Rewriting A Tale As Old As Time: Disney's Female Characters, From The Originals To Their Modern Reproductions: A discursive, multimodal analysis of how female agency and gender roles are portrayed by the significant characters in Disney’s classic animated fairy tales and their live action versions
Translated title
Rewriting A Tale As Old As Time: Disney's Female Characters, From The Originals To Their Modern Reproductions
Author
Sindberg, Maja Eskildsen
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-06-02
Pages
69
Abstract
This master’s thesis examines how Disney portrays love, gender roles, and female agency in both animated classics and their live-action versions from 1950 to 2020. The study looks at four pairs: Cinderella (1950) and Cinderella (2015); Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Maleficent (2014); Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Beauty and the Beast (2017); and Mulan (1998) and Mulan (2020). It compares similarities and changes across each pair and identifies what kinds of remakes the live-action films are. The analysis draws on critical discourse analysis (Fairclough) to consider language and power, Murray Smith’s idea of a Structure of Sympathy to explain how films guide audience feelings, and terminology on remakes and adaptations from Thomas Leitch and Lisa Hill. A multimodal approach is used because the study considers several modes of meaning-making, including color, spoken and written words, the films themselves, and online comments. Findings show that Disney’s characters have become more three-dimensional as social and cultural expectations evolve. Both heroes and villains are portrayed with more complexity, making them seem more human and more open to redemption and sympathy. The idea that a woman’s 'happily ever after' must depend on a man’s love moves into the background, while other forms of love are given more space. Romantic, heterosexual 'true love' still matters in Disney storytelling, but recent narratives suggest its dominance may be shifting. Finally, audience responses to the live-action films are mixed, making their overall success a matter of debate.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Disney skildrer kærlighed, kønsroller og kvindelig handlekraft i både animerede klassikere og deres live action-versioner fra 1950 til 2020. Undersøgelsen ser på fire par: Cinderella (1950) og Cinderella (2015); Sleeping Beauty (1959) og Maleficent (2014); Beauty and the Beast (1991) og Beauty and the Beast (2017); samt Mulan (1998) og Mulan (2020). Specialet sammenligner ligheder og ændringer på tværs af hvert par og vurderer, hvilken type remake de nye film er. Analysen trækker på kritisk diskursanalyse (Fairclough) til at belyse sprog og magt, Murray Smiths 'Structure of Sympathy' til at forklare, hvordan film leder publikums følelser, samt terminologi om remakes og adaptationer fra Thomas Leitch og Lisa Hill. En multimodal tilgang anvendes, fordi undersøgelsen ser på flere udtryksformer, herunder farver, talte og skrevne ord, selve filmene og online-kommentarer. Resultaterne viser, at Disneys figurer er blevet mere flerdimensionelle i takt med skiftende sociale og kulturelle forventninger. Både helte og skurke skildres med større kompleksitet, hvilket gør dem mere menneskelige og mere åbne for forløsning og sympati. Forestillingen om, at kvindens 'lykkeligt til deres dages ende' nødvendigvis afhænger af en mands kærlighed, træder i baggrunden, mens andre former for kærlighed får mere plads. Romantisk, heteroseksuel 'sand kærlighed' er stadig vigtig i Disneys fortællinger, men nyere narrativer antyder, at dens dominans kan være under forandring. Endelig er publikums reaktioner på live action-filmene blandede, hvilket gør deres samlede succes til et diskussionsemne.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords
Disney ; Kønsroller ; Kærlighed ; Diskurs ; Magtstruktur ; Animation ; Live action ; Reproduktion ; Femininitet ; Agency ; prinsesser ; prinse ; skurke