A Critical Analysis of: The Little Mermaid
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Walt Disney’s film production began in 1923, and with their rapid increase in popularity they expanded well beyond the film industry. Today, the Walt Disney Company is a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, holding an extremely influential position in society. Disney films are animated adventures designed for the entertainment of young children. As such, Disney is a brand for life and children idealize their favourite Disney princess or character for years. Despite the long standing popularity of Disney’s classic films, the subliminal messages and the construction of distorted power dynamics have raised great concern. This paper will outline the troubling messages accepted and instilled in children as a result of one of Disney’s classic productions, The Little Mermaid. Although this is one of Disney’s older films, feminism was very much alive and well during 1989 when the movie was released. Given the central themes of the movie reproduce the construct of white womanhood, and enforce anything beyond this artificial binary as deviant the motives behind the film are questioned. The corporate side of Disney’s productions are overwhelmingly dominated by white men, therefore many contemplate if the movie was a form of resistance against the changing role of women in society. The Little Mermaid is a prime example of Disney manufacturing, and continuously reproducing the construct of white womanhood.
Womanhood has been artificially constructed by media outlets such as Disney influencing young boys and girls. Ideals have been created as of to what qualities are considered to be natural to a woman, or the common characteristics are associated with being female. Companies run by white middle-aged men, as Disney is, are defining and creating the narrow window in which women must fit in if they want to be accepted into womanhood. Disney’s The Little Mermaid distorts womanhood by making Ariel powerless, reinforcing the sexualization and ideal beauty aspirations of women, and instilling traditional gender roles and masculinity.
Ariel a mermaid from under the sea is the heroine of the film, and her very existence and main objective in life is gaining the love and affection of Prince Eric. Ariel is an ambitious, driven young mermaid, however these attributes are only displayed in her an attempt to gain the attention of the Prince. The central goal of Ariel’s life is far from unique “popular culture has a history of representing women as centrally concerned with and in need of love, romance and a relationship” (Milestone and Meyer, 87). This creates distorted power dynamics, as women are socialized into believing they are incomplete without the accompaniment of a man. Young girls watching Ariel’s desperation for Eric’s love are taught that success in life is male attention, and they should stop at nothing to achieve it. Additionally, the world in which Ariel lives is very clearly dominated and controlled by men, as her only two options in life are living in her father’s world, and living in Eric’s world. Ariel is left with no room for compromise between the two worlds, she has to strictly choose between the two male dominated world’s put before her.
Ariel is quite literally silenced in order to gain Prince Eric’s attention as she gives up her voice to obtain legs. This plot is extremely troubling, as it feeds into the perception that a woman’s main asset is her body. Further, it allows women’s identities to be tied to and defined by men. “Femininity remains dependent on male opinion and approval because being able to attract a man as a romantic object and partner is central to ‘normal’ femininity” (Milestone and Meyer, 94). The narrow window created by popular culture of what defines femininity is purely artificially constructed however, as with any form of mass media it compels young girls to conform to the ideals that are portrayed. Beyond this, young girls are also taught they should be willing to adapt and change themselves to fit the definition of beauty instilled by movies such as The Little Mermaid. Womanhood, and the ideals of being a women are being defined by corporations filled with middle-class white men trying to re-instill the power dynamics in society but belittling young impressionable women into being powerless sexualized objects.
The Little Mermaid is guilty of reinforcing gender binaries, and traditional concepts of femininity and masculinity. Femininity is closely associated with physical appearance for women, and as Disney’s Ariel is small, thin, has silky hair, and is light skinned she fits into the box of conventional beauty. Masculinity is commonly divided into three categories: the ‘old man’, the ‘new man’, and the ‘new lad’. These forms of masculinity are chronological in emerging, however they all continue to co-exist. The Little Mermaid, along with almost all other Disney films continue to instill the ‘old man’ form of masculinity. This is the traditional sense of masculinity, and it directly juxtaposes men and women. Men are presented as strong, powerful, and authoritative as seen in Ariel’s father, Prince Eric, and almost every other male Disney character. These binaries that are being instilled in young children through their beloved Disney movies, and are socializing boys and girls into constructs of distorted power relations between the genders.
Disney has a classic way of portraying good characters as innocent, pure, and beautiful, while displaying the villain as ugly, sexualized, and outspoken. Ariel the ‘good’ character reinforces the purity myth, the lie that a women’s sexuality defines how ‘good’ they are. Women are expected to be sexy, as Ariel is in her very revealing costume, yet remain virginal and ‘good’. This myth of sexual purity allows others to define a women’s sexuality, and further allows judgement of how a woman chooses expresses her sexuality. Additionally, it adds to rape culture as men displaying traditional masculinity or the ‘old man’ feel they are in a position of power to punish any deviance from this purity myth with violence often of the sexual nature.
In conclusion, Disney’s traditional film The Little Mermaid, constructs womanhood, instills gender binaries and traditional ideologies of femininity and masculinity, and perpetrates sexual violence against women. These negotiations of power are created and maintained by the corporate side of Disney, ironically dominated by white men. The movie is not an accurate representation of society, and only increases the imbalance of power between men and women.
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BY: Julia Vermette (20024578)
Word Count: 1046
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REFERENCES:
Milestone, Katie, and Anneke Meyer. Consuming Popular Culture: The Role of Gender. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2012.
Valenti, Jessica. “Purely Rape: The Myth of Sexual Purity and How It Reinforces Rape Culture.” Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power & a World without Rape. Ed. Friedman, Jacklyn and Jessica Valenti. Berkeley: Seal Press, 2008. 299-304. Print.
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Course Readings Used:
- Gender & Popular Culture, Chapter 4: Representing Women
- Gender & Popular Culture, Chapter 5: Representing Men
- Course Reader, Week 11: The Myth of Sexual Purity and How It Reinforces Rape Culture
Disney Movies: Review 