An Analysis of Clothing in Disney Cartoons
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"I Might be a Duck, but I'm Human": An Analysis of Clothing in Disney Cartoons Luke Baldwin Dubin JAMES A GIBSON LIBRARY BROCK UNIVERSiTY , r'"i I~" YES' < ' ¥-"'J; ''<'11 r ST.• CJ\THAR,.. ...... ..!. v ,t_#.", ~ Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Interdisciplinary MA Program in Popular Culture Brock University © 2008 Dubin i Abstract Mickey Mouse, one of the world's most recognizable cartoon characters, did not wear a shirt in his earliest incarnation in theatrical shorts and, for many years, Donald Duck did not wear pants and still rarely does so. Especially when one considers the era in which these figures were first created by the Walt Disney Studio, in the 1920s and 1930s, why are they portrayed without full clothing? The obvious answer, of course, is that they are animals, and animals do not wear clothes. But these are no ordinary animals: in most cases, they do wear clothing - some clothing, at least - and they walk on two legs, talk in a more or less intelligible fashion, and display a number of other anthropomorphic traits. If they are essentially animals, why do they wear clothing at all? On the other hand, if these characters are more human than animal, as suggested by other behavioral traits - they walk, talk, work, read, and so on - why are they not more often fully clothed? To answer these questions I undertook three major research strategies used to gather evidence: interpretive textual analysis of 321 cartoons; secondary analysis of interviews conducted with the animators who created the Disney characters; and historical and archival research on the Disney Company and on the times and context in which it functioned. I was able to identify five themes that played a large part in what kind of clothing a character wore; first, the character's gender and/or sexuality; second, what species or "race" the character was; third, the character's socio-economic status; fourth, the degree to which the character was anthropomorphized; and, fifth, the context in which the character and its clothing appeared in a particular scene or narrative. I concluded that all of these factors played a part in determining, to some extent, the clothing worn by particular characters at particular times. However, certain patterns emerged from the analysis that could not be explained by these factors alone or in combination. Therefore, my analysis also investigates the individual and collective attitudes and desires of the men in the Disney studio who were responsible for creating these characters and the cultural conditions under which they were created. Drawing on literature from the psychoanalytic approach to film studies, I argue that the clothing choices spoke to an idealized fantasy world to which the animators (most importantly, Walt Disney himself), and possibly wider society, wanted to return. Dubin ii Acknowledgements I wish to recognize the help provided by the following people and/or institutions: My parents, Rebecca Baldwin and Michael Dubin; my aunt and editor Susan Baldwin; Ashley Dell, Shanna Hollich, David Reese, Vicki Gingrich and Art Ford, David Nevill, and my friends and family not specifically named, including those at Bowling Green State University and my fellow Brock University graduate students, who generously gave their support and feedback during the research and writing of this thesis. I also owe a debt to the James A Gibson Library at Brock University, George T. Harrell Library at Penn State College of Medicine, Jerome Library and Browne Popular Culture Library at Bowling Green State University, Morris Library at the University of Delaware, Bishop Library at Lebanon Valley College, Albert M. Greenfield Library at The University of the Arts, Annville Free Community Library, and my fellow Society for Animation Studies collogues, specifically AlIa Gaddisk and Michael Dow. Lastly, I appreciate the input of my adviser, Nicolas Baxter-Moore, who guided me through this process. Without the assistance and support of those mentioned here, this thesis would not have been possible. Dubin iii Table of Contents Chapter One -- Introduction ................................................................................................. ;...... 1 The Scope of This Study ..................................................................................................... 3 The Significance of Disney ................................................................................................. 8 The Early Days of Disney ................................................................................................. 12 The Organization of the Thesis ......................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2 -- Reading Disney .................................................................................................... 17 Negotiated Readings of Disney Productions ..................................................................... 17 Censorship, Morals and Nudity ......................................................................................... 24 Theoretical Frames ........................................................................................................... 30 Beyond Eisenstein to Freud and Lacan ............................................................................. 36 The Influence of the Great Depression .............................................................................. 46 Walt Disney's Dreams ...................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 3 -- Methodology ........................................................................................................ 57 Method 1: Interpretive Textual Analysis ........................................................................... 57 Method 2: Supplemental Texts ....................................................................................... 61 Method 3: Historical and Archival Research ..................................................................... 62 Sample .............................................................................................................................. 63 Categories for Coding and Analysis .................................................................................. 68 Chapter 4 -- Uncovering the Naked Truth: The Meaning Beneath the Clothes ......................... 76 Gender .............................................................................................................................. 76 Race and Class .................................................................................................................. 80 Anthropomorphization ...................................................................................................... 85 The Donald Duck Effect: Contexts of Clothing ................................................................ 91 Making the Mouse: Animators' Input on Characters ......................................................... 95 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 100 Dubin iv Chapter 5 -- The Naked Truth ................................................................................................. 101 To Be or Not to Be - Naked ............................................................................................ 101 Humanized Animals versus Animalized Humans ........................................................... 105 What's My Salary Got to Do with It? ............................................................................. 107 Why Men Cover Up ........................................................................................................ 109 Why Woman Don't Cover Up ......................................................................................... 116 Directions for Future Research ....................................................................................... 123 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 125 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 130 Videography ........................................................................................................................... 136 Appendix A: Breakdown of Disney Short Films Database Chart (Characters, Gender, Clothing and Context) ....................................... A.l Database Chart (Color, Setting, Wealth, Anthropomorphized, Race and Other Notes) ....... A.33 Appendix B: Database Chart Addendum ............................................................... B.I Appendix C: Disneyland Memorial Orgy .............................................................C.I Dubin 1 Chapter One -- Introduction Imagine you are watching television one morning when you are shocked to see a half naked cartoon character run across the dimly lit screen. You look again but the 'toon is gone. You think you must have dreamt it; it is morning after all. As you continue to watch, a topless cartoon character walks on screen and begins talking to you in a high pitched voice. You check the cable box to make sure you have not accidentally changed to an "adult entertainment" channel, but, no, it's a mainstream network. Nonetheless, continuing to watch, you become increasingly concerned that what you are viewing borders on the pornographic.