Date of Award
Spring 5-2018
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
First Advisor
Phillip Gentile
Advisor Department
Mass Communication and Journalism
Abstract
Film is a relatively young art form and industry compared to others, such as music and dance. Its origins go back no more than 150 years, yet criticism surrounds film over the lack of originality. The Walt Disney Company, or Disney, is one of the most well-known companies in the industry, and it too is accused of recycling some of the same narrative elements and images in its films. This recycling of themes, characters, animation, plot points, and more are known as formulas that Disney uses to ensure financial success. In recent years, the film industry, but more specifically Hollywood, and Disney have been reprimanded for the lack of diversity in films in regards to the positive representation of people of color and true feminist characters. In an attempt to satisfy audiences, Disney began producing films from cultures outside of Europe that star feminist-approved female leads. This thesis uses contextual and narrative structure analysis to determine how Disney brought a new perspective to audiences but still followed the concept of the Disney formula in the films Mulan and Moana.
Copyright
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Recommended Citation
Arcadia, Aricelia, "From Perfect Daughter to Feminist: How Culture Disguises Disney’s Recycled Formula in Mulan and Moana" (2018). Honors Theses. 613.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/613