You can‘t gender a Disney Princess you‘ve just met! –

Gendertheoretische Beobachtungen zu

Disneys Prinzessinnen

DieKleineMy im Hasi

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Disney Princess Leia

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRMFH71fDIE

Inhalt

1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu tun?

2. Die Omis – Schneewittchen, Cinderella, Aurora

3. Eilonwy?

4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen – Arielle, Belle, Jasmin, Pocahontas, Mulan

5. Eilonwy Teil 2 – Kida

6. Tiana und die Intersektionalität

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Inhalt

7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Rapunzel, Merida, Vanellope, Anna und Elsa

8. Das Monster Merchandise

9. „Mir hat das ja auch nicht geschadet!“ – Was machen die Kinder?

10. Gender Bending und Drag

11. Ausblick

12. Quellen

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1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu tun?

• Disney ist eine der dominierenden Kräfte in derKinder- und Familienunterhaltung der westlichenGesellschaft (Wasko, Understanding Disney, 2)

• „[…] in their representation of feminity, Disney films reflected the attitudes of the wider societyfrom which they emerged, and […] their enduringpopularity is evidence that the depictions theycontain would continue to resonate as the filmswere re-released in later decades.“ (Davis, Good Girls andWicked Witches, 1)

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1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu tun?

• In den Filmen: Natur und Frauen werden beiDisney “objectified for the benefit of the male subject” (Murphy, “The Whole Wide World Was Scrubbed Clean. The

Androcentric Animation of Denatured Disney”, 126)

• Bei der Produktion: Frauen durften bei Disney nur die Zelluloid-Bilder ‘ausmalen’ -> “tedious, repetitive, labour-intense housework” (Bell,

“Somatexts at the Disney Shop. Constructing the Pentimentos of Women’s Animated Bodies.”, 107)

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• Rejection letter

Absageschreiben von 1938

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1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu tun?

Rotoskopie

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1. Was hat Disney mit Prinzessinnen zu tun?

• Märchenadaptationen als Hauptaugenmerk; Märchen arbeiten mit Archetypen (Whitley, The Idea

of Nature in Disney Animation, S. 14)

• Typus der Disney Prinzessin: sucht Erfüllung in romantische Beziehungen, lebt in einer männlich dominierten Welt, hat ein (sexuell) attraktives Äußeres (Wasko, 116)

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The Evil Queen orders the Huntsman…

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgZcqlc9ak

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2. Die Omis – Schneewittchen

• „Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs“, 1937

• „The stereotypical roles that are used todramatize conflict in Disney‘s film, it isargued, potently reproduce those limited and distorted images within patriarchal discourse that position women as eitherinnocent angels or destructive demons.“ (Whitley, 23)

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2. Die Omis – Cinderella

• „Cinderella“, 1950

• „Cinderella is forced to work as a maid in her own home by her step-mother and seems toaccept this role with a sursprising amount ofequanimity.“ (Davis, 101)

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Cinderella‘s stepsisters spoil her dress

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6SdCDpvTnw

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2. Die Omis – Aurora

• „Sleeping Beauty“, 1959

• „While the characterizations of Disney heroines adhere to the fairy-tale templates ofpassivity and victimage, their bodies areportraits of strength, discipline, and control, performing the dancing roles of princesses.“ (Bell, „Somatexts at the Disney Shop“, 112)

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Once Upon A Dream

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpk7bccuY9s

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Well, and what are you three dears up to?

Berries?But I picked berries yesterday.Goodbye!I wonder,I wonder,I wonder why each little birdHas a someone to sing toSweet things toA gay little love melody.I wonder,I wonder,If my heart keeps singingWill my song go wing-ingTo someoneWho'll find meAnd bring back a love songTo me!Oh dear, why do they still treat me

like a child.Why, Flora and Fauna and

Merryweather. They never want me to meet anyone. But you know something? I fooled 'em. I have met someone!

Oh, a prince. Well, he's tall and handsome and ... and so romantic. Oh we walked together, and talked together, and just before we say goodbye, he takes me in his arms, and then

... I wake up.Yes, it's only in my dreams. But they

say if you dream a thing more than once, It's sure to come true. And I've seen him so many times!

Oh, why, it's my dream prince! Your highness! No, I'm really not supposed to speak to strangers. But we've met before!

I know youI walked with youOnce upon a dreamI know youThe gleam in your eyesIs so familiar a gleamAnd I know it's trueThat visions are seldom all they seemBut if I know you I know what you'll doYou'll love me at onceThe way you didOnce upon a dreamBut if I know youI know what you'll doYou'll love me at onceOh? Oh!Oh it wasn't that. It's just that you're

a, a ...Hmm-hmm.We, we have?Hmm? Oh, my name. Why, it's, it's ...

Oh no, no, I can't, I ... Goodbye!

Oh never, never!Well, maybe someday.Oh no, this evening.At the cottage, in the glen.And Flora,And Flora, Fauna, Merryweather!

Where is everybody?Oh you darlings, this is the happiest

day of my life. Everything's so wonderful, just wait till you meet him

Oh he's not a stranger, we've met before.

Once upon a dream! I know youI walked with youOnce upon a dream ...Why? After all, I am sixteen.Betrothed?But that's impossible! How could I

marry a prince, I'd have to be ...But, but I can't! He's coming here

tonight, I promised to meet him.Oh, no, no! I can't believe it. No, no!

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Taran meets Eilonwy

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB0uJTMf1kQ

3. Eilonwy?

• „The Black Cauldron“, 1985

• „Eilonwy […] is […] very much a departurefrom previous Disney Heroines (Disney princesses in particular) in that she hasmotivations other than romance and love, andthat she has enough spirit and self-confidenceto argue and to stand up for herself and her perceived rights.“ (Davis, 159)

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Part of Your World

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK4HNNhQ0e4

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4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –Arielle

• „The Little Mermaid“, 1989

• „Admittedly, the film is a problematic text fora feminist resistant reading, because itteaches us that we can achieve access andmobility in the white male system if weremain silent, and if we sacrifice ourconnection to „the feminine“.“ (Sells, „Where do

Mermaids Stand?“, 181)

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4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –Belle

• „The Beauty and the Beast“, 1991

• „ In other words, the film‘s final messageseems to be that an unselfish act by a man improves nothing, but an unselfish act by a woman can transform the world.“ (Davis, 194)

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Library Scene

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fM7q3g8kjc

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4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –Jasmine

• „Aladdin“, 1992

• „[…] Jasmine, who as a princess has beenplaced on a pedestal all her life, shows thedangers and difficulties inherent in thisidealisation of women, since it robs them oftheir freedom and keeps them from […] thepublic sphere.“ (Davis, 183)

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Jasmine kisses Jafar

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFlnhQK24-Q

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4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –Pocahontas

• „Pocahontas“, 1994

• „She is both a child of nature, a ‚free spirit‘ who embodies the joys of belonging to an enchanted and uncommodified world; andshe is a fashion icon, created from images ofthe exotic creatures who stalk the catwalks, a supermodel designed for the film to competefor the audience‘s attention […].“ (Whitley, 88)

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Colors of the Wind

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk33dTVHreQ

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4. Die Rückkehr der Prinzessinnen –Mulan

• “Mulan”, 1998

• “American as well as international teenagers are able to identify with Mulan’sadventurous journey away from home in the sense that it mirrors their quest for adolescent self-realization.” (Dong, 165)

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Mulan - Ending

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA3OW40-qaQ

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Kida meets Milo

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7kRobpW_No

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5. Eilonwy Teil 2 – Kida

• „Atlantis“, 2001

• „The fact is however, that this story could havebeen written without including a femalecharacter – let alone a princess – at all, but one was included nonetheless. Also, ratherthan portraying her as simply a token womanor an object, she is a highly active centralcharacter.“ (Davis, 189)

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6. Tiana und die Intersektionalität

• „The Princess and the Frog“, 2009• “While this narrative twist of having both the

princess and the prince be frogs romping through the bayou swamp may add humor and intrigue, this animalization of Tiana’sblack female body is mired in dehumanizing and even desexing in historical representations. Indeed, several African Americans saw this human to animal and back to human transformation as socially and politically problematic […].” (Lester, “Disney’s The Princess and the Frog: The Pride, the Pressure, and the Politics of Being a First”, 302)

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At the Ball

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJsUVXfeDw

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7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Rapunzel

• „Tangled“, 2012

• “Despite the title, Rapunzel's hair stays as lustrous and untroubled as something from a shampoo ad; extreme girliness is of course the order of the day, but those great big doe eyes really are verging on the absurd.” (Bradshaw, “Tangled

– review”)

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Rapunzel and Flynn

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-DQLg_R_PE

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7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Merida

• „Brave“, 2012

• “Merida is strong, capable and courageous. But depressingly, she’s a princess, the most traditional role for female characters in children’s fictions. She’s a rebellious tomboy, but her concerns are still limited to those of a princess, the biggest of which remains, as ever, marriage.” (Pols, “Why Pixar’s Brave Is a Failure of Female

Empowerment“)

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Merida wins her own hand

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWbxhKTbTkA

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7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit – Vanellope

• „Wreck-it-Ralph“, 2012

• “Ralph and Vanellope are the two main leads, but explicitly do NOT have a romance. At any rate, he’s more than twice her age, so that’d be really gross. What they have is a platonic friendship that has a big brother-little sister dynamic. Hey, a platonic friendship between a male and a female, imagine that!” (Waldron, “‘Wreck-

It Ralph’ Is Flawed, But Still Pretty Feminist”)

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Vanellope‘s Transfomation

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5WBfOK5syA

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7. Eine neue Weiblichkeit –Anna und Elsa

• „Frozen“, 2013

• “In a recent interview, Lino DiSalvo, the film's head of animation, said: “Historically speaking, animating female characters is really, really difficult, because they have to go through these range of emotions, but … you have to keep them pretty.“” (Smith, “Frozen in time:

when will Disney's heroines reflect real body shapes?“)

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Let It Go

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU

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8. Das Monster Merchandise

• Umsatz von fast 50 Milliarden Dollar in 2014

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9. „Mir hat das ja auch nicht geschadet!“ – Was machen die Kinder?

• Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess Play.”

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10. Gender Bending und Drag

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10. Gender Bending und Drag

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11. Ausblick

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11. Ausblick

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11. Ausblick

• Petition gegen Darstellung von Merida

• Verhandlung in Populärkultur, Subversion

• Generell kritischere Rezeption

• Schneewittchen: „What do you do whenthings go wrong? Oh, you sing a song!“

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Frozen – A Musical

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtyOC6ayKoU

12. QuellenBell, Elizabeth. “Somatexts at the Disney Shop. Constructing the Pentimentos of Women’s Animated Bodies.” From

Mouse to Mermaid. The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed. Bell, Elizabeth; Haas, Lynda; Sells, Laura. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1995. 107-24. Print.

Bradshaw, Peter. “Tangled – review.” The Guardian. 27 January 2011. Web. Davis, Amy. Good Girls and Wicked Witches. Women in Disney‘s Feature Animation. New Barnet: John Libbey

Publishing. Print. Dong, Lan. “Mulan: Disney’s Hybrid Heroine.” Beyond Adaptation. Essays on Radical Transformations of Original

Works. Ed. Frus, Phyllis; Williams, Christy. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co. 2010. Print. Lester, Neal A. “Disney’s The Princess and the Frog: The Pride, the Pressure, and the Politics of Being a First.” The

Journal of American Culture. Volume 33, Number 4. 2010. 294-308. Print.Murphy, Patrick D. “The Whole Wide World Was Scrubbed Clean. The Androcentric Animation of Denatured Disney”

From Mouse to Mermaid. The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed. Bell, Elizabeth; Haas, Lynda; Sells, Laura. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1995. 125- 36. Print.

Pols, Mary. “Why Pixar’s Brave Is a Failure of Female Empowerment.“ TIME. 22 June 2012. Web.Sells, Laura. „Where Do the Mermaids Stand? Voice And Body in The Little Mermaid.” From Mouse to Mermaid. The

Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed. Bell, Elizabeth; Haas, Lynda; Sells, Laura. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1995. 175-92. Print.

Smith, Anna. “Frozen in time: when will Disney's heroines reflect real body shapes?“ The Guardian. 28 November 2013. Web.

Waldron, Myrna. “‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Is Flawed, But Still Pretty Feminist.” btchflcks.com. 8 November 2012. Web.Wasko, Janet. Understanding Disney. The Manufacture of Fantasy. Cambridge: Polity. 2001. Print. Whitley, David. The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation. From Snow White to WALL-E. Farnham: Ashgate. 2012.

Print. Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess

Play.” Reading Research Quaterly. Volume 44, Number 1. 2009. 57-83. Print.

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