Because of the reputation Disney has for portraying innocence and purity in its movies, people are very apt to be critical and find fault in them. Pixar studios, however, does not have the same "children-only" reputation and so is less susceptible to that kind of critical eye. Disney's first film, Snow White, was released in 1938 and therefore should be given more leniency towards the gender roles it portrays because that kind of gender segregation was acceptable at the time it was released. Pixar's first full-length animated feature, Toy Story, was released in 1995 and since then the company has released 12 movies, and are therefore more current and should, in my opinion, be more critically analyzed for the gender roles Pixar portrays. Like more current Disney movies (Tangled for example), Pixar has created strong female characters that have more on their mind than finding the right guy, have unique personalities and can fend for themselves. Pixar female characters do have one major fault however: they are never the main protagonist. They may be strong-willed and independent, but they are always portrayed as the love interest (Atta from A Bug's Life or Eve from Wall-E) or the companion to the protagonist (Dory from Finding Nemo). The main protagonist is always male. In the summer of 2012, Pixar will be releasing its 13th animated film, Brave, which will be the first Pixar movie featuring a female character as the main protagonist. Brave is the story of a Scottish princess who is willing to go to any means to change the fate that being a girl has forced her into. This is a very important message for anyone facing discrimination, whether it be based on gender, race, etc, but does not, in my opinion, exempt Pixar from their history of gender representation. The fact that the plot revolves around the fact that Merida, the princess, is female just causes more discrimination, in my opinion. When Pixar can make a film where the main protagonist is simply female for a reason that does not revolve around the plot is when I will stop viewing the company as slightly prejudice. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, take Pixar movies like Ratatouille or Toy Story. It would make absolutely no difference if Remy or Buzz or Woody were female characters, whereas the plot in Brave depends on the gender of the protagonist. Just how I love Disney despite its obvious flaws, I do adore every Pixar movie and the creativity and brilliance behind each one. I am very excited for Brave and the step Pixar is taking by making their protagonist female, which I hope is a step in the direction of more women heroes who aren't simply female because the plot depends on it.
Brave Trailer:
These are the movie posters from every Pixar movie taken from the
Pixar website...notice how hardly any of them feature a female character
.JPG) |
http://www.pixar.com/featurefilms/index.html
Why do we, as women, continue to financially support film franchises and movie studios that treat us like crap, non-existent, or support for the male protagonists?
ReplyDeleteWhy do allow our sons, little boys, to watch picture after picture with little or no female presence or representation? Why do we let our little daughters watch media that, in the aggregate, implicitly says, "You girl, are invisible," "You girl, are not important," and, "You girl, were put upon earth to serve male interests."
I never really thought of the videos in this way, but it’s a very interesting idea. Seeing as many children see these movies, there should be a way to help bring people together when they are young. There are a few Disney princesses that would tie in these ideas of people being open to others and their races, however them and Pixar could surely open that up further and include more races and make gender representation wider. This would help teach kids what’s right at a younger age which might help to further decrease racism and sexual representations that say men are better than women.
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