CRITICAL SELF REFLECTIVE ESSAY: Questioning Hegemony



CRITICAL SELF REFLECTIVE ESSAY: Questioning HegemonyTrina SkinnerStenberg CollegeCritical Self Reflective Essay: Questioning HegemonyFor the purpose of this self reflective essay and in attempt to explore the issue of hegemony as it relates to Walt Disney’s timeless fairytale renditions, I have chosen to focus on a character analysis of Ariel, the main character in Disney’s The little mermaid (1989). I am grateful to have been provided the opportunity to participate in an essay of this nature as I was born into a ‘Walt Disney world’ and find it interesting as an adult and future parent to analyze the repercussions of viewing the messages portrayed in Disney films as healthy, innocent, and indicative of wholesome family values. The mouse that roared: Disney the end of innocence (Giroux & Pollock, 2010) has allowed me to apply critical thinking and deep introspection on the impact that my own growth and development, heavily influenced by Walt Disney culture has had on me as an individual, as well as the power Walt Disney enterprises continues to wield over the children of today. In discussing the enormous expansion of corporate power in the past three decades “under the auspices of neo-liberalism and multinational corporations” (Giroux, 2010, p. 25, para. 3), it is interesting to note that according to Giroux & Pollock (2010) “One of the most visible examples of such growth can be seen in the expanding role that Walt Disney Company plays in shaping popular culture and many aspects of everyday life in the United states and abroad”.Disney’s The Little Mermaid, is essentially considered the comeback of the ‘Disney classic’. Many people held the belief that Disney cooperation would be unable to redeem itself after the death of Walt in 1966. The death of Walt Disney brought about a series of poor quality work as Disney’s animation team found themselves at a standstill, unable to generate a quality Disney classic for a substantial amount of time following the demise of the influential leader. A number of years after Michael Eisner took over management of the company, The Little Mermaid proved to be the explosive comeback Disney was yearning for in 1989. Regardless of the variety of themes adopted in Disney’s classic fairytales over time it is interesting to note that the basic formula used to portray women has remained consistent from Snow White to Cinderella (1950), to Sleeping Beauty (1959), to The Little Mermaid (1989) and in countless fairytales to date (Maio, 1998). According to Maio (1998), Disney’s The Little Mermaid offers proof “That old attitudes towards women die hard. Looking at the film you’d never know that the women’s movement ever happened” (para, 9). There has always been little doubt in my mind that Disney’s portrayal of women in fairy tales has played a role in the attitudes, values, and beliefs, I have developed and maintained as a result of growing up with Disney classics, particularly in the ‘princess era’. Although, contrary to many of the Disney princesses I idolized as a child, I was raised predominantly by a hardworking single mother who strived to instill values of independence and personal responsibility for supporting and managing my own life; failing to rely on physical beauty or the ideology that my personal success hinged on the ability to obtain a strong supportive man who would offer me stability and security, determining my course in life. As an adult, I strongly regard my mother’s teachings and live my life in many ways according to the principles and values she has instilled in me. However, I am also able to identify the impact that seemingly harmless depictions of young women and societal views as a result of growing up in a Walt Disney culture have had on me as a now grown woman. I am inclined to believe that there is an element of truth regarding Maio’s construction of a ‘prototypical Disney’ fueled by the age old formula in which “Young women are natural-born happy homemakers who lie in a state of suspended animation until a man gives them a life”. Further, Maio (1998) goes on to reveal Disney’s position regarding aging women as the ‘enemy’, particularly if they are in a position to seek and acquire power. As a final ingredient in the recipe to construct a Disney masterpiece, the working class is portrayed in such a way that their only purpose in life is to “serve the rich and privileged, never questioning their subordinate position” (para. 7). According to Giroux (2010), “Ariel becomes a metaphor for a traditional housewife in the making” (p. 105). The antagonist in Disney’s The little Mermaid is Ursula, an obese, middle aged, highly ambitious sea witch who Ariel contracts with in order to increase her chances of having Prince Eric, a human being fall in love with her (The Little Mermaid, 1989). “Ursula gives Ariel a set of shapely legs, but takes her voice in trade. Hence, in The Little Mermaid, we are given a female protagonist who is literally silenced by her desperate need for male approval. ‘Shut up and be beautiful’, the movie seems to tell young girls” (Maio, 1998). In concluding the terms of the contract, Ursula assures Ariel that losing her voice is not necessarily a negative consequence of her sacrifice as “men do not like women who talk” (Giroux, 2010. 105). According to Giroux (2010), Ursula’s disclosure to Ariel regarding the ‘bright side’ of having her voice silenced is dramatized when Prince Eric “attempts to bestow a kiss of true love on Ariel” (p. 105) in spite of the fact she has never uttered a word to him.As an adult I still regard Disney as a pleasurable and influential force guiding my childhood, a tradition that I look forward to continuing on with my future children. That being said, the information revealed in Giroux & Pollock’s book, The Mouse that Roared has most certainly opened my eyes in terms of exercising caution when evaluating the underlying messages that seem to uphold some particularly unsavory values, or at least those that differ from that of my own. I recall as a teenager joking with friends that we suffered from what we deemed “The Walt Disney Fairytale Syndrome”, which in a nutshell, consisted of us harboring an extreme attitude of self entitlement. Every man was measured against the princes presented in Disney’s fairytales that had become so engrained in our cultural construct. Many of us who grew up in the era of the Disney princess were also guided by the pressure to attain a slim and shapely physique, long, luxurious hair, and other culturally constructed attributes of physical beauty as those embodied by Walt Disney’s famous heroines. It is interesting to compare and contrast the portrayal of Ariel (protagonist) and Ursula (antagonist), one the morbidly obese evil-intentioned power monger Ursula. The other a young doe-eyed beauty with a petite, shapely body accentuated by her bikini top, fashioned by a string and two seashells. Giroux & Pollock (2010) likened Disney’s representation of good or evil natured women to having been “fashioned in the editorial office of Vogue” (p. 101, para. 3).In questioning whether or not Disney’s animated films have a positive influence in children Giroux & Pollock (2010) explain that, “Such films will have better educational and entertainment value the more teachers, parents, and young people think about the conscious and unconscious messages and affects the films promote while resisting the temptation to view them as non-ideological” (p. 99, para 1). Performing a critical analysis in the interest of exploring the presence of hegemony in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, I find some of the messages directed towards society whether conscious or unconscious in nature, to be rather disturbing. For example, Maio (1998) in discussing Disney’s portrayal of Ariel, states that, “Her image may not be informed by feminism, but it has most certainly been informed by the eroticizing of the pubescent female, so common in Western advertising and popular culture” (para. 10).In conclusion, taking inventory of the previously conceived notions I maintained prior to reading Giroux & Pollock’s book, The mouse that roared: Disney and the end of innocence, I feel that I have gained a great deal of insight and based on previous experience coupled with newly attained knowledge, courtesy of Giroux and Pollock’s work, feel more empowered and less ignorant to the perceived innocence that Disney portrays. As a result of our work exploring Walt Disney as a form of Hegemony, I feel I am better equipped to make informed decisions relating to Walt Disney’s global influence. I agree with Giroux and Pollock (1998) in stating that “Pleasure is one of the defining principles of what Disney produces and children are both its subjects and its objects” (p. 97, para 3). The authors also introduce a strong point that “ one can appreciate the trademark imaginative brilliance of Disney’s animated films but at the same time interrogate and challenge the films as an important site for the production of children’s culture” (Giroux & Pollock, 2010. 98, para. 1). ReferencesGiroux, H. A., & Pollock, G. (2010). The mouse that roared: Disney and the end of innocence. Plymouth, United Kingdom: Roman and Littlefield publishers inc.Maio, K. (1998). Disney’s Dolls. New Internationalist magazine: people, ideas and action for global justice. 308. Retrieved from Disney Feature Animation (Producer), & Clements, R., & Musker, J. (Writer/Director). (1989). The Little Mermaid [Motion picture]. USA: Walt Disney Pictures. ................
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