Pocahontas-1995( Item 1)
Internet-
The link above talks about how women play a side role in Pocahontas. This can be seen right from the beginning, when the ship sets sail to Virginia, there are no women on the ship, they are waving their loved ones away, which the time the film is set seems very unrealistic. It suggests that the women in this film are only meant to there to support the men. The character of Pocahontas is shown as an average Indian girl although she does have the element of a free spirit and some what curiosity. The character is meant to portray the 'ideal' Indian woman. I like this link as it shows how Pocahontas represents race. It gives you also gives you information on the character and how Pocahontas is.
Item 6
Female Disney heroines are traditionally placed in one of three
positions: that of an idealised teenage heroine, wicked middle-aged
beauty or nurturing post-menopausal woman. I chose to use this site as it gives a look into how women are shown in Disney, but also talks a lot about the character Mulan and how she is portrayed.
Mulan is a girl, the only child of her honored family. When the Huns invade China, one man from every family is called to arms. Mulan's father, who has an old wound and cannot walk properly, decides to fight for his country and the honor of his family though it is clear that he will not survive an enemy encounter. Mulan, who just got rejected by the matchmaker because she had set her on fire, decides to prove that she is worth something and steals away to fit her father's place in the Chinese army. She prays to her family's ancestors for protection and luck before leaving as a man in her father's armor with her family's horse. The ancestors awake and decide to send Mushu, a little dishonored dragon to aid Mulan in her quest. Weeks later, Mulan and the other troopers have survived the training camp and are on the way north to stop the huns. After being spotted and pursued by the enemies, an impass situation in the mountains forces Mulan to come up with an idea. But then, her real gender will no longer be a secret. She decides to risk everything in order to save China.
Mulan is shown as a courageous, brave and self-confident woman. Mulan undergoes military training to become physically fit. Being a woman she finds it hard at first to train and to keep up with the men. However, when Mulan is hurt everyone finds out that she really is a women, she is sentenced to death. But as she saves the Captains life, he lets her go free.
Mulan later finds out that the Hun armies are preparing to attack the emperor. Instantly, she rushes to the Emperor and protects him. She is praised and duly recognized for her bravery and courage. When she gets home, her family is very proud of her and Shang proposes to her. By the end of the film Mulan has become a self-assured and independent woman. Disney has clearly grown up with her, finally realizing there's a world in which women want more than a prince, and that people, even animated people, are made up of more brush strokes than those that can be nailed down to one colour, gender or particular way of life.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/do-disney-movies-promote-anti-semitism-and-racism-1.282097
This artical is taken from a Israle newspapare about how race and women are portrated in Disney films.
item 8
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/movies/concerns/stereotyping_movies.cfm
B00k-
Chapter on Feminist Analysis (pg. 132-135)
The chapter talks about race and other issues that raise in many Disney films. The book talks about how when Aladdin (1992) first came out many Arab-American groups held protests, which ended up in lyric changes, but the 'offensive images of certain Arab characters remained'.
Later, the book goes on to talk about how 'Princess Jasmine's role is key, to the racial and gender ideology, which are complementary'.
Item 12
Good Girls & Wicked Wiches
women in Disney Feature Animation By Amy M. Davis
Depiction of women in American culture
Magazine Articles-
Newspaper-
Images
This link is helpful as it shows how women acted in the 30’s. It helps give an image of how they acted and what their roll in life was. The link also connects to item 8 as it talks about home life and the roll of women in the house. It helps show were Disney got some of the values and charactaristics of the women in their movies.
Presenter: ‘The Walt Disney Company is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. An early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, Mickey Mouse, is the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company.’ (Item 4)
Projector- Show picture of Mickey Mouse (item )
Presenter- 'The female took care of the home, raised the children and saw to the day-to-day needs of her family and was subordinate to her husband, in terms of authority.' (item )
Projector- Show video about women in the home in the 30’s (item )
Presenter- ‘Filmmakers often rely heavily on stereotypes, because they're a quick and simple way to establish a movie character's traits. Blonde women are dumb, for example; foreigners are villains, Mexicans are lazy, and blacks are great athletes. Teenaged characters are variously shown as sex-crazed, uncivilized, moralistic or shallow, and they tend to be lumped into groups of either popular kids or geeks. Animated movies have their share of stereotypes, because they're familiar and easily understood. Those cookie-cutter Disney heroines are always curvaceous, have the same attractive features (regardless of race) and rarely take physical risks.’ (item 8 )
Projector- Show the trailer of Disney’s Mulan (item 2)
[Lights fade on]
Flip Chart- Poster of Mulan
