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 CƠNG 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 năm 2019 VNU – HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities Date SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 2018 - 2019 CHANGES IN THE AUTONOMY OF DISNEY FEMALE CHARACTERS THROUGH SNOW WHITE, CINDERELLA, FROZEN AND MOANA Topic: Research group’s members No Full name Role Phone number Email Nguyễn Diệu Minh Hằng Lead researcher 0825519676 minhhangnguyendieu@ gmail.com Lê Trần Minh Anh Researcher 0932214881 minhanhletran1510@ gmail.com Lê Nguyễn Bảo Trân Researcher 0938241298 baotran24121998@ gmail.com Mai Nguyên Khôi Researcher 0763187183 mrkhoi825@gmail.com Nguyễn Việt Hưng Researcher 0385341447 viethung604@gmail.com This report includes No HCMC, April 2019 Document Scientific report Others Yes No º º º º 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 Total gender role characteristics and behaviors by each Princess Table Full list of gender characteristics and behaviors Table Coded characteristics for the prince and princess characters in the Disney princess films (England et al., 2011, p 558) Chart Percentage of gender role characteristics and behaviors by each Princess Chart 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 Chart 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 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 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'OréalUNESCO Foundation for her “Study on Fucoidan Micelles for Cancer Diagnosis and Cole, N.L (2019), “Emma Watson’s 2014 Speech on Gender Equality” Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/transcript-of-emma-watsons-speech-on-gender-equality-3026200 Love Happens magazine (2018), “Women Empowerment: Angelina Jolie” Retrieved from: https://www.lovehappensmag.com/blog/2018/03/19/women-empowerment-angelina-jolie/ Saul,H (2017), “What Theresa May has done for women” Retrieved from: https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-may-done-women/ The Australian Women’s Weekly (2018), “The power list - Michelle Obama and the influential women leading the current shift in gender equality” Retrieved from: https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/lifestyle/career/michelleobama-and-the-influential-women-leading-the-current-shift-in-gender-equality-39670 1 Treatment"2, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien - Professional athlete in swimming, who participated in a lot of international sporting events and brought glory for the country or Ms Ngo Thanh Van, an actress, who has proved herself to be one of the top actresses in the country and is contributing to bring our movie industry closer to the world by starring in several Hollywood movies, such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Bright and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 23 The above list shows that Vietnamese women can be successful in so many fields such as politics, business, science, education, entertainment, arts, sports, and so on The commonality of the most influential women is their strong, persistent ability and their autonomy to help them rise and succeed 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 Phạm Duy (2015), “Nữ tiến sĩ y khoa trẻ Việt Nam giới vinh danh” Retrieved from: https://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/thoi-su/nu-tien-si-y-khoa-tre-cua-viet-nam-duoc-the-gioi-vinh-danh-3154714.html “Nức lịng Ngơ Thanh Vân đóng loạt phim Hollywood” (2017) Retrieved from: https://baomoi.com/nuc-longngo-thanh-van-dong-loat-phim-hollywood/c/22386996.epi 2 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 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 for their wedding, people in eastern countries 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 Tinh, N.V (2014) “Hôn nhân qua mối giới phụ nữ Việt Nam đàn ông nước ngày gia tăng trở lên phức tạp” Retrieved from: https://songoaivu.bacgiang.gov.vn/vi/hơn-nhân-qua-mối-giới-giữa-phụ-nữviệt-nam-và-đàn-ơng-nước-ngồi-ngày-càng-gia-tăng-và-trở-nên-phức-tạp 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 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 “Thực trạng kết có yếu tố nước ngồi 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 independently of the castle If the animals did not lead her to the seven dwarfs’ house, she would have spent the whole night crying in the wood And when being poisoned with the apple, Snow White cannot anything but wait for the Prince to come and save her life Without the Prince, she would sleep forever Those mentioned details indicate the mindset of Disney film makers which is the total independence of female protagonist on male characters and external help Throughout the journey of Snow White, the majority of her behaviors are passive, even her life is saved by the strange hunter and the Prince who she has never met before In Cinderella (1950), the main character Cinderella does have autonomy including aspirational for exploration/knowledge/success (2.7%), assertive (10.8%), but that is not too significant since some traits are not shown such as independent (0%), brave (0%), and leader (0%) Generally, she is still quite dependent, and she does struggle in fighting for her life, her true love and her liberty However, her actions seem to be hopeless and useless Cinderella still needs help from the others including the fairy godmother and the mice to overcome her predicaments, for example, when doing chores, going to the ball, unlocking the door to try on the slipper, etc Though she makes great effort to everything on her own, she fails in all, and the fairy godmother and the mice have to lend her a hand To be more specific, when she asks for her stepmother’s permission to go to the ball, though she has already dressed up and is ready, she is still forced to stay home Without the help of her fairy godmother, she could not have got to the ball When being locked in her own room, she does slam the door and asks to be released, but everything seems to be in vain until the mouse turns up to rescue Cinderella It is clear that in Cinderella, the female protagonist has more autonomy that makes her more active in solving her own problems But at the same time, the typical motif that she should receive a lot of external help still happens This shows us the fact that Disney producers recognize the autonomy of female protagonists in some aspects, but their stereotype of “a Princess should be rescued by a Prince” is still so hard to reject 22 In contrast, in the 21st century movies such as Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016), these heroines are the ones who directly solve their own problems They have more autonomy, and they overcome their drawbacks with very little external forces In Frozen (2013), although Elsa is quite passive when controlling her own power, in the end, she is also the one who figures out how to keep it under control and makes the best use of it In the whole journey, Elsa does feel scared and confused, but it is understandable Those feelings cannot blind us from her willingness to be free and independent In fact, she does fight against Hans’ army and breaks the handcuffs to get out of the prison and save her sister, Anna Moana (2016) is definitely the movie in which the female protagonists have the most autonomy In the movie, since her childhood, Moana has shown everyone how brave and adventurous she is while so excitedly listening to the story of the monster Growing up, Moana still keeps her love for adventure and exploration that triggers her to step her feet out of the safe border of the island Her autonomy is clearly revealed when she decides to leave her village without any permission or support from her family to save the village Encountering thunder, big waves and so on, though she still shows her physical weakness, she manages to overcome all She also fights back a group of pirates - Kaka After being left by Maui, she still determines to continue her journey to what she believes is true In conclusion, it is noteworthy that there is a huge gap in the autonomy of the heroines in Disney movies between the 20th and 21st centuries The later, the more autonomy the main characters have From totally depending on the others, the female characters are then proven to be able to solve their problems on their own 4.3.1.2 In love: As in love, there is a tremendous disparity between the movies released in the 20th century and those in the 21st century In Snow White and Cinderella, the two female protagonists share the same trait of dreaminess It is worth noticing that both movies start with the scene of their singing melodic yet so dreaming songs about finding true love This indicates the mindset of Disney producers at the time In the 20th 23 century, women were often described as dependent on men to save their lives and it is clearly shown in these movies Snow White is quite passive in waiting for her lover to come when singing the song with lyrics such as “I’m wishing for the one I love to find me today” or “someday my prince will come” (Snow White, 1937), implying that her happiness relies on the presence of a man It has never occurred to her that she could find him herself Besides, Snow White is also the first movie ever to imply the idea of “true love’s kiss” When she dies of the poisonous apple, the Prince comes and saves her by putting a kiss on her lips This detail perfectly describes the stereotype of women’s dependence on men at the time This idea continued later on in Sleeping Beauty (1959), showing that there is not much change in the producers’ mindset during the 20th century Similarly, Cinderella’s life also changes after she meets the Prince Before, she is rather submissive (10.8%) She is technically the servant in her own home, following the orders from her stepmother and stepsisters without any resistance It is after her stepmother locks her inside of her room to prevent her from trying on the glass slipper that she shows a little sign of autonomy Having escaped with the help of the mice, she goes straight downstairs to ask for trying on the slipper Even when the shoe is broken, she immediately gives out the other one to ensure her chance of becoming the Prince’s wife However, this detail also indicates that Cinderella depends on the Prince to change her miserable life Without the Prince, there would not be any changes, and Cinderella would still be trapped in her usual impasse Moving to the 21st century, it apparently appears that the heroines in Disney movies have become more independent As Chart suggests, the percentage of masculine characteristics of the main female characters in Frozen (Anna 46.4%; Elsa 65.1%) and Moana (72.4%) are gradually higher than in Snow White (28.6%) and Cinderella (21.6%) The autonomy in love manifested in the movies of the 21st century is more distinctive than in the other prior two Frozen (2013) has a female protagonist Elsa, who is portrayed with modern independent girls’ personalities from the beginning She is created as an assertive 24 and independent woman She does not gently walk, sing to animals the songs about finding true love as well as is not abused by stepmothers or strictly controlled by their parents like the previous princesses Elsa does not involve in relationships, and she rather enjoys her freedom As the data we collected, her independent trait is the highest among the characters with 9.7% and her assertiveness also shares the same percentage Furthermore, her prominent autonomy is her magic No one should abuse her as she could use her power to strike back Besides, when she flees to the North mountain, she expresses all her feelings via “Let it go”, an anthem of human’s independence, showing that she “don’t care what they going to say”, that “that perfect girl is gone” or “I’m free” (Frozen, 2013) She is kind of rebellious towards people’s criticism and she decides to leave on her own She is not scared of loneliness but hates people’s comments and control on her more Thus, overall, Elsa is a strong queen who never lets anyone evade her freedom and change her decisions She always protects her own life without letting anyone manipulate it, even though she has to isolate herself One additional interesting detail from the movie is the come back of “true love” While “the act of true love” in the previous century is described as a “true love kiss”, in Frozen, it is revealed to be the love of sisterhood, indicating an apparent change in the movie producers’ perception about feminism The great difference in Moana (2016) is that it does not include any sign of love between prince and princess throughout the whole movie The most noticeable evidence is the theme song While the songs in Snow White and Cinderella both share the same pattern of belief, which is waiting for the man of your dream to come and save your life They all imply the message that dreaming and waiting patiently will be the best This can be inferred from the lyrics such as “ I’m wishing for the one I love to find me…” (Snow White, 1937) or “ If you keep on believing The dream that you wish will come true” (Cinderella, 1950) On the other hand, the theme song of Moana clearly shows a different point of view from the previous two It all surrounds the matter of finding one’s true self Despite being in a difficult situation where she has to choose between pleasing her family and 25 being who she is, she strongly determines to respond to her inner call and on her own find out where she belongs to And no one can stop her from fulfilling her dream “ if I go there’s just no telling how far I go…” (Moana, 2016) Based on the number of love indicators, from having several to having less and no indicators at all, it can be concluded that there are certain changes in how Disney producers build up the traits, especially the autonomy in love for the female characters throughout the time as well as the message they want to convey in their movies 4.3.1.3 In relationship with family members: It is quite noticeable that Snow White and Cinderella share the same characteristics as docile and submissive girls within their families As a princess, Snow White is forced by her stepmother to housework and run errands, which should be done by servants and maids at the time; and we can easily see that she seems to have no intention of defying such absurdity but obediently does what is told Even when it comes to her knowledge that her stepmother has ordered a huntsman to kill her, she can nothing but runs away to hide from the queen Again, she shows no intention of seeking revenge or releasing herself from a life that keeps haunting her with threats The same situation goes for Cinderella Despite being abused by her stepmother and stepsisters, she does not fight back or show any protest whatsoever She has to wake up early in the morning and all the housework, including serving breakfast, cleaning the house, feeding chickens, etc., just to avoid her stepmother’s fury being cast upon her It is clearly implied in her songs that she has dreams, but does not actually try to achieve them When the opportunity arrives, which is the royal ball, she does try to go there, but then her effort has been completely devastated as her two stepsisters tear her dress into pieces This time, all she does is running away and crying It is quite obvious that being forced to become maids in their own homes would contribute nothing to achieving their dreams, yet so meekly these princesses, Snow 26 White and Cinderella, accept what is imposed on them To put it another way, they have shown little or no autonomy to decide what their lives would be, rather they behave in a very similar way to that of a typical princess in the previous centuries (being docile, concerning over physical appearance, depending on men to name a few) On the other hand, princesses in recent movies such as Anna, Moana and Elsa are quite different Moana, the successor of the tribe leader, always tries her best to listen to the call from her heart Although her father forbids her to sail across the reef - the border of safety zone of her island, she still insists on it with the hope to save her people regardless of potential hazards on her journey In the scene where she has just learnt the whole truth about her ancestors and the way to solve the problem in the village, she immediately runs to her father in order to suggest the solutions to him Not acting as an obedient daughter, she stands up against her father and gives her opinions about finding Maui to solve the issue and save the island Realizing she would receive no permission or any help from him, in addition to being supported and persuaded by her grandmother, Moana goes on an adventure by herself to what she believes is right Elsa and Anna, as said above, are intrinsically self-reliant girls Having lost their parents at a very young age, they have to find their own ways to manage their emotions Anna has proven herself to be a decisive girl who makes choices for her own life when she says she wants to marry Hans Also, when Hans and she tell Elsa about the proposal, Anna does not seem to care about the consent but focus on planning marriage with Hans, implying that she is simply announcing not asking When Elsa says “no” to the proposal, Anna argues back for a “yes” About Elsa, she has always been powerful in her behaviors toward people When Anna asks her to come back, she strongly refuses, showing that she could handle the loneliness for the safety of her sister As Anna keeps insisting, she coldly creates a golem to send Anna away She is a queen and has her own decision, so nobody should demand her In brief, the two princesses from Frozen are more independent 27 than the others of Disney In the end, it is themselves who break the spell, not the true love kiss as in the other movies of the earlier times This has shown a positive trend in the change of the filmmakers’ minds on princesses’ autonomy As can be easily noticed from the four movies, there is a major shift in term of autonomy regarding the relationships among the protagonists with their family members While the princesses from the older movies (Snow White and Cinderella) are quite passive and have little right to make decisions for their own lives, the other princesses from recent movies (Anna, Elsa and Moana) have proven themselves to be strong, independent individuals who have the power to whatever they feel is right, even when they are told otherwise 4.3.2 The influence of Feminist Movement on the autonomy of the main female characters portrayed in the four movies 4.3.2.1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Cinderella (1950) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was produced in 1937, right after the first wave of feminism The focus of this period was on women's suffrage Thus, other aspects were not emphasized To be specific, women at the time were still ascribed to the role of housekeepers, or to other characteristics such as beautiful, docile or submissive, etc These traits were clearly reflected in Snow White as mentioned before On the other hand, Cinderella was filmed in 1950, at the early stage of the second wave of feminism At this time, the feminist movement, other than earning women's suffrage, did not progress much as men were still receiving more privileges, and their female counterparts were still taken as lightly as being nothing more than men's property or achievement Cinderella is depicted as a kind, beautiful and submissive girl who does everything she is told without fighting back It can be seen that all the adhered female characteristics manifested themselves in her personality In brief, the two movies seem to be quite similar in terms of the female portrayals after the first wave of feminism The difference between those two in this regard seem very little and insignificant 28 4.3.2.2 Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016) Frozen (2013) and Moana (2016) are the two movies produced during the third wave of feminism in which people try to create a matriarchal society and achieve the equality of both sexes As analyzed, it is clearly shown that Elsa (Frozen) or Moana (Moana) are those who decide how their lives would be They are no longer controlled by the others (or they used to be under control but still achieve the autonomy in the end) Their autonomy is an evidence for the equality of both sexes in the third wave of feminism To be more specific, in Frozen, in the end, Elsa can control her power, use it effectively and rule her own kingdom without any assistance from a male partner It is also somehow shown in the movies that the society or the kingdom is matriarchal because its ruler is a queen Therefore, the stereotype of a patriarchal country where only the king has all rights is no longer true Now, not only women are equal to men but they can be independent from men Similarly, in Moana, Moana is the only one who is brave and determined to step out of her village to find the way to bring everything back Even her father, who rules that tribe, tries to prevent her from what he thinks is dangerous Moana does what men not and she has proven that she can achieve anything on her own That is the proof not only for the equality of two genders but also for a matriarchal society In short, the two movies share the same similarity that the position of women in those societies is significantly improved Women now are no longer under control and able to determine their life as men can Those are the vital characteristics of the third wave of feminism 4.3.2.3 From the 20th century movies to the 21st century movies From a general perspective, there is a tremendous difference between the portrayal of female protagonists in the era of the first two waves of feminism and during the third The most noticeable evolution lies in the life goals of these characters During the first two waves, the patriarchal society still imposed considerable effects on people’s viewpoints, so marriage was the only exit for women at the time Therefore, either Snow White or Cinderella, though having the will to break free from their miserable life, always dreams of their princes as the heroes to extricate 29 them from the rough reality Intrinsically, they have no intents to start their own new life, but they want to become a part of someone’s lush life Meanwhile, love is not the main theme of Frozen or Moana The most intense interests of the 21thcentury female protagonists are “freedom” and “heroic acts” “Heroic act” is also the life goal of Moana as she bravely struggles to help the people on her island through challenges and storms Besides life goal, the role of these characters in family and society also changed If Snow White is still a princess being inferior to the Evil Queen or Cinderella is a stepchild being abused and made to housework, Elsa is a queen herself Moana is also the daughter of a tribe’s chief, but she does not always listen to her father all the time Female protagonists in the 21th century movies get more involvement in activities which are traditionally believed to be masculine such as being a leader or instructor in manual works or fighting with pirates or demons, like Moana, and ruling a kingdom or running into the forest, like Elsa Meanwhile, all that Snow White and Cinderella are just housework In general, female protagonists in the 21th century movies have gain more masculine trait, receive more equal treatment in society and perform more masculine work than those in the 20th century films, indicating Disney producers’ adoption of contemporary feminism movement Also, they portray the female protagonist not only with equal rights but also equal responsibilities, which is educational to young female audience V Conclusion: 5.1 Summary of Research Findings Through analyzing the four movies using a detailed coding method adapted from previous studies (Hibbeler, 2009; May, 2009; England at el., 2011), the research is able to confirm the changes in the autonomy of the Disney Princesses in the four movies, stretching from the 20th century to the early 21st century Specifically, the research analyzes the changes in autonomy through three aspects of behaviors Those aspects are when the princesses are facing difficulties; being in love; and being in a familial setting Although the princesses in the 21st century (Elsa and Moana) still retain some traditional feminine traits, they have a considerably active and 30 autonomous role to play, whereas the 20th century princesses (Snow White and Cinderella) are much more passive and submissive This reflects the impact of the three waves of feminism on the characterization of the Disney Princesses The movie Snow White (1937) was produced during the early stage of the first wave, when feminism had only started and had not gained much notice Because of this, not many elements of feminism is shown through the heroine Snow White, she stayed mostly traditionally feminine The movie Cinderella (1950) was produced in the late stage of the first wave and early stage of the second wave This is when women are fighting for their legal and social rights Some of these elements are seen in Cinderella when she struggles to gain happiness outside of the confinement of her house However, she still stayed traditionally feminine Fast-forward to the third wave of feminism with the two movies, Frozen (2013) and Moana (2015), where many factors such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, and nationality are all considered when discussing feminism This is shown by the diversity of appearance that the princesses have, from light to dark skins, various hair colors; as well as by how they behave and interact in their respective movies However, although the behaviors of the 21st century Disney princesses have become more androgynous and/or masculine, some princesses’ appearance remains feminine with hourglass figures and thin body shape (Anna and Elsa), though tamer than that of the early 20th century princesses (Cinderella and Snow White) The latest Disney movie Moana (2016) features the heroine Moana with a more proportionate and realistic figure Overall, from the early 20th century to the 21st century, the Disney princesses have shown a change in autonomy in their behaviors This indicates that the Disney film producers have shown more concerns over the feminist movement in the current society and this is reflected through the characterization of newer Disney movies’ female protagonists 31 5.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Research Since the movies can be viewed on the Internet, the researchers are easily able to get access to the movies and gather appropriate data for the research Another advantage is that the coding method used to analyze the movies is adapted from previous studies (Hibbeler, 2009; May, 2009; England at el., 2011), so the researchers have several guidelines in order to conduct the research effectively Also, since the research is done by a group of researchers, the data collected can be cross-checked in order to minimize the missing of details and information However, as the movies are quite lengthy, missing details is unavoidable, though they have been kept to the minimum Also, since the research only focuses on the changes in autonomy of the female protagonists of the four movies, it does not concern itself with the portrayals of supporting female characters The researchers feel that in order for future researches to gain insight into the view of Disney producers on feminism as a whole, the behaviors of supporting female characters should also be taken into consideration 32 APPENDIX TABLE 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