CONTENT UNIT: Disney Deconstruction Part One: Fairy Tales Media Studies 120

Most children, at some point in their lives, come in contact with fairytales of some sort. Brainstorm a list with your classmates of as many Fairy Tales as you can think of!

With your small group, pick one Fairy Tale that you know a lot about.

Look at the list of Common Elements of Fairy Tales and answer how each element applies to the tale you chose.

Common Elements of Fairy Tales  Do NOT need to include fairies.  Set in the past—usually significantly long ago. May be presented as a historical fact from the past.  Include fantasy, the supernatural or make-believe aspects.  Typically incorporate clearly defined good characters and evil characters.  Involves magic elements, which may be magical people, animals or objects. Magic may be positive or negative.  May include objects, people, or events in threes.  Focus the plot on a problem or conflict that needs to be solved.  Often have happy endings, based on the resolution of the conflict or problem.  Usually teach a lesson or demonstrate values important to the culture.

Your Fairy Tale  Share your results with the class.  Which of the Common Elements does your Fairy Tale have?  Which does it not have?

Any outliers?  Are there any stories you thought were fairy tales that don’t fit the majority of the criteria?  What about stories that aren’t normally cast as fairy tales? Star Wars? Matrix?

What is your favorite Disney Fairy Tale? Write it down on a blank sheet of paper. Explain why you like this particular choice.

Gender Roles  Culture is a social creation.  In other words, culture teaches us to play roles so we can easily relate to each other.  One type of role we play is gender roles, something we learn from birth.

Brainstorm words that describe the following roles as they are portrayed in these films:  The Step Mother The Step Mother The Step Mother  The Prince The Prince The Prince  The Princess / Female Lead The PrincessFemale Lead The PrincessFemale Lead  Mothers Mothers  Fathers Fathers  The Hero The Hero The Hero  The Villain The Villain The Villain

Clip #1  We are going to watch a clip of several Disney movies. Every Story... Disney Every Story... DisneyEvery Story... DisneyEvery Story... Disney While watching this clip, make note of:  The characteristics of men  The characteristics of women  The characteristics of romantic love

Clip #2  Sex, Strength and Dominance in Disney Sex, Strength and Dominance in Disney Sex, Strength and Dominance in Disney Again, in this clip what are:  The characteristics of men  The characteristics of women  The characteristics of romantic love

Disney Roles: Discussion  What are the characteristics of men?  What are the characteristics of women?  How are men and women portrayed together?  What do we learn about romantic relationships?  What can we generalize to be the roles of women and men?

 By now you know that nothing you see and hear in the media is an accident. Every person, place, thing and action is deliberately placed within the confines of a frame, for the purpose of making a statement, selling a product or sending a message.

 Media both reflects and reinforces social norms. Your earliest views of accepted stereotypical behavior may have been taught to you by family members, but were reinforced largely by movies and television.  Gender Roles – Interview with kids – Interview with kids– Interview with kids

 Keven M. Tavin and David Anderson stress that the manipulative mechanisms of G-rated films teach popular visual culture to youth. They claim that popular Disney films like, Cinderella or Snow White shape children’s perceptions on society, and in so doing, encourage them to construct preconceived notions on the world and how we “ought to” live in it.

 Do you agree? Do you feel classic Disney movies have shaped the way you view traditional male/female roles?  Has there been any evolution in more recent Disney films?  Top 25 Disney Male Characters Top 25 Disney Male Characters Top 25 Disney Male Characters  Progression of Disney Gender Roles Progression of Disney Gender Roles Progression of Disney Gender Roles  Opinion? Have we evolved? Why?

 Discuss the three lens we will use: Feminist Lens Feminist Lens Marxist Lens Marxist Lens Intertextuality (reacting to pop culture or creating pop culture) Intertextuality (reacting to pop culture or creating pop culture) We may also look at race and culture in Disney. We may also look at race and culture in Disney. Apply these to Shrek. Apply these to Shrek.