progress
While many of the earlier Disney movies have strongly supported a heteronormative, misogynistic, queer-less agenda, more recent Disney/ Pixar films have been making efforts to be more inclusive. Though there has yet to be any openly gay Disney characters, there have been multiple flamboyant supporting characters where their quasi-queer sexuality is insinuated.
In addition, many of the recent Disney movie plots are stepping away from the "damsel in distress" plot and more toward a strong, independent female lead, supporting a post-feminist agenda. Frozen, Brave and Tangled are all good examples of Disney's attempts to create new gender roles for female protagonists in their movies. Women can also be considered sexual minorities so this can be seen a step in the right direction for all sexually oppressed groups, including queers.
"The Atlantic" news site recently released an article posing strong arguments for Disney Pixar movie Frozen being queer-friendly. Author Akash Nikolas says Elsa hiding her ice- |
power could be a metaphor for closeted gays and addresses the debate of homosexuality being innate or a choice by paralleling them to Elsa's powers. This is a debate that has gone around the queer community for years and can also be known as essentialism vs. constructionism. Is sexuality something innate that we are born with, and permanent? Or is it a social construct, designed by our surrounding environment and constantly subject to change? If Nikolas' argument holds true, the movie, Frozen, supports the essentialist view - Elsa was born with her powers, and try as she might to hide them, they will come out.
Some viewers praise the queer-friendly subtext, while more conservative viewers have denounced it. Regardless, all are in agreement of the presence of queer undertones throughout the film.
But Nikolas says it's not just Frozen. Disney as a company has always been a supporter of queer rights. Disney World has hosted annual gay pride events since 1991. Also, one of Disney's biggest lyricists, Howard Ashman, was openly gay and wrote songs for many of Disney's biggest hits including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and more. "[Ashman] was closely involved in those films' production, casting actors and holding story meetings with animators" (Nikolas).
Nikolas says even early Disney movies were, albeit obscurely, queer supportive. "Queer kids can uniquely identify with Disney protagonists, who are usually outcasts set apart from society by some innate desire" (Nikolas).
I feel that Disney has made slight progress toward a more accepting representation of the queer community in their children's films. However there is still a lot to be critiqued, many social stigmas to dismantle and plenty of progress to be made before Disney can fully break away from the heteronormative agenda.
But Nikolas says it's not just Frozen. Disney as a company has always been a supporter of queer rights. Disney World has hosted annual gay pride events since 1991. Also, one of Disney's biggest lyricists, Howard Ashman, was openly gay and wrote songs for many of Disney's biggest hits including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and more. "[Ashman] was closely involved in those films' production, casting actors and holding story meetings with animators" (Nikolas).
Nikolas says even early Disney movies were, albeit obscurely, queer supportive. "Queer kids can uniquely identify with Disney protagonists, who are usually outcasts set apart from society by some innate desire" (Nikolas).
I feel that Disney has made slight progress toward a more accepting representation of the queer community in their children's films. However there is still a lot to be critiqued, many social stigmas to dismantle and plenty of progress to be made before Disney can fully break away from the heteronormative agenda.
the "new man" in disey/pixar
In a scholarly article called "Post-Princess Models of Gender," researchers Ken Gilliam and Shannon R. Wooden comment on the emergence of a male protagonist in recent Disney/Pixar films. The typical Disney plot line has changed from the distressed woman needing a man to come save her to a man overcoming himself and getting the girl. Pixar has created movies like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Cars, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, etc all portraying male protagonists. Gilliam and Wooden say these post-princess plots support a "New Man" model that creates a "kinder, gentler understand of what it means to be a man" (Gilliam).
The "New Man" Model:
The "New Man" Model:
- The protagonist strives for an alpha male identity
- He faces emasculating failures
- He finds themselves - typically through a male bond (or what Queer Theorist Eve Sedgwick calls "homosocial desire")
- He achieves a kinder, gentler understanding of what it means to be a man
These post-princess models of gender are a step in the right direction. By validating the feminine male and creating alternative role models for young boys that aren't hyper focused on masculinity, Disney is challenging gender roles. It steps even further away from past Disney movies by suggesting there are other goals in life than finding heteronormative love. In each of these films, the male protagonists "getting the girl" is more of a subplot, while the character's real goal is to achieve something within themselves. For example, in Cars, Lightning McQueen's goal is to win the race but in
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the end he realizes friendship is more important. In Toy Story, Woody's goal is to remain Andy's favorite toy but also realizes his friendship with Buzz means more. However, all of these plots still support a heteronormative agenda. In the end, the male protagonist's version of "happily ever after" still includes finding hetero-romantic love, among other things. Queer theorist Eve Sedgwick says "male homosocial identity is necessarily homophobic in patriarchal systems, which are structurally homophobic" (Gilliam). The homosocial bonds between male protagonists and their male friends is new to Disney, but does not provide the necessary support to promote a queer agenda.