Comparative Critique The topic of gender equality, culture and environmental effects on girls and young women has brought up the discussion of princess culture - dressing up, waiting for prince charming, the importance of beauty. Both “The Princess Paradox” and “Cinderella and Princess Culture” examine how companies such as Disney are responsible for girls falling into princess culture and influencing them. However, there are distinct parallels between Orenstein and Poniewozik on how they perceive the effects of cinematic influence. Orenstein insinuates that Disney’s princess culture bears a negative impact on the mental health of young girls whereas, Poniewozik disputes that princess culture is a gateway to female empowerment.
In the chapter “Cinderella and Princess Culture”, Orenstein, a mother and writer for The New York Times, expresses her concerns about companies marketing princess culture to girls. Orenstein starts by giving personal anecdotes, in order to describe her frustration with people calling or labeling her daughter as a princess. Orenstein does this to build ethos with her readers as she demonstrates that she is a mother herself and cares for the future generation of young girls. She then goes on to write about how much corporations are making in sales on princess merchandise. She provides the readers this information to demonstrate the expanding influence of Disney Princesses in which there is an inflation in the consumption of Disney Princess merchandise.
Cinderella Article titled “What’s Wrong with Cinderella” written by Peggy Orenstein, covered five areas about the “Princess” trend in the 21st Century. Orenstein states facts, feminist views and third party, reasoning to support and oppose her views on the princess craze. The opposing data does not prove there are long or short term health or well-being effects or damages from the data collected. Orenstein gives an inter-dialogue with the pros and cons of marketing to young girls on its health effects and its well-being damages to young girls that experience the princess craze. Orenstein agrees young girls are not allowed to be themselves.
He begins to say, “You give your daughter legos and soccer balls, not barbies” (323). Poniewozik proceeds to argue his point by explaining how Hollywood finally discovered that it is pointless to fight the urge of the astonishing pink princess epidemic, while producing many more princess themed items because it is what girls seem to want. Similarly, Peggy Orenstein opens with a story about a mother who is simply appalled by anything and everything princess based on how her daughter gets treated by other adults. However, Orenstein tried to keep a consistent theme of not accepting the whole idea of being picture perfect throughout the article, but while making an argument, she would then come up with a contrasting argument. The question of, “Does every little girl really have to be a princess?”(Orenstein 326), arises when thinking about all of the times how even strangers assume little girls always want pink.
This quote shows that Orenstein conducted interviews with teenagers, as well as adults. She gets an inside view of a teenager's mind through her interview; this boosts her credibility. All of Orenstein's research and interviews effectively argue that a princess-like culture is dangerous to
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. From a young age we have a strong desire to gain access to and pick up on new information. As we mature, different ideas are constantly being thrown at us, which forces us to reevaluate what we have been manufactured to believe. Although the idea is disheartening, we find that our innocence we have as children may have been used against us in a way that counterbalances all the concepts we were taught. From there on out we begin to acknowledge that there are other theories in the world that we were not considering before simply because we were not introduced to them.
In the excerpts from both James Poniewozik's "The Princess Paradox" and Peggy Orenstein's "Cinderella and Princess Culture", the authors address the growing market of princess products and how big ticket companies are using this knowledge to turn a profit. Both authors are highly respected journalists who have been published in the New York Times multiple times. Each has done their own intensive research on the media's use of princesses and their culture to make money. While both authors address how corporations are finding profit in "princess culture", Poniewozik focuses on how movie studios found princess stories to bring money in from young audiences, while Orenstein appears more concerned with how Disney branded princesses.
There are a variety of facts used in Hollandsworth’s article; however there are a select few that he makes good use of for his argument. Hollandsworth states that $4 billion is annually spent on Disney Princess retail; he uses this fact to claim that girls who wanted to be like princesses did beauty
Across the world, little girls and little boys are being raised on gendered norms that determine how they will behave for the rest of their lives. Exposure to various types of media during their formative years instruct children on how they should look, feel, and behave. Consequently, adult women strive to emulate the fantasies they were exposed to through the Disney Princess films they were raised on. Disney Princesses offer a mold for what a successful woman looks like in terms of size, color, and physical sexuality. In modern society, countless marginalized groups are seeking equal representation in the media to accurately reflect how diverse the world truly is.
These phenomenons bring up the fact that just by them watching this they get a certain perception of a princess and how to be one. Not only does this have an effect on girls so do the approval of others as they understand
However, the later Disney films have gradually attempted to break away from this stereotype resulting in stronger female characters like Ariel, Mulan, and Elsa among others. Keeping this transition in mind, this paper uses semiotic analysis of four popular Disney films, namely, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Mulan (1998) to depict the influence of societies ' changing perceptions of women on the portrayal of Disney princesses. These films taking into account the earliest film and certain popular characters that have represented a shift from being the coy damsel in distress to a woman who plays an active role in determining her own destiny. The portrayal of the Disney princess has changed in accordance with the development of women in society over time (1937 to 2013) from demure and traditional to
The topic of self confidence is a subject that is heavily discussed when it comes to girls of all ages. Journalist, Stephanie Hanes, examines the current trend of sexualization amongst young girls. In the article “Little Girls or Little Women: The Disney Princess Effect”, Hanes examines the current trend of sexualization amongst girls. She addresses the issue of desiring to become a women too soon. Hanes develops her article by using the literary techniques of pathos and logos to describe the emotions young girls feel when they see images of women with unattainable features.
Walt Disney has been making girls think that in order to be beautiful you have to be the perfect shape and size. (Shortridge). Some people believe that the Disney Princesses are great role models for children because Mulan teaches us to never give up on the strengths we have just because we are girls, Belle teaches us to never judge a book by its cover, and Pocahontas shows us real princesses are strong leaders. On the other hand, some individuals feel that Disney Princesses are bad role models because of their unrealistic body appearance, telling girls every marriage ends with a happily ever after when you get married at a young age, and saying every girl needs a man in order to be happy. Both sides have valid points but in reality everyone
Over generations, the Disney Princess has seemed to evolve in a way, but yet holds true to old, classic traditions and ideas that have been around since these stories came about. There are three major eras of Disney princesses: The first era includes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty; the second era includes The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan; and the most current era includes The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Brave, and Frozen. Between these three eras, parents, children, and almost anyone who has seen a few Disney movies can see that the character has evolved from the traditional, ancient-themed scenario to a more modern one that fits in a little better with society in
Princesses’ in Disney movies are tied down to a recurring theme: the princess that must be saved from the evil woman by the charming prince. A significant contrast to the usually weak and easily persuaded figure of the father. Even though the women are portrayed as weak, nobody stops to think how strong they have to be to carry the responsibility of an entire household on her shoulder, while the men always seem to be traveling or ill. Fairytales are based on a patriarchal way of thinking and as time passes by, it’s proven to be detrimental to society Women and men are constantly being bound to a series of stereotypes.
Disney has been known for their theme parks and in producing movies and shows. They became famous starting from their first cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, and their lists of cartoons started to expand from then on. Disney started to have their own princesses which are looked up to by many young audiences and they somehow became the role model of little girls. This paper will discuss how far Disney Princesses have come in terms of gender politics and female empowerment, from princesses who are ‘damsels in distress’ to princesses who are capable of defending their selves. Renzetti said that, “Media content mirrors the behaviors and relationships, and values and norms most prevalent or dominant in a society” (1992, p. 107).
Upon examining representations of femininity of Disney characters, it is evident there is a stark focus on the dichotomy of good girls and bad women. In other words, their behavioral characteristics and prevailing climactic outcomes in the films, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, reinforce the idea that claiming agency and independence, is not only associated with evil but also posits a representation of femininity that women are discouraged from emulating. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an influential purveyor of gendered images and this is observed through the charming heroine who fulfills the rewards of marriage as the happiest of endings juxtaposed with the villainous queen who is left without reward and encounters her ultimate