After watching the trailer for Disney's relatively new movie Tangled, I was stoked. It looked absolutely adorable and who can resist a prince voiced by the one and only Zachary Levi?
Unfortunately it was one of the worst spent 90 minutes of my life.
Last Saturday night, my sister had picked Tangled to watch with the entire family. We both excitedly sat on the couch as the beginning credits began to roll. It began with the prince-charming-character Flynn Rider (Levi) sharing his own story and retelling the very beginning of Rapunzel. Except that Rapunzel is a princess and was apparently stolen (when she was baby) by an old lady named Mother Gothel. Why? Because Rapunzel's hair has anti-aging qualities. No big deal.
The story then proceeds as a poor retelling of Hunchback of Notre Dame. Very bad Disney movie to attempt to recreate. You just don't mess with the originals. Period. Anyway, on her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel only has one wish: to see the world. Who wouldn't want to after being stuck in a tower for so many years? Uni is bad enough. So, Rapunzel shares this in the span of a painful two-minute song. Granted, I was an avid Mandy Moore fan as a child (who doesn't enjoy "Crush"?) but hearing Mandy trying to belt out show-ish tunes is a little scary. When Rapunzel finally expresses her birthday wish, Mother Gothel is shocked and quickly cuts down Rapunzel for her naive qualities and scares her with horror stories of the outside world. She manages to do this all in one song titled "Mother Know Best." Slightly better but lyricist Glen Slater really needs to move his rhyming skills beyond the third grade. I know he can write better lyrics than: skip the drama, stay with mama.
The songs don't get better either. The only way I can describe them is that Disney must still be pining over Miley Cyrus. Each song in that movie could definitely be the next Hannah Montana hit.
The largest problem I had with this movie was just how confused it was when it came to gender. Each character was terribly stereotypical yet Disney tried to counteract this with weird idiosyncrasies in each character. In many ways, Rapunzel is the poster child for Helen Andelin's Fascinating Womanhood. She is a sheltered, innocent girl and even worse, Flynn finds this vulnerability wildly attractive. At the same time, Rapunzel holds her ground when it comes to action scenes so it sends an extremely mixed message. Ultimately, Disney delivers the message that when it comes to fighting, you can be mildly masculine. But when it comes to love, be sure to flash that innocent smile so the man can feel like he has something to protect.
It's so wrong.
Mother Gothel is also a tragic mess. She struggles through the entire movie with the process of aging. Disney tries giving her redeeming qualities as a mother but overall, she's just an awful person. But really, what message does this deliver about stages of life? It really demonizes women struggling with the concept of aging. This is especially obviously in that when she is cruelest, she looks the oldest. Her wrinkles are the sign of her inner disfigurement. Youth is idolized in this movie for superficial reasons but also for the assertion that youth is a sign of morality. Whatever happened "with age, brings more wisdom"?
By mid-movie I was nervously knitting my eyebrows. What kind of things were my sister reading from this movie? I sure as hell don't want my sister receiving these clumsy bullcrap messages.
Furthermore, masculinity is also a messily handled topic in this movie. Flynn is portrayed as an alpha male that practically hits on anything that walks... well he doesn't actually but he alludes to it. Strangely, he also has a sensitive side. I have a feeling though that his sensitivity served more for the romantic purposes than anything. It's the classic "he's a tough guy but not really and that really gets us girls hot" move. What Disney doesn't realize (among so many other chick flick makers) that inserting a new dimension in a stereotypically masculine character doesn't broaden gender horizons. In fact, it diminishes any possibility for a balanced male character because it still feeds into stereotypes. You've got to break stereotypes, not work with them if you want to get anywhere.
Yes, I understand that Tangled in merely a cartoon movie. A movie that many find harmless and are probably scratching their heads at my complaints. But it's not. It's bothersome that such sensitive issues were not approached with more care in this movie. In our life, much of what we learn is through what we see. And that's why it's so frightening that the influence of careless media is only growing.
Tread lightly, Disney. Please teach our children better.
Wow, the ending was not what I expected from the introduction, yet it was delightful and insightful (see, I have rhyming skills beyond third grade) to read. Since I have never seen this movie, I can't argue with you about it, but wouldn't you agree that the point of Disney movies is not to teach but rather to generate a profit? Breaking stereotypes is important, but would it sell? Probably, or probably not. As you say, this is just a cartoon movie with the purpose to entertain, so wouldn't it be unlikely that children will remark upon the bizarrely realistic hero or the wrinkly and wise old mother? Why don't we save that lesson for the next Hannah Montana episode? Excellent post. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWow. I totally did not see all of this when I watched Tangled. You bring up a lot of good points, and I think I'm going to have to rewatch the movie and see if I can pick up on some of the things you've said. Very interesting. So, what do you think of some of the other Disney movies? Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are awful gender wise, but what do you think about Mulan?
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting that you mentioned this because ever since I've been in Gender Studies I can't watch any movie or read any book without analyzing it and finding myself disgusted by it. The other day my sister and I were watch How To Train Your Dragon, and although the gender stereotypes were not that bad, I mentally freaked out whenever I saw them clearly portrayed by the characters. Now I must watch Tangled!
ReplyDeleteThis is surprising! I had heard such positive comments about Tangled. I have not seen the movie but in the previews it looked like the standard Disney movie. You have a point in saying that Disney propels traditional gender stereotypes in all their movies. Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteReally, Notre Dame? Huh. I'd thought about seeing the movie but now I won't.
ReplyDeleteI find Disney movies to have horrible gender messages overall, along with bad values relating to conventional beauty. But your post also makes me realize that Disney doesn't help at all with our society's unhealthy attitude toward aging. It seems like Disney often associates age (and lack of physical beauty) with moral corruption and youth (and beauty) with goodness.
ReplyDeleteMaia:
ReplyDeleteAlthough I love Disney (mostly for sentimental reasons though), Mulan is a horrifying example of a thoughtless and ignorant film plot. It's gender messages are I suppose fine for young children considering that all they get out of it is the simplistic message that girls can be as strong as boys. But when you take a deeper look, you'll see that Mulan takes a stab at the rigidity of gender roles but it stumbles with it's portrayal of masculinity. My largest issue with this movie though is it's politically incorrectness twinged with some racist elements. I believe the Japanese flag was waved at some point in the movie and the Huns should actually be Mongolians from what I understand. It also subtly enforces exoticism which I take much issue with.