1

Image of Beautiful Girl Reflected in the Disney Princess Films Widya Saraswati C0311045 Sebelas Maret University 2013

Introduction

Since 1923 Disney has been started his business in the media entertainment in America . The first popular and successful film directed by Disney is Snow White and the seven Dwarfs. Nowadays, Disney becomes one of the richest and most powerful multi-media corporations in the world.
In terms of television, it owns the ABC network, as well as Touchstone and Buena Vista television, plus a number of cable channels. In radio, it owns ABC radio networks. In music, it owns Walt Disney and Hollywood records. In publishing it owns, among others, Hyperion books, seven daily newspapers and a variety of magazines.(Burton, 2005: page 12)

As we can see from the paragraph above, Disney is very successful in the finance and in the popularity around the world. Actually, the name of this multi-media corporation is Walt Disney, but it is more popular with the nameDisney. The business entertainment always has a main purpose to make highest profit. No wonder that Disney has a relation with many kind media entertainment and producers to spread the popularity. Furthermore, Disney owners become conglomerates due to his strategy in the global market. The strategy called as symbiotic relationship of media with one another (Burton, 2005: page 14). How strong influence and role of Disney in the global, we can take a look in this quotation below:

Global consumption has become a five-course meal rather than a snack. In the case of Disneys 1996 ten-year deal with McDonalds worldwide (promoting jointly childrens meals and Disney characters and product), we are talking literally about eating as well as cultural consumption. Disney business is not just about film. It owns or controls theme parks, Pay TV and a US TV network (control of distribution). It produces sound tracks and TV series, and has controlling interests in relevant distributors. Spin-offs and tie-ins to films make big money. In 1994 Disneys The Lion King took $300 million at the box office. But it took $1 billion through spin-offs. (Burton, 2005: page 342)

There are many popular and success films directed by Disney. One of the most popular films of Disney is Princess. There are many princess films directed by Disney such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Milan, and The Princess and the Frog. Disney can spread his ideology from that product. As a media institution, Disney has an important role to control the society through his products. The target of Disney can be ranged from the young into the old but the main target of Disney is girls .I took girls as the main target audience of Disney ,due to the story of the princess films . The main characters of Princess Films are always girls. Disney is certainly aware of the gender issues underlying the Disney Princess line, and is walking a fine line between making movies that are girly without being too girly.(http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/1012/little_princess_syndrome.htm) .The other reason is the habit of common girls who always easy to get influence. The consumerism habit created by Disney by making merchandise from every film. There are many kind of merchandise such as T-Shirt, animation figure, toys, bags, books, dolls, accessories, etc. From that kind of things, Disney can easily construct the mainstream or culture among the society. This paper is aimed to show of Image of beautiful girl reflected in the Disney Princess. The data of the films was taken from YouTube videos. It will discuss about the stereotyping of beautiful girls who is constructed by Disney through films, and also talk about the influence of it to the girls. It is analyzed the society in the Western Country especially in America. Then, this paper analyzed using media critical perspective of Burtons book and writers gender awareness and perception.

Discussion

Snow whites (lips red as a rose and skin white as snow)

Disney in 1937 started to create the stereotype of princess which is very different with the real princess. The definition of real princess is women who is member of a royal family or who marry with prince of royal family, there is no standard that princess must be beautiful or have a slim body. The standard of princess made by Disney can be seen from the description of character Snow white in the film Snow whites and the seven Dwarfs. At that time, Disney constructed the believed that a princess is a girl who has lips red as a rose and skin white as snow (taken from website http://princess.disney.com/snow-white). In the era 1930s the popularity of films Snow Whites

creates a term that a beautiful girl is like a snow white. It also creates that the prince is someone who always secure the princess and help the princess. The female character in the Disney films always presented as a beautiful woman, and the male character always presented as a handsome men. Moreover, step by step Disney creates that a princess is beautiful like what you see in the film. Meanwhile, princess in the story is not only has a perfect appearance, but also has a kind heart. The image of beautiful woman in Disney forced the girls to believe that a beautiful woman who will love by a prince is like that. Disney controls the audience to believe which one is bad, which one is good. Moreover, Disney also created a standard of gender roles based on the story .The gendered roles such as men are always good, no matter what they do. Meanwhile,
Men and women in fairy tales are shown as complete opposites. It is shown that in the fairy tale female could never do what male do, and the roles as the one would never be mistaken for the other. The moral value at the end of the story tells the viewers that a happy ending means the life of the female depend on the male, the image of a girl or princess has to be passive, victimized, asleep, or destroyed. (Hecht, 2011).

Cinderella (a blond hair and blue eyes)

As a time goes by, in the era of film Cinderella (one of Disney princesses). The perspective of beautiful girls is dominated by the image of blond hair and blue eyes. It is convinced to us that the ideology of the Disney media institutions plays an important role in the creation of character on the Disney Princess. As we can see that the owner is a come from the white race. It is why the princess who is beautiful is always has a white complexion. Moreover, this film flourishing the dream of the common girl who is not has a descendant or has a relation with the royal family. Thus, the story reflected what the girls want to be. The Disney institution has an aim to make the highest profit by selling a dream. It can be said as selling a dream, because Cinderella story is a kind of dream which give a chance to the common girl to dream that someday they can meet a handsome prince.

Then, from the Cinderella story there is an implicit description of the stereotyping that the step-mother is always bad, and the step sister is also always bad. Moreover, the bad witch in the last story about Snow white also depicted as a strong woman who can change the position of snow whites mother.
Women in fairy tales are characterized as either good or bad. In most fairy tales, when A mother is good; she is dead or passive in life. When a mother exhibits characteristics That are considered bad, she lives. (Hecht, 2011: page 1).

In the real life, it forced the audience to believe that the step mother is always like an evil who will hate the step daughter. Then, there is a capitalism influence in this movie, because when Cinderella dressing like a princess from a royal family and wears a glass shoes, prince can be falling in love with her in the first sight. It also become the reason why Disney can easily sells the merchandise such as a long dress and crown like Cinderella among the girls. The girl buys a beautiful dress and shoes because they believe by wearing a beautiful dress they will be beautiful and maybe they can meet a rich handsome male. Aurora (sexy lips and tall body)

The next story is about Disney princess film in the 1959 entitled Sleeping Beauty. This is again about the story of princess with the white complexion. The princess in this movie is named Aurora; she is a beautiful girl who has a long golden hair and sexy lips. It shows that beautiful girls must have sexy lips like Aurora. Then, the way of Aurora became a victim is just because of a needle. We can see that how weak is the princess. The gender roles as the male depicted the prince as a strong men who the only person can secure the princess. It means that the princess as female is depend her life in the male. In addition, the way of prince weaken up the princess is by kissing her. This is become the bad effect of Disney princess films to the girls. The kiss from the male is depicted can heal the black magic from the bad witch. Moreover, the culture of kissing among the boy and girl become common because the gentle boy must kiss his girl to show the love. Then the girl who is weak ,and also cannot do anything to defend her life is depicted as sleeping beauty ,which means the girl who cannot do anything is beautiful as long as she is has an appearance like in the princess in the Disney films. Ariel (slim tummy and big eyes) & Belle (faithful and kind) Taken from Disney official website, in the 1989 and 1991 there are two story of princess Ariel and Princess Belle who is still from the white race. The long time project of princess still continues to spread the ideology of gender roles by media. This two films also successful derived the children become addicted to the princess films. The things about princess become more popular among the girls and children in America. The successful of Disney in the global market also bring the influence of beautifulness depicted in the film princess to all of the people around the world. No wonder Disney can easily built a Disney

land in several country in the world, and sells about the accessories of princess around the world. Jasmine (rich and has a slim waist) The first princess who is not from white race is Jasmine; she is come from Middle East. Even though she is one of Disney princesses, she is not as popular as early princess. All of because the stereotype of Beautiful girl which is construct in the several years before this film. Furthermore, this film also focused in the how struggle Aladdin to be the prince not the story of Jasmine itself. It is the reason why Jasmine cannot be influential character in the Disney princess. Pocahontas (big eyes and straight black hair) Meanwhile, the early films about princesses are usually only have approach about love, or just become a wife of a prince. It is reason of the next generation of Princess in the 1999 was the story of Pocahontas. This was the first time of Disney made a princess film with the Indian girl as the main character. Even those heroines who are rebellious Ariel, Jasmine,
and Pocahontas ascribe to hegemonic notions of femininity in order to get their man (Comely, 174). Of course, with the belief from several princess story, Disney always put the woman

can only be complete through her relationship with a men. It forced to the audience who is always dominated by girls that she must marry with a men to have a happy future ,even by marry with a men the woman cannot be independent as before ,because there is no princess story that tells about the life after marrying a prince or men. Mulan (sexy body and long black hair) In the 1998, there was a film about Mulan, the first Asian princess of Disney. This is due to the cooperation with the Tokyo animation media, so there was a princess for Asian

people. The story which is showed a strong girl and can be fight and even also join the war. Even though, in the end the princess just falls in love with a male and then they marry. The story just different in the beginning, but just the same with the other early princesss story. The most imprtant thing is , all of the characters habit and appearances is unachievable for real women and girls. Tiana ( smart and has big eyes) The next story is about the black race princess. In the 2009 ,when the equal rights is being important in the America ,disney produced a film about the black girl princess. From this story , as the reader there is still unequal treatment for this princess. Why Tiana(the name of black female princess) is kiss a frog ? ,how can a frog ? ,is there no other cute animal ?. As we can see the early princesses are always kiss a handsome princes (even belle also kiss a beast but the beast is live in the castle ) ,but how about the frog . The frog even a prince who get a black magic ,but this is still not appropriate for the girl to kiss an animal like a frog . Rapunzel ( has a blond long hair and talented in Art) Moreover ,the unequality of the princess Tiana never happen again because the story of princess is Rapunzel (white princess again) . Then in the Rapunzel film ,the image of beautiful girl is a girl who has along straight hair . Then the beautiful girl can be a princess when he back to the castle with a men . Then , the story is ended by the Rapunzel cut her hair to get his true love. Even in the last story rapunzel has a short hair but the marchendise or poster about Rapunzel are depicted when rapunzel has a long hair . No wonder that there is a hagemony among the society that a beautiful girl is a girl who has a long hair. The expanded of the characteristic of princess is due to the need of market that never touch before with the early princesess. Moreover , the profit is still the main reason why disney make a such of hagemony about the image of beautiful girl . The girl as the main target

always being trapped in the streotyping of the image of beautiful . The reason why girls is always want to looks like beautiful is due to the influence of media itself . As the media agency ,disney still maintain that a white woman is beatiful . The girls in arround the world especially the young generation nowadays is being influnced of princess-syrom. This sysndrom influences the children because they like to immitate something they see and they watch .
The children in Wohlwends study, though, are kindergarteners; though they might have been exposed to quite a lot of princess-related media by this age, theyre still in the early stages of forming gender identities. As girls get older, the worrying aspects of princess culture the passivity, consumerism, and so on may become more and more confining. (Tapson,2013)

Source picture: http://acculturated.com/2013/10/18/in-defense-of-disney-princesses/ The picture above is shows how the influences of Princess film to the girls/children in America.There are also many toys which have a picture of princess ,so thats why a female children in the twentieth century has a hobby to wear a pink dress and also a crown .

10

Conclusion

There influence of media agency to spread the idiology through films reflected in the image of beautiful girl in the disney princesses films. There are several character of Disney priness that become the role model of girl that want to be called as beautiful girl . Disney reflected that the beautiful girl is the girls who has slim body ,slim weist ,big breast , big eyes , tall body ,long hair , small lips . Then ,Most of them have a white complexion . Of course ,the characteristic of beautiful girl by disney are unchievable for the real woman . The bussiness of entertainment such as films is a tools by the media agency to spread their idiology . However , the society which are being hagemonize is easly to be influenced because the use of technology in media cannot be directly influence. The process is step by step ,and it will change the society beliefs .That are the reason why the image of beautiful girl makes the product sells by Disney become popular arround the world . The highest profit wich earn by Disney made Disney become one of the richest and most powerful multi-media corporations in

the world.

11

References

Burton ,Graeme (2005).Media and Society Critical Prespective. United Kingdom :Open University Press Hecht, Jennifer, (2011) "Happily Ever After: Construction of Family in Disney Princess Collection Films" .Master's Theses. Paper 4094. Cokely, Carrie L.(2005)Someday My Prince Will Come. Thinking Straight: The Power, the Promise, and the Paradox of Heterosexuality. Ed. Chrys Ingraham. New York: Routlege,page 167-181. Brad Beck, Dennis Corbin, and Whitney Rodriguez (2008) Northern Illinois University . Retrived from http://thedisneyprincesses.yolasite.com/ Disney Corporation (2013) Snow White Retrived from http://princess.disney.com/ Tapson ,Mark (2013 ,Oct 18 ) In Defense of Disney Princesses .Retrived from http://acculturated.com/2013/10/18/in-defense-of-disney-princesses/ Johnson ,Matthew (2013,Nov ) The Little Princess Syndrome: When Our Daughters Act Out Fairytales. Retrived from http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/1012/little_princess_syndrome.htm/