Ariel: female stereotypes


Ariel: female stereotypes

Ariel from The Little Mermaid represents the most conformist of the three female leaders that are going to be analyzed all along the different posts. She is willing to leave everything apart in order to be with a man she has never seen before. From a feminist perspective, it is also really important to comment the fact that she gives her voice so she can have legs (Laura Sells 175). Thus, she is giving up the right she has as a human being (to have a voice, here in both a literal and figurative sense) at the same time as she is trying to fulfil certain stereotypes (instead of being different, she wants to be like everybody else, having two legs). There are many different articles on the matter on the internet that you can read, alluding to The Little Mermaid as being embarrassingly retrograde in terms of its gender politics." 



In spite the passive and submissive traits of this female protagonist, the figure of the evil character is really important to make us think about the role of women in Disney movies. Ursula, instead of being only an evil character, is a strong and powerful character that rejects what is expected of females and who explicitly talks about the fact that men do not like women who do out of the ordinary and who do not accept the classical role associated to them, as she does. In order to know more about this issue, you can check out the presentation we did on the matter, which is attached below: 


Nevertheless, every coin has two sides and we all should think about the possible feminist ideas presented on the songs Ariel sings all along the movie. This topic will be explored in upcoming posts, however, I want you to listen to the song below and to start thinking about it:



See you soon!

Daniel


Reference list:
  • "The Feminist Legacy of The Little Mermaid's Divisive, 'Sexy' Ariel" The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2014,  https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-little-mermaid-at-25-and-the-evolving-definition-of-strong-female/382581/. Accessed 10 May 2017. Web.
  • Sells, Laura. "'Where do the mermaids stand?' Voice and Body in The Little Mermaid" From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Eds. Elizabeth BellLynda Haas, and Laura Sells. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995. 175-181. Print. 

Comentarios

  1. I think that you have presented a very interesting perspective of the movie and the character. Also, the songs are really interesting elements that support your ideas.

    Rubén Ajo García

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    1. Thank you, Rubén!

      Yes, it is really important to bear in mind all the elements that take part in the building up of an entity, whether ir is fictional or not!

      Ariel is always aggressively attacked but I consider essential to try to look beyond.

      Daniel Renedo.

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  2. The way Ariel is trying to follow certain social stereotypes is, in my view, a bit disappointing (she renounces to her voice in order to have legs!). In any case, your analysis on her character is very interesting. In my opinion, we should be more critical when watching Disney movies.
    Nuria Sánchez

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    1. Thank you, Nuria!

      That's it, I agree with you that we need to be critical when watching Disney movies but it is also important to be insightful when judging them. We cannot judge one character only from what she does, like in this particular case, but also for what she says.

      Daniel Renedo

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