Disney has been releasing Disney Princess films since 1937. They started out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and just now, a thirteenth film has been added to the list: Moana. A distinct...Show moreDisney has been releasing Disney Princess films since 1937. They started out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and just now, a thirteenth film has been added to the list: Moana. A distinct change in character is noticeable when looking at the princesses. The princesses from the first generation (1937-1959) have passive characters, they are submissive, enjoy domestic chores and play no active role in their own tales. They simply wait to be swept off their feet by a prince. In fact, they represented what people considered to be the perfect woman in those days. However, nowadays, that is not what we consider the perfect woman to be. The second generation princesses (1989-1998) introduced a change. They were rebellious, took agency and instead of falling for any man, they wanted the right one. However, these films still focus on finding love, as if that is all that a woman's life should be about. The most recent princesses (from 2010 onwards) are increasingly more independent and active. They do not rely on men to save them, take matters into their own hands and determine their own fate. They are progressive princesses and continue to increasingly become more proactive and independent. These new princesses provide the twenty-first-century audience with role models they can actually learn from. Disney is not there yet, but they are slowly but surely letting go of the Disney formula.Show less
In the following chapters, I shall compose a theoretical framework of both children’s literature and female gender studies and use this for an analysis of the presentation of female gender in Roald...Show moreIn the following chapters, I shall compose a theoretical framework of both children’s literature and female gender studies and use this for an analysis of the presentation of female gender in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (chapter 2), The Witches (chapter 3) and Matilda (chapter 4). Following Culley’s analysis, Dahl’s at times grotesque and even sadistic narratives appear to uncover ideological hypocrisies like sexism or stereotyped gender roles, hereby drawing attention towards gender issues. However, the satirical presentation of these ideological stereotypes may present Dahl’s work as mainly humorous or entertaining, in this way overshadowing the actuality of repressing gender stereotyping as projected in the text.Show less
