“Frozen” in Time: Dialect and Language Ideology in Disney Films
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“Frozen” in Time: Dialect and Language Ideology in Disney Films Sophie Brous A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics Tri College Department of Linguistics, Haverford College1 December 2020 Advisor: Kate Riestenberg 1 Deepest thanks to my advisor, Kate Riestenberg, for her support and guidance throughout the thesis process. Her suggestions continually pushed me to think deeply about my analysis, and I am truly grateful for her help and kindness, especially with the circumstances of this semester. I would also like to thank my second faculty reader Miranda Weinberg, junior seminar professor Emily Gasser, LING399 professor Amanda Payne, and everyone in my thesis cohort -- Blien Habtu, Patrick Osaseri, Emily Mow, Julian Lepeska-True, and Ally Freemond -- for reading my drafts, giving me suggestions, brightening my day over zoom, and giving me a glimpse into their own amazing work at each class meeting. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their continued support, with a special shoutout to my mom, Helen Garey, who helped me with the title! I couldn’t have done it without the help of all the people on this list -- thank you all so much. Brous 2 Abstract This thesis investigates the appearance of linguistic ideologies and stereotypes in four recent Disney films (Frozen 2013, Moana 2016, Coco 2017, and The Lion King 2019) as they compare to those studied in older animated films in the Disney canon. Utilizing a research framework based on previous work by Lippi Green (2012), as well as more recent work by Azad (2009), Sønnesyn (2011), Ellis (2012), and Soares (2017), I analyze the patterns and trends in these films, observing how different dialects and languages are used and which characters are speaking them. First analyzing the data collected according to the original studies’ methods, I then execute a broader, more nuanced analysis as I question the applicability of the original methods to the current study. Additionally, I consider the recent increase in discussion of media representation of minority racial and ethnic groups to contextualize the meaning and importance of linguistic representation and the harms of linguistic discrimination, especially considering Disney’s young and impressionable audiences. Collecting data from the above four films including film settings, characters’ dialects and/or languages spoken, and characters’ motivation, I conclude that though Disney has made positive strides in their representation of marginalized dialects and languages, there is much work to be done to undo the damage of their past films and to be more inclusive in their future films. I conclude additionally that their current films are more similar than different to older ones when considering how dialect, language, and culture are used and tokenized, and that this reality is largely rooted not only in the company’s history but its primary interests in profit as a corporation. Brous 3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………4 2. Defining Language Ideology…………………………………………………………..5 3. Disney’s History and Impact………………………………………………………….9 4. Rosina Lippi-Green and the Language Discrimination of Disney………………….14 5. Previous Research: Other Disney Dialect Studies…………………………………..16 6. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………...20 7. Data…………………………………………………………………………………….22 8. Analysis………………………………………………………………………………...26 8.1 Frozen……………………………………………………………………...26 8.2 Coco.……………………………………………………………………….29 8.3 Moana……………………………………………………………………...32 8.4 The Lion King……………………………………………………………..35 8.5 Trends and Comparisons…………………………………………………38 9. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..40 10. References………………………………………………………………………….......43 Brous 4 1. Introduction If you are reading this, chances are you have heard of Disney. One of the most popular production companies with some of the highest grossing animated films in history, Disney is understandably beloved by many. Disney films have touched the lives of millions, adults and children alike, inspiring joy and excitement. However, it must be said that Disney is not an altruistic entity, or a nonprofit organization. No, they are a corporation, and one with a particularly questionable history at that. While Disney is known to some as pure magic, others consider it steeped in the murky waters of its sexism and racism, transmitted through the stories it tells and the products it sells. This history is made more concerning when you consider that their customer base is largely made up of young, impressionable children. When considering Disney’s past, there are many viewpoints through which we can examine these harms, but in this thesis I have chosen to focus on language--specifically, on the ways in which Disney disseminates harmful language ideologies to its young viewers. These ideologies, which I will define and examine in the next section, may seem harmless or even natural to some, but in fact they have the potential to create real damage to many people, and this potential is exponentially higher precisely when we treat them as the natural order of the world. In order to understand and question them, we must first recognize the existence of an alternative. I do not wish to attack Disney, nor its audiences and loving fans. Nor do I wish to suggest we cannot enjoy Disney movies and products. Rather, I propose that we must not simply watch and absorb; instead we must critically examine the messages sent our way. No one is immune to the influences of the media we consume, but with some effort we are all capable of questioning them. Brous 5 In this thesis, I will investigate the specific language ideologies perpetuated by Disney. Considering the context of increasing importance placed on visibility and representation of minority characters in films, I will question whether or not dialect and language has been given a similar degree of importance by producers. Using previous research on this subject and performing my own original research, I will examine past linguistic trends in Disney’s films and compare these to newer films to observe similarities and differences. After analyzing 4 newer Disney films in detail, I will then summarize the linguistic patterns made visible in these films and question what they may mean for Disney’s future. 2. Defining Language Ideology What is a language ideology? Simply put, it is any kind of belief about language as used in a social world or context. This fairly broad term encompasses just about any kind of belief you might hold about a language or dialect, whether positive, negative, or neutral, and it often incorporates societal values and beliefs in complex ways. Language ideology is all around us. Ideologies are encoded in the ways we speak about language, the choices we make in when and where to use different languages and dialects, governmental language policies, the way language is taught and used in schools, and even language use in media. The constant stream of information surrounding language and dialect choice greatly influences the public’s biases and beliefs about language, and when a dominant ideology is presented exclusively to people for their whole lives, it can easily go unchallenged. Many linguists have focused on language ideologies more specifically in the context of their potential harms to speakers of marginalized languages or dialects. As Woolard and Schieffelin (1994) note, “Linguistic ideology is not a predictable, automatic reflex of the social experience of multilingualism in which it is rooted; it makes its own contribution as an Brous 6 interpretive filter in the relationship of language and society”. In other words, ideologies about language do not just arise out of nowhere--rather, they are shaped specifically by a society’s values and how language use at a given point in time or place is tied into those values. Thus, in a society where class, race, and other power imbalances exist and are accompanied by linguistic diversity between different groups, language ideologies tend to follow within the lines of these power structures. This is not to say that language ideology is exactly like any other kind of societal ideology. Take the example of Ebonics, otherwise known as African American Vernacular English, henceforth referred to as AAVE. AAVE is a dialect of English spoken by many Black Americans, primarily those in the middle and working class. AAVE, and many of its lexical and syntactic features such as negative concord (“I didn’t go nowhere”) or habitual be (“He be working”), have traditionally been maligned both by white Americans and some Black Americans of higher socioeconomic status. While negative views of AAVE may relate to white supremacist ideology, they are not exactly one and the same. If they were, the categories of white supremacists and those who negatively evaluate AAVE would overlap completely, yet this is not the case--clearly, Black people who hold these views are not white supremacists, and many white people who hold these views would claim not to be racist. In fact, many white people who participate directly in activism and other antiracist activities may hold these views. However, this linguistic belief is directly reflective of white supremacy, antiblack racism, and classism, and in and of itself has the ability to directly uphold inequality at the intersection of race and class, whether or not the believer is cognizant of this fact. As Hill (2008) notes in her discussion of the “folk theory” of racism,