-moments-that-made-frozen-the-most-progressive-disney-movie-ever . This blog explains how Frozen is Disney’s most progressive movie due to many different elements. Some of the reasoning for this conclusion includes Else’s self-empowerment, Anna’s clumsiness and honesty, and everyone’s disapproving response to Anna’s engagement to a man she just met. A progressive idea that the blog does not cover is the fact that these sisters did not need a man to save them, they just needed each other. This sends a strong message to young girls and is progressive as opposed to old Disney movies, such as in Sleeping Beauty where Aurora can only be awaken from a true loves kiss.
Here is a video I want to analyze about Disney princesses from Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtyOC6ayKoU. This video shows many Disney princesses singing about their princes and being in love. They sing “When you’re in love, nothing else matters. Nothing but him.” On the other hand Elsa sings “I can be the hero and do it my own way… I’m who I am. I don’t need a man.” The purpose of this video is to show how old Disney princesses were portrayed compared to the new Disney princesses. Old disney princesses were dependent on their man and were willing to give anything up for them, which is beset shown in The Little Mermaid. In this movie Ariel completely changes who she is and gives up ever seeing her family again and her voice for Eric. As opposed to a new Disney movie, such as Princess and the Frog where Tiana is self-determined to open up her own restaurant based on a dream her and her father held their entire lives.
I plan to find out more about Disney princesses stereotypes and how these princesses have progressed overtime. I want to research more with blogs, videos, and scholarly articles to find more ideas and analyze this topic deeper. I also want to see if Disney princess stereotypes matched the times the movies were made and other defining characteristics of these movies. 
Hey Katie,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I have definitely thought about the issue of Disney Princesses before. I also saw the movie Frozen and I thought it was a great message compared to the older Disney movies. You talk about a video on youtube and it seems interesting, so I hope you add the video to your next post.
I like how you take songs from the old vs the new Disney movies to further your point. I never thought about the words in popular Disney songs and there meaning they convey to kids. It’s kinda sad that parents probably didn’t even realize the message movies can really have on kids.
I would like to know why DIsney would want to convey an image of women as needing men to save them. I assume it is based on the time period the movies were created, but I wonder why now they changed the images of their princesses? I’m excited to read more about your topic.
-Norma
Hey Katie,
I really enjoyed reading your post, because I have noticed the same thing about Disney movies. Old Disney movies portray princesses as those who need to be saved by a prince. While, today princesses are saving themselves or are learning more about the importance of sisterhood.
I also saw Frozen and noticed how different the message was from other Disney princess movies. I like how you brought up the comparison to songs from past princesses to the new movie Frozen. One thing is that I would have like to see the video from youtube you talk about, because it seemed important.
My question for you is did women today seek out a change in Disney or did Disney just do the change to their princesses without even realizing what they are portraying to kids? I assume a factor in the change in Disney Princesses is that it’s the 21st century and women are more empowered than back then.
-Norma
Hey Norma!
Thanks for your comments and advice! Both of your posts have good questions. Thank you for telling me I did not put the link to the video, I added it to the post if you want to see it! I think Disney changed its movies due to pressure from females and also because Disney realized it needed to change with the times. So to answer your question I would say it is a mix but I will look more into it with my research. Thanks again!
Katie
Hey Katie,
Sorry I thought my first post didn’t go through so I wrote another one and I don’t know if both show up to you, but you don’t have to answer both of them. You can just choose one and delete the other. Thanks
Norma
Hi Katie,
I really enjoyed this blog post! I too, have always loved Disney movies and I have discussed this topic before in one of Educ classes and found it to be very interesting. I think it’s definitely a debatable topic and something many people would be interested in hearing about.
One thing I really liked about this post was the specific examples you provided to back up your points. For example, your use of the movie “Frozen” as support was very helpful and kept it interesting as well.
I do however have a few questions about this topic. Do you think that there are still some aspects of these Disney movies that aren’t progressing or breaking the stereotypes? Do you think they will eventually change? For example, many princesses in the past have shown bravery and broken free from some stereotypes, such as Mulan. However, these movies weren’t said to be progressive. Is it only the men aspect that’s changing? Also, Disney Princesses today are still very thin, beautiful, and almost always in dresses (which is also shown in the picture you provided). Most girls and women do not look like these Princesses or walk around in dresses everyday. Do you think that this is okay or is it setting them up for low self-esteem and body issues in the future?
Next time, it could be really cool if you brought up some of these counterarguments and maybe even provided some evidence or studies people have done related to this topic. You could also talk about how characters are becoming more diverse. Love this topic! Can’t wait to see what you find out.
Rose
Hey Rose!
Thanks for all your advice, you have some really great points! I agree that Disney still has a lot of progressing to do. I should look into that as a counterargument. With Disney progressing and all of the complaints from women I am surprised they have not made a princess that looks more like an average woman. I do want to look into if the looks of these princesses do effect how young girls view beauty. I am definitely going to look into the points you brought up, thanks!!
Katie
Hey Katie,
I can’t wait to read more about this! I’m also a huge Disney fan, so when I saw your blog I knew I had to read it(: it made me wonder about the influences that could have caused this change in female characterization. Going along with what you said about seeing if the stereotypes match the times the movies were made, maybe you could look into women’s issues that were prevalent around the time the older movies came out compared to more recent ones with the newer movies. So excited to read future posts!
Susanne Beale
Hey Katie,
I really like your topic because it is fresh and interesting. I also grew up watching all of the Disney movies. I never really thought about how the female characters were portrayed in the movies and I think that you could get a lot out of this topic. Your addition of the picture was a nice touch. I also like how you gave a few examples for a couple of the princesses which allowed people who have never seen the movies to understand the topic.
As of right now i don’t really see how you are going to tie up the conclusion for this essay. Are you going to talk about the effect that female roles have on girls these days? Or maybe how the perception of women has changed from when disney started making princess movies to now? This topic could be very relatable to real life topics which i think would be a nice tie into you essay. Good luck!
Ashley McLenithan
Hey Katie,
I think your topic is quite unique but also very easy for reader’s of all kinds to relate to. Although, the topic you have chosen to research is very specific to women and the empowerment of young girls through positive role models, I feel your topic will appeal to readers young and old, male and female, and of all different cultural backgrounds. Disney has many fans just like you all over the globe. A lot of children grew up pretending to be their favorite princess, singing their favorite Lion King song, or being introduced to a novel idea about friendship from the Fox and the Hound or Bambi. The only thing I would suggest in moving forward with your research and writing is to remember Disney’s level of influence and remember that all of your readers may not be female. Good luck with the rest of your writing process 🙂
Best wishes,
Stephanie