The Active Heroine: Spectatorship, Female Representation and the Femininity of She-Ra Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Philosophie an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz vorgelegt von Saskia FUERST am Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanisitk Begutachter Dr. Klaus Rieser Graz, 15. Dezember 2009 For Mummy,Christa and for Michi, too “I’m afraid of nothing!” - Force Captain Adora (aka Princess Adora) “You can do anything, but not everything.” - David Allen TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IV INTRODUCTION 1 ANIMATED WORKS AND THE VIEWER 2 METHODOLOGY 4 PAPER OUTLINE 5 1) ANIMATION 7 1.1) HISTORY OF ANIMATION 7 1.2) GENRE OR MEDIUM 9 1.3) ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES 11 1.4) WOMEN IN ANIMATION 13 1.5) ANIMATION: FOR CHILDREN OR ADULTS? 14 1.6) WHY ANIMATED FILMS? 16 1.7) CONCLUSION 18 2) SHE-RA AS A HEROINE 19 2.1) THE FOLK TALE AS A MOVIE 19 2.2) THE MORPHOLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE SECRET OF THE SWORD 22 2.3) ANALYZATION OF THE CLASSIFICATION 24 2.3.1) THE TRADITIONAL VICTIM HERO 25 2.3.2) THE NEW ROLE OF WOMEN IN FILM AND SOCIETY 27 2.4) THE ACTIVE HEROINE 29 3) THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST 33 3.1) EARLY ANIMATED WOMEN 33 3.2) THE ACTION HEROINE 35 3.3) THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEX/GENDER 37 3.3.1) THE MARK OF GENDER/SEX 39 3.3.2) THE SOCIAL BODY 40 3.4) VISUAL CODES CONVEY MEANING 41 3.5) THE REPRESENTATION OF SHE-RA 43 3.6) CONCLUSION 52 4) SPECTATORSHIP IN SHE-RA 55 4.1) THE APPARATUS THEORY 56 4.1.2) FETISHISM WITHIN CINEMA 59 4.1.3) THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN CONVENTIONAL FILMS 60 4.2) OPPOSITIONAL GAZES AND SPECTATORS 62 4.3) FANTASY IN FILM VIEWING 66 4.4) CONCLUSION 68 i 5) SHE-RA’S TARGETED AUDIENCE: YOUNG GIRLS 69 5.1) PARENTS AND THE CHILD VIEWER 69 5.2) THE GIRL CHILD VIEWER 70 5.3) CONSUMPTION OF SHE-RA 72 5.4) GENDERING LITTLE GIRLS AND BOYS 73 5.5) CONCLUSION 74 6) CONCLUSION 76 BIBLIOGRAPHY 78 ii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: FORCE CAPTAIN ADORA ENGAGING HE-MAN IN A SWORD FIGHT 30 FIGURE 2: QUEEN ANGELLA RESTORES HER POWERS 31 FIGURE 3: THE DVD COVER FOR THE SECRET OF THE SWORD 44 FIGURE 4: PRINCESS ADORA 46 FIGURE 5: SHE-RA: PRINCESS OF POWER 48 FIGURE 6: THE SORCERESS OF GRAYSKULL 50 FIGURE 7: MADAME RAZZ 51 FIGURE 8: FORCE CAPTAIN ADORA DIRECTING THE CAMERA GAZE 62 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A Master’s thesis is a process, starting from the conception, along the bumpy path of research and actual writing until the final, completed version. As to be expected, it took longer than hoped for and required assistance from many people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Rieser for becoming my advisor, even though his knowledge of my topic was limited, Dr. Schultermandl for inspiring me to become a university professor and Dr. Campbell for telling me to just get it done ☺. As to be expected, there were many stages of doubt, lack of motivation and instances of procrastination. Thanks mom for bearing through all these stages with me! There was a point when I thought I may not actually finish this paper with all my other responsibilities crowding in on me, thank you so very much Michi for believing in me and always providing me with motivation, energy and a clear path to complete this task. You are one in a million! And of course, there were numerous bureaucratic obstacles hindering the completion of my M.A. and formatting for the new, anti-plagiarism requirement of K.F. University was just one of the many. Thank you Andreas for “fixing” this paper! You are a life-saver ☺. And to the readers of this paper, I hope you find (re)new(ed), positive and empowering reasons for delving into the wonderful, femininely powerful world of She- Ra! S.F. iv INTRODUCTION Until the 1980s, the female action hero, the action heroine, was a scarce character in the American visual culture, especially regarding the animation industry. The predominant roles of female cartoon characters were based on traditionally defined female occupations and positions such as housewives, daughters, sisters, possessions and passive sidekicks for the male hero. When present in cartoons, female characters usually partook in “feminine” activities such as housewifely duties, playing with dolls and passively interacting with the other characters. Few female characters initiated plot sequences or had active roles in films or television series. In fact, women on screen often needed to be rescued by their male counterparts. Their sole function in the visual media entailed being an object to be fought over, saved or protected by the men on screen. In contrast, the male characters initiated plots and complications in action sequences, were the “doers” in the animated works and, as such, inhabited the active, “masculine” role in animated series and visual culture in general. With the advent of the Feminist Movement, animated movies and television shows are now being produced and directed by women, who attempt to bring more variety and positive representations of women into visual media. The female hero is present in animated series and films but the “politics of representation” (cf. Hall 1997: 8) surrounding these figures is still highly contested. The introduction of progressive and varied, active images of women in the animation industry is constrained by the discourse of power between the sexes, the question of spectatorship, the sexualization of the female characters and the limited, often stereotypical, representations of femininity in the media. How advantageous is the female leading character in animation if she is still confined to specific though more varied roles? In the field of animation, the only limits a character faces are those imposed by the animator. Therefore, it is important to examine how female heroes are presented and why certain trends dominate their characterizations. 1 Animated Works and the Viewer Most children growing up in a Western society today watch cartoons as part of their daily routines. While the exact number of hours for each child varies, it is safe to say that most Western children are familiar not only with a standard variety of television (TV) cartoons but also with animated films, especially those from the Disney Studios. It is not only children who are familiar with animation but also adults in their role as caretakers. Parents, guardians and caregivers watch animated film productions and cartoon series with their children, not only for entertainment but also to ascertain which animated works and cartoons are appropriate for their children or charges. They determine which shows and films the children are allowed to watch and offer them specific toys, associated with the movies and TV series, to play with, in order to influence the behavior of the children (cf. Bulger 1988: 184). Simultaneously, more animated works are targeted specifically towards adults, such as The Simpsons Movie (2007) and Shrek (2001). However, the genre of animation films and its impact on enforcing gender norms is not widely addressed due to the common impression that animation is only for children and thus not a “serious” topic. The predominant figures in animated works, set by Disney Studios as the widely recognized benchmark in animated films, are associated with innocence and conservative family and gender norms and values. As a result, some scholars believe these animated works do not require academic or social critique. Yet, children grow up to become full-fledged members of society. The influences of animation and cartoons during children’s developmental stage certainly have an effect on their ideas of gender norms and the division of labor as adults in society at large. Animated works reinforce specific gendered views of society that should be examined, outlined and commented upon critically, as they reflect the gender norms and values deemed acceptable and, in a few cases, challenge the standard norms. Animation, in itself, has the possibility to challenge reality and provide different possibilities, fantasies of a world in which characters can bend in an “unnatural” manner, animals can talk, inanimate objects can move and the animator can include her/his hands and drawing tools in the cartoon feature. The possibilities of challenging the social status quo are infinite. However, in order to be accepted by both the child and the adult viewer, the animated character or show has to be grounded in reality and is 2 often bound by socially accepted truths and norms, so that the viewer can identify with the character(s) in the animated work. Examining animated films as a cultural representation of an historical period provides scholars with ample material to analyze specific social events and trends. The fantasy aspect of animation allows for the expression of varied, diverse and diverging representations, yet at the same time, it fits into the larger scheme of the dominant ideology of established social meaning and parameters (cf. Wells 2002a: 13). According to Paul Wells, “The cartoon becomes inherently metaphysical because it is playing out creative ideas which are extrapolated from, and interpretive of, observational and representational codings.” (Wells 2002a: 7) Each cartoon series and animated film is inherently intertextual, remarking upon society at large with the possibility for critiquing or upholding certain societal standards. While this paper addresses the topics of animation and femininity broadly, it specifically explores the representations of the heroine, She-Ra: Princes of Power, in her debut film, The Secret of the Sword, released in 1985. The Secret of the Sword was the first, full length animation feature to have a female director, Gwen Wetzler, as part of the team working on the production (cf.