Animated Film Mulan How Mulan defys gender stereotyped and socialization roles
Animated Film Mulan How Mulan defys gender stereotyped and socialization roles
Animated Film: Mulan Feminism/Gender Identity/Sexuality Stands out from the usual Disney (damsel in distress) princesses Strong female character who offers a positive gender representation for young viewers. Portrays gender stereotyped and socialization roles. Representation and ideologies surrounding it according to media (USe one quote from here, I’ll post the reading below) Encoding/Decoding (Use 1 quote from here, I’ll post the reading below) Soundtrack: “Reflection” (duality of her identity) Female Gaze Use these 2 quotes Quote 1: “While many adults perceive children’s animated film as harmless, the plot, characters, and voice-acting in these films police the boundaries of gender fiercely.” Quote 2: “characters wilfully choose gender ambiguity. And in these instances, their gender transgressions warrant punishment.” Both quotes from G Patterson’s & Leland G. Spencer’s “What’s so funny about a snowman in a tiara? Exploring gender identity and gender nonconformity in children’s animated films” (PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE “201FINAL.PDF”) Extra Info: Encoding, decoding Communication not linear – Sender>Message>Receiver (picture, diagram you can find it online too) Encoding: example: Director’s intended meanings encoded based on their ideologies, aims & intentions Decoding: Audience decodes meaning on their ideologies, aims & intentions Three ways a receiver can decode
1. Dominant Reading: Receiver accepts & reproduces the code to the producer
2. Negotiated Reading: Code broadly received but only partially shared with the producer
3. Oppositional Reading: Receiver understands the readings but rejects the code There are social & economic structures that shape the way receivers perceive messages Female Gaze (academic) Argument that there’s no such thing Not equivalent to male gaze What is fetishized in the female gaze is strength, vigor, power Reaffirms male power & dominance Men can be motivation (prize at the end of film) Men rarely decorative Male sexuality continues to be celebrated Female gaze (non-academic) Definition is on going It is not about asserting female dominance Presence – Emotion: A way of feeling/seeing – Story: Shows how it feels to be object of gaze -Characters: Remove women as object & allows viewers to see shift
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