Abstract:
The Disney Princess franchise, since its formation in 2000, has become a staple
of American girlhood. The princess phenomenon has caused many to question the
impact that Disney Princesses have on American culture. Since the release of Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Disney Princess films have steadily become more
progressive in the ways they portray their heroines. However, because Walt Disney
Studios takes a corporate approach to storytelling that prioritizes profitability, Disney
Princesses still conform to trends of female misrepresentation in popular media.
This thesis tracks how the heroines featured in the Disney Princess franchise are
depicted over time. Nine films that span from Snow White to Tangled are evaluated
based on a set of original research criteria. The categories include total percentage of
screen time, number of Progressive Actions, and how many times the protagonist
rescues other characters or herself. The data show that female protagonists in Disney's
animated princess movies have become more active and complex characters over time.
However, the trends that have persisted correlate to the broader struggles of female
representation in the media, such as women being held to rigid standards of beauty and
being out spoken by the male characters in their films.
Description:
57 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Digital Arts and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2016.