Walt Disney Cartoons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Walt Disney Cartoons - Essay Example The heroines are empowered in their actions, and idealized beauty is affirmed by their dressing. In this light, the texts form part of the popular discourse of femininity which encourages women to internalize gendered body norms. Women want to expose themselves in order to achieve the feminine character contained in the movies. These body styles are privileged since they adhere to the contemporary norms of feminism contained in the films. The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast introduce oppressive power structures which produce the desires claimed in the movies. In The Little Mermaid, the girls are constantly posing and preening themselves, and their main function is to entertain the king. This can be considered an oppressive and objectifying presentation of women (Baker and Raney, 2007). The male characters are presented in a possessive form in these movies. In The Little Mermaid, King Triton is portrayed as portrayed as an authority figure that has to be entertained by the gir ls through song and dance. Ariel is chastised and forbidden to make outside contracts by the king. Triton acts as a patriarchic figure and has confined Ariel from her aspirations. Gaston tells Belle that women should be banned from reading or having ideas (Budd, 2005). Gaston consider Belle an accessory that he should have and does not chase her out of love. The heroines are dominated by the male figures portraying their qualities of authenticity and self-determination. The male characters have objectifying gazes of sexual desires towards the heroines. These characters portray female characters as dependent people dominated by the male figures in the society (Budd, 2005). Female figures in the cartoons such as Ariel pose with... Cartoons and animated movies have taken the center stage in the current entertainment industry. Children and teens spend much of their time watching these movies and are likely to develop negative traits and attitudes due to the message contained in them. Sexism is evident in the way women and girls are portrayed. Cartoon creators portray women as unhappy and have to seek the right man in order to find happiness. Their dressing is usually scanty exposing significant amount of skin. The homosexuals are secluded and experience violence and hostility from other characters. This has a negative impact on homosexuals in the society watching these cartoons and other children develop negative attitudes towards homosexuals. Walt Disney has existed in the entertainment industry since the 1930s and has produced several animated cartoon movies. These movies are based on the activities evident in the society. The female characters are presented as sexist by dressing them scantily in order to expose their bodies. They are given less important roles in the movies than their male counterparts. Their presentation in these movies portrays them as sexual objects that have to depend on men. Male characters are given administrative roles and work in the cities while women perform household duties. Whites are usually given good traits and are at the highest point in the social structure. Minorities such as African Americans and Arabs have negative traits and participate in activities that are cruel or inhuman. Homophobia exists where homosexual characters have negative roles and have leadership inabilities. Therefore, Disney cartoons can classified as racist, sexist and homophobic.