Changes in the autonomy of disney female characters through snow wite, cinderella, frozen an moana

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN KHOA NGỮ VĂN ANH CÔNG TRÌNH NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC SINH VIÊN CẤP TRƯỜNG NĂM 2019 ĐỀ TÀI: CHANGES IN THE AUTON

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN

KHOA NGỮ VĂN ANH

CÔNG TRÌNH NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC SINH VIÊN CẤP

TRƯỜNG NĂM 2019

ĐỀ TÀI:

CHANGES IN THE AUTONOMY OF DISNEY FEMALE CHARACTERS

THROUGH SNOW WHITE,

CINDERELLA, FROZEN AND MOANA

Nhóm sinh viên thực hiện:

Chủ nhiệm: Nguyễn Diệu Minh Hằng

Thành viên: Lê Trần Minh Anh

Lê Nguyễn Bảo Trân

Mai Nguyên Khôi

Nguyễn Việt Hưng

Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, tháng 5 năm 2019

VNU – HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Research group’s members

5 Nguyễn Việt Hưng Researcher 0385341447 viethung604@gmail.com

HCMC, April 2019

CHANGES IN THE AUTONOMY OF DISNEY FEMALE CHARACTERS

THROUGH SNOW WHITE,

CINDERELLA, FROZEN AND MOANA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of tables and charts

Acknowledgements

I Introduction

1.1 Background to the study

1.2 Rationale for the study

1.3 Aims of the study

II Literature review

2.1 Definitions

2.2 Reviewing articles on “Feminism in Disney movies” around the world

2.3 Reviewing research papers on "Feminism" done by students from the University

of Social Sciences and Humanities

III Methodology

3.1 Research methodology

3.2 Research design

3.3 Data sources

3.4 Data collection procedure

3.5 Data analysis procedure

IV Data analysis and discussion of results

4.1 Plot summaries

4.2 Data analysis

4.2.1 Traditional Gender-role Portrayals

4.2.2 Application of Bechdel-Wallace test

4.3 Discussion of results

4.3.1 The shift in the autonomy

4.3.1.1 In facing difficulties

4.3.1.2 In love

4.3.1.3 In relationship with family members

4.3.2 The influence of Feminist Movement on the autonomy of main female characters portrayed in the four movies

4.3.2.1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Cinderella (1950)

4.3.2.2 Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016)

4.3.2.3 From the 20th century movies to the 21st century movies

V Conclusion

5.1 Summary of Research Findings

5.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Research

Appendix

Bibliography

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Table 1 Total gender role characteristics and behaviors by each Princess

Table 2 Full list of gender characteristics and behaviors

Table 3 Coded characteristics for the prince and princess characters in the Disney princess films (England et al., 2011, p 558)

Chart 1 Percentage of gender role characteristics and behaviors by each Princess Chart 2 Percentage of gender role characteristics and behaviors by each Princess (England et al., 2011) The chart is made by the researchers according to the data in Table 3

Chart 3 Percentage of gender role characteristics and behaviors by each Princess (Duc, 2014, p 36)

ABSTRACT

This study aims to figures out the changes in the autonomy of female protagonists and its reasons in four Disney movies: Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016) in order to understand the interactive relationship between the development of the feminist movement and autonomy As the result, we could support the gender equality movement in our region as well as in the world This research paper is conducted with both qualitative and quantitative methods The results found out are the significant development of female protagonists’ autonomy from 20th century to 21st century shown in the quantities collected, discussion, compare, contrast and analysis of the behavior of Disney princess in the four movies It is also found that there is connection between the feminist wave and the changes in the autonomy of Disney princess that could be helpful in the fight for gender equality in the long run

Keywords: autonomy, changes, development, interactive relationship

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our deepest thanks and gratitude to our supervisor, Ms Van Thi Nha Truc, for her continuous support throughout the research We are very much thankful for her patience, enthusiasm, guidance as well as her immense knowledge that she had provided us with in order to help us complete this research We greatly appreciate her contribution of time and ideas to revise our paper and give comments so that we can enrich and improve our work Without her instructions, this paper would not have been done effectively

Also, we would like to dedicate special gratefulness to all of our lecturers of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature who kindly spent time familiarizing us with doing research in the last 3 years We are thankful for their valuable and constructive comments on our paper The completion of this research would not be possible without their encouragement and dedication.

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I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Feminism has been one of the burning issues to be discussed for several decades It deals with different topics, and perhaps the most frequently mooted one is the inequality between man and woman However, autonomy is also another problem that requires as much concern

In fact, for the last decades, in line with social development, the feminist movement or revolution has been taking great steps into changing how people think about women’s roles in modern society It gained civil rights for women, brought women out of their houses, and put a stop to many issues involving gender discrimination and sexual harassment More and more women are making great social influences and becoming role models or inspirations for many other people, especially the young generations Michelle Obama, Theresa May, Angelina Jolie or Emma Watson, to name but a few, are among the most noticeable figures They have made multiple speeches to draw people’s attention to women’s issues and have also called for actions against gender inequality in order to protect women's rights through their global campaigns and projects1 Similarly, the setting in Viet Nam also has had some significant changes over the years In Viet Nam, women have started to move forward and get more and more involved in different aspects of society For example, Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, current Chairperson of the National Assembly of our country, is the first woman

ever to be appointed to this position Recently, The Forbes Viet Nam has officially

published the list of 50 Most Influential Women of 2017 in Viet Nam, recognizing 50 prominent women in different fields, namely Ms Tran Ha Lien Phuong – Lecturer of International University, Viet Nam National University, who was the first Vietnamese woman to be awarded the "World's Youngest Scientist Award" by the L'Oréal-UNESCO Foundation for her “Study on Fucoidan Micelles for Cancer Diagnosis and

However, the reality is still not fair enough Despite gaining some significant achievements, the feminist movement in Viet Nam is still quite weak Outdated mindset and stereotypes of what women should be in the society are not yet to be thoroughly wiped out Many women still remain dependent so much on their men in terms of financial support and social position

Among the means of media that take part in the feminist movement, it is noted that Disney movies play a significant role It cannot be denied that Disney movies have great influence on children in today’s society The young generations grow up with watching Disney movies, playing with the Disney characterized toys, and learning all the hidden messages from the movies Moreover, with the advanced high-tech devices nowadays, almost every child can approach Disney movies at any age and at any time Not only young people but also adults can easily be affected by Disney movies The large-scale influence of Disney movies even crosses the boundary of social classes Disney movies have always been keeping up with the times, which makes the brand remain successful for so long They catch up with the newest trends, the newest social issues It is noteworthy that feminism has existed and developed throughout many of their movies

https://baomoi.com/nuc-long-3

While there are a host of Disney pieces of art that help to push the feminist movement,

we decide to choose the following four movies: Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016) because to our belief they not only convey important

messages to their audience but also reflect how the Disney producers’ feminist views have changed through time While studying these movies, we can gain a better understanding of the development of the characters in each movie and of the feminist movement in different periods of time

1.2 Rationale for the study

In Viet Nam, women do not really have great autonomy in their own lives Their decision-making is controlled by so many external factors For example, while couples

in western countries tend to have absolute power on what they want to do for their wedding, people in eastern countries do not have the same mindset Parents, especially from the groom’s side, still have a great influence on the wedding Another sorrowful fact is that in many places in Viet Nam, especially in the rural areas, girls usually have

to accept an arranged marriage Over the past few years, arranged marriages between Vietnamese women and Chinese men have increased and become very complicated The article about arranged marriages between Vietnamese women and foreigners posted on the website of Bac Giang Province’s Department of Foreign Affairs pointed out that many Vietnamese brides are now living in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan (China), most of whom are arranged to be married or “sold for sex”, to be more exact4 These women mostly come from Bac Giang or some other provinces that share the border with China like Lao Cai and Cao Bang In recent years, the number of Vietnamese citizens married to foreigners has showed no sign of decline, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice A report about the status

of marriages with foreigners in the South of Viet Nam published on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice stated that “the number of marriages in the later year is always higher than that of the previous one Among them, marriages with foreigners are about 95% and are mainly from Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and some provinces in the

4 Tinh, N.V (2014) “Hôn nhân qua mối giới giữa phụ nữ Việt Nam và đàn ông nước ngoài ngày càng gia tăng và trở lên phức tạp” Retrieved from: https://songoaivu.bacgiang.gov.vn/vi/hôn-nhân-qua-mối-giới-giữa-phụ-nữ- việt-nam-và-đàn-ông-nước-ngoài-ngày-càng-gia-tăng-và-trở-nên-phức-tạp

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Mekong Delta”5 While the world is supporting and pushing projects and campaigns to end stereotypes on gender inequality, as a country on the way to integrate into the world, Viet Nam needs to raise people’s awareness of women’s autonomy For the sake of gender education in schools and universities, our research paper is expected to make a significant contribution to this cause

1.3 Aims of the study

This paper aims to (1) understand the development of the female characters’

autonomy and its reasons from four of the Disney movies: Snow White (1937),

Cinderella (1950), Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016) and to (2) understand the

interactive relationship between the development of the feminist movement and

autonomy in order to support the gender equality movement

II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions

● Feminism and Three Waves of Feminism

Feminism is “The belief that although women and men are inherently of equal worth, most societies privilege men as a group As a result, social movements are necessary

to achieve political equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman, 2002, cited by Duc, 2014, p.7)

There are three waves of feminism The first wave occurred in the early 19th century

In this first movement, women were believed to be conservative and moderate so their aim was women’s suffrage during World War I The second one started after the end of World War II, in which women fought for their abilities to work as equally as men To be exact, when men had to go out to battle, they abandoned many jobs which women could do As a result, women, at the time, tried to escape from traditional roles, which bound them to home and housework, in order to be recognized as an important workforce in society In this wave, the feminists’ goal

5 “Thực trạng kết hôn có yếu tố nước ngoài ở khu vực phía Nam” (n.d) Retrieved from:

http://ctpn.moj.gov.vn/qt/tintuc/Pages/nghien-cuu-trao-doi-kinh-nghiem.aspx?ItemID=36

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was not only to end the patriarchal oppression but also to create a matriarchal society Second-wave feminists are thought to have gained more knowledge in terms of women’s history, studies, oppression, etc The third wave occurred in the early 1990s and its aim is to achieve the equality of both sexes (Kroløkke and Sørensen, 2006, Paglia, 2008, cited by Duc, 2014, pp 8-10)

● Autonomy

Autonomy is the ability to obtain information and make decisions about one's own concerns It facilitates access to material resources such as food, land, income and other forms of wealth, and social resources such as knowledge, power, prestige within the family and community (Archarya et al., 2010)6

● Operational Definitions of Coding Characteristics

Since the research utilizes a coding procedure, the traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine characteristics are identified and assessed according to England et al (2011) as follows:

Masculine Characteristics

Aspirational for exploration/knowledge/success – to search for, to investigate, to

want to find out or explore the unknown

Physically strong – hitting or moving something, providing evidence that the

character had a strong physical effect on the person or object

Assertive – insistence upon a right or claim, the action of declaring or positively

stating

Control of emotion – repression of emotion, indifference to pleasure or pain

Independent – not depending on the authority of another, autonomous,

self-governing

Athletic – a specific jump or kick that was large enough to require some athleticism

Running was also coded as athletic

Engaging in intellectual activities – engaging the intellect, including reading or

showing the use of thought

6 https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-4755-7-15

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Inspiring fear – causing someone to respond with fear; includes portraying violence

and aggression, intimidation, or unintentionally inspiring fear as well

Brave – courageous, daring, intrepid Bravery often involved a rescue or leadership

in the face of danger

Giving advice – providing suggestions, recommendations or consultation

Leader – one who leads, a commander

Some other masculine characteristics (Curious about princess and Described as physically attractive/masculine) are only coded for the princes and are thus not

described in this research

Feminine Characteristics

Tends to physical appearance – adjusting physical appearance for the purpose of

making it look better or to draw attention to it

Physically weak – not being able to succeed in something that takes physical

strength It was often accompanied by needing help or else failing

Submissive – yielding to power or authority, humble and ready obedience This trait

was usually in response to another character’s assertiveness

Negative emotions – a combination of the two traits Ashamed and Collapsed crying

stated by England et al (2011)

Affectionate – having warm regard or love for a person or animal, fond, loving

Nurturing – to care for and encourage the growth or development of, to foster Being

nurturing required direct interaction and was often shown as mothering

Helpful – rendering or affording help, useful when assistance is needed

Troublesome – causing trouble, turmoil, or disturbance

Fearful – an instance of emotion, a particular apprehension of some future evil, a

state of alarm or dread

Described as physically attractive/feminine—another characters’ expression about

the beauty of the princess

Asks for or accepts advice or help – the character asks directly for help, or needs

assistance and is open to receiving assistance such that it is clear the character wants

it and accepts it Assistance could be physical, mental, or emotional

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Victim of aggression – subjected to torture by another, one who suffers severely in

body or property through cruel or oppressive treatment

2.2 Reviewing articles on “Feminism in Disney movies” around the world

In many Disney movies, particularly earlier ones in the twentieth century, most Disney princesses are characterized by stereotypes and gender roles: they are weak, emotional, troublesome, affectionate, and domestic (England et al., 2011) These traditional feminine role traits make assumptions about the behaviors and expectations of female Disney characters, as well as expectations for genders in society With a coded content analysis approach, the study has revealed how the gender roles have been portrayed through nine Disney movies These movies are categorized into three groups: the

earlier movies consist of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959); the middle movies include The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), and Mulan (1998); and the most current movie at the time is The Princess and the Frog (2009)

England (2011) proposed three hypotheses in her study The first hypothesis is that

“the princesses would show more traditionally feminine than masculine characteristics, and the princes would show more traditionally masculine than feminine characteristics” (England et al., 2011, p 557) The second hypothesis is that, correspondingly, “the princes would perform more rescues than the princesses, and the princesses would be rescued more often than the princes” (England et al., 2011, p 557) The final hypothesis according to the study is that the characteristics of the Disney princesses will become more androgynous and egalitarian as the movies

become more current These hypotheses are also what the researchers expect to

confirm with this study

An analysis by Wiersma (2000), “The Gendered World of Disney”, reveals that gender images through sixteen animated films7 stay stereotypical and similar to the first animated film in 1937 The sixteen movies were studied from 1937 to 1995, and have yielded significant findings for future researches In the study, the Male to Female

7 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Bambi (1942), Cinderella (1950), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), 101 Dalmatians (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocrats (1970), The Fox and The Hound (1981), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), and Toy Story (1995)

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character ratio heavily leans towards male, with the only exception being Bambi

(1942) having more female characters (8) than male characters (6) Most central female characters are described to be young and attractive, and most villainous female characters are described to be old and unattractive in terms of both appearance and personality

The study by Wiersma (2000) also proposed the three phases that construct the gender roles as they are in the society Phase I: Externalizing is when “the cultural patterns are created and sustained over time and include the values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations of a particular society” (Wiersma, 2000, p 18) Through the repeatedness of certain human activities and behaviors, the roles of the two sexes, male and female, are born and preserved through the ages, and those who act outside

of these societal roles or norms are alienated Phase II: Objectivation is when these cultural patterns are shown and presented through languages, images, media, and other methods Because of this, theses fixed gender roles are objectified, and this

“objectivation of gender roles along with the threat of social sanctions leads people to believe they have little choice in the roles they play or their activities” (Wiersma,

2000, p 22), making people, especially women, feel that they cannot break out of these routines that represent the roles they play in the society Phase III: Internalizing

is “the process by which the norms and values of a society are passed on to the next generation and become the norms and values of that generation” (Wiersma, 2000, p 23) When a person is born and become more engaged with their society, they observe their social world as a fact, not as a social product, and they are made to follow the norms of the world surrounding them These norms, especially the gender roles, gradually become deeply ingrained in that person’s characteristics and behaviors, as well as those of the people in their social world This theory of the three phases in the social construct of reality by Wiersma (2000) has led the researchers of this study to the belief that the Disney movies, with their widespread popularity, have a great influence on children in today’s society, as mentioned in the rationale of the research

In “Images of Animated Others”, Lacroix (2004) also notes some examples of sexism and racism through analysing Disney films and the heroines, specifying their hourglass

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features, pale skins, and other qualities, which remain the same after decades These findings, coupled with the findings of Wiersma (2000), further confirm the stereotypical physical appearance traits that the Disney princesses have in both older and more recent movies Also, as remarked by Smith and Cook (2008) in “Gender Stereotypes: An Analysis of Popular Films and TV”, an analysis of G-rated films, specifically Disney films:

Over half of the animated female leads in this study are shown with an unrealistic or exaggerated physique And more than three fourths of live and animated females are depicted in sexually revealing attire Thus, the beauty ideal reinforced in many of the films is an unattainable standard of sexiness and perfection (pp.16-17)

It has also been pointed out in multiple studies (Wiersma, 2000; Smith and Cook, 2008) that the majority of narrators in Disney movies are male

Heroines in more recent Disney films are shown to possess more masculine traits (athleticism, assertiveness, etc.) and are praised for their intellectual prowess; however, these incorporated masculine traits are still dominated by traditional feminine traits (Forman-Brunell and Eaton, 2009) Other than the behaviors of Disney princesses, the hypersexualization of their appearance also posed an issue towards the socio-emotional development of children As argued by psychologist Sarah Murnen quoted by Smith and Cook (2008), “the promotion of the thin, sexy ideal in our culture has created a situation where the majority of girls and women don’t like their bodies… And body dissatisfaction can lead girls to participate in very unhealthy behaviors to try

to control weight.” (Smith and Cook, 2008, p 13) Moreover, according to Towbin (2003), there are “unhealthy portrayals of male and female sexuality abound in Disney” (Towbin et al., 2003, p 36) and these portrayals, when presented to children continuously, will cause the children to be more conscious of their appearance in a negative way or body shaming The children, especially girls, will feel unsatisfied with their appearance and not feel comfortable in their own skin as a result of overexposure

to such unhealthy and stereotypical portrayals in the Disney movies

Because of Disney movies' strong influence on youths, especially young children, careful examinations on the messages concerning gender, race, age, and sexual

to only study the changes in the autonomy of the Disney princesses from the older

movies to the latest ones, namely Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016)

Besides studies undertaken overseas, some studies done by Vietnamese researchers not only analyze feminism in movies and other literary works but also put feminism in the context of Vietnamese culture and society

2.3 Reviewing research papers on "Feminism" done by students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM

Women, in the past, were supposed to totally listen to and obey their parents, husbands, or even their eldest sons Women definitely had no rights to decide what she wanted to do, who she wanted to marry The majority of her life was decided by the others, not by herself The clothes she wore, the tasks she had to do, etc were all disposed In eastern countries in the past, women always accepted three main submissions: submission to the father before her marriage, submission to the husband during her marriage, submission to the elder son when widowed

In her thesis entitled “Anti-Feminist Features in Folktales” (in case of “Cinderella” and

“Tam Cam”), Tran Thi Hieu Thao (2012) points out that girls dress well, and work hard, etc so as to please the others and marry a good husband Moreover, they have to fulfill all of the tasks without any complaints In “Tam Cam”, Tam is a respectful child and always listens to her stepmother despite being ill-treated In “Cinderella”, Cinderella does the same things, to please her two stepsisters, and is unfairly treated as

a maid Both Tam and Cinderella are fairly passive in their marriage They rarely have chance to know their spouses well Tam is chosen because the king thinks the owner of

is thought that women should be obedient The one who knows to keep silent is supposed to be a sensible girl

Another point noted by many previous researches is that "being physically attractive is considered to be a traditionally feminine trait" that a woman should have, as suggested

in many Disney films through their female character portrayals (Duc, 2014, p 15)

It is not only the stereotypes that hinder women from freeing themselves from the shadow of men, but it is also the patriarchal values that keep women submissive and inferior to men

In her thesis, “Feminist criticism approach to interpreting short stories”, Tran Lan Khuong (2012) cites a viewpoint from Lois Tyson that, “patriarchy continually exerts forces that undermine women's self-confidence and assertiveness, then points to the absence of these qualities as proof that women are naturally, and therefore correctly, self-effacing and submissive” (p 7) What we infer from this is while the stereotypes frame the woman in the ideal images with virtues and particular characteristics, patriarchy ensures that women will lose the incentives to fight for their equality among men

The first patriarchal trend in most literary and artistic works from the past is the notion that a happy ending for a woman's life is when she has found her man Tran Thuy Tien (2008) states in her work, “Charlotte Bronte and Women's Issues in Jane Eyre”, that in the nineteenth century, English people shared the same opinion which influenced the creation of the works at the time that “The only way for women to rise in the world is through marriage” (p 11) She also states that or a long time, women were expected to

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just be wives doing house chores at home, and that was their success in life Also, eleven out of thirteen princesses of Disney, being a heroine or not, end up marrying a prince, a man or, at least, having some kind of affection for a man in their stories (Duc, 2014) The dominant motif of folk tales in which a happy ending should be female protagonists’ becoming wives of heroes makes people believe every woman needs a man to be happy

Another patriarchal value is that male characters always play a significant role in women's life, affecting their decisions, their actions and so on In the nineteenth century, women always depended on male figures (their fathers or husbands) for protection (Tien, 2008) Because women are always guarded by men in patriarchal societies, they gradually lose the resistance and give their whole life to the hand of a male figure without trying to attain the control for their own life Another point is that the actions taken by some feminist princesses of Disney were actually influenced by

men (Duc, 2014) Duc illustrates in her work that in The Little Mermaid, Ariel wants

to come up to the land because she wants to find her man and live happily ever after,

and in the end, she still needs her father's agreement to marry the prince In The Princess and the Frog, Tiana strives for the restaurant also because of her father's wish

that was passed down to her, not merely because of her own desire Also, the name of her restaurant,"Tiana's place", is eventually changed to "Tiana's palace" due to Tiana’s becoming the princess of Prince Naveen

Another issue is that females have never been the choice makers but the males are In marriage specifically, most women marry men involuntarily due to the husband’s decisions and the families' approval Take the proposal of Mr Collins to Elizabeth

Bennet in the novel Pride and Prejudice as an example It is not her desire but is

because Mr Collins is the heir of the estate that her family live on, and this proposal is some kind of a compensation as her family will be forced out of the place one day (Tien, 2008) Thao (2012) also points out in her work that Cinderella or Tam become princesses because of the princes' choices not theirs, and since Tam and Cinderella try

to satisfy other people by appearing to be gorgeous, what we imply is that their reasons for being pretty are just to satisfy the princes

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Besides, in a patriarchal society, there are lots of disadvantages for women An English law issued in 1854 stated that any personal and freehold properties of the women before marriage became her husband's after their marriage, and after she died, the properties came to her heirs if she did not have children If she had children, the property belonged to her husband until his death when it came to her heirs She could only take back all her freehold properties when her husband died first (Tien, 2008) This is the reason why most women were reluctant to get divorced from their spouses

as they would lose their children and property to their husbands It is also discriminative that after marriage, women usually have no independent life but consolidate their existence into her husband's Take an example from Khuong’s work

(2012), in “The Story of an Hour”, Louise was not called by her maiden name at the

beginning but by her husband's surname instead, Mrs Mallard

In conclusion, with references from related previous works, we also recognize that in most of the folktales (which are afterwards adapted to movies), women have very little power or independence and that patriarchy has long made an imposing impact on the challenge of feminist revolution

III METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research methodology

Both quantitative and qualitative methods are utilized in this research The quantitative data are used to estimate the number of characters that share the same portrayals and to see whether there are changes in the female protagonists’ autonomy over time (using the coding method, which will be elaborated in 3.3) Their behaviors are noted and analyzed Besides, the researchers also utilize the qualitative method by analyzing the characters’ lines in the four movies The data are then used to compare and contrast the

two older movies Snow White (1937) and Cinderella (1950) with the two newer ones Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016) to find out the differences between the females’

portrayals in Disney movies in the past and those in the present

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3.2 Research design

The paper focuses on the characters’ autonomy in the four selected Disney movies in

order to answer the research question: How do the changes in the portrayals of the

four Princesses illustrate the shift in their autonomy over time?

This research employs a coded content analysis approach that has been employed by several similar studies (Hibbeler, 2009; May, 2009; England at el., 2011) in order to

gather quantitative information about the frequencies of behaviors that show the

protagonists’ autonomy

3.3 Data sources

This study uses a wide range of materials, namely books, articles, related studies of the movies The main source is the four Disney animated films:

1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 Snow White

3.4 Data collection procedure

First, the researchers watch each movie as many times as possible and note down any variable of interest

The coding procedures are adapted from the previous studies (Hibbeler, 2009; May, 2009; England at el., 2011) as follows:

The character was assigned one code every time they (a) were mentioned as possessing a certain characteristics or (b) exhibited the characteristic in behavior Each time a character exhibited a new behavior, the behavior was coded In addition, a new behavior was coded each time the scene changed (i.e., the animated picture changed or shifted to a new settings), even if that behavior was exhibited in the previous scenes (p 558)

The collected data also include the lines and behaviors of the characters

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3.5 Data analysis procedure

The data collected in each movie will be put in comparison to see whether there have been changes in the autonomy of the Disney’s Princesses over the years and whether the feminism has influenced the way they were depicted

IV DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

4.1 Plot Summaries

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) revolves around a princess named Snow

White, whose beauty is so extraordinary that causes her stepmother, the queen, to be envious Thus, the queen attempts to murder Snow White so she could become the most beautiful woman She orders a huntsman to take Snow White deep into the forest, assassinate the poor princess, and return with her heart The huntsman, however, spares Snow White out of his compassion towards her and tells her to hide deep inside the forest Snow White, scared and panic, keeps running until she finds a small house, whose owners are the seven dwarfs Snow White begs them to let her stay and she will

do the chores in return Eventually, the princess wins their affections and sympathies One day, when the seven dwarfs leave their home for work, the queen, being in disguise, comes to the house and tries to persuade Snow White to eat an apple, which contains a poison that will put those who take it into an eternal sleep Snow White takes a bite and falls to the ground The seven dwarfs come back just to witness their beloved princess’s death They decide to keep her body inside a glass casket so that they can watch over her The rumour of a beauty lying in a glass casket spreads quickly and reaches the prince’s ears He comes, kisses Snow White and revives her Finally, they all live happily ever after

Cinderella (1950) is based on a fairytale of the same name by Wilhelm Grimm It is a

story about a beautiful girl called Cinderella After the death of her mother, her father marries a cruel widow who has two daughters When her father passes away, Cinderella is forced to be the servant in the house One day, the King holds a ball to choose a wife for the Prince Cinderella wants to go there, but she is made to stay home by her stepmother and sisters Thanks to the help of her fairy godmother, she finally can go to the ball There, she meets the Prince and has a chance to dance with