PRINCESS POWER Uncovering the Relationship Between Disney’s Protagonists, their Mothers, and their Fictive Kin Cameron Hurley A thesis submitted to the department of Cultural Anthropology for honors Duke University | Durham, North Carolina | 2018 Hurley 1 Abstract This paper analyzes the kinship relationships displayed in Disney princess films produced between 1937-2010. By exploring the various parental figures in the films, or the fictive kin who supplement their absence, the paper highlights the ways in which anachronistic thematic plots continue to affect modern children. The paper is divided into four chapters: I) Just Around the Riverbend, which discusses the familial sacrifices made in Pocahontas and Mulan; II) Motherless, which examines the consistent lack of biological maternal figures in the majority of the films, along with the witches who supplant them; III) Fairies, Forest Creatures, Father Figures, and Fictive Kin, which explores the single-fathers in the films and the anthropomorphic fictive kin that guide the protagonists in Cinderella and The Little Mermaid; and IV) Married Ever After, a chapter detailing Disney’s marketing tactics, consumerism, and the evolution of a woman’s relationship with the Walt Disney Company. Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Lee D. Baker, Dr. Edna Andrews, and Dr. Heather Settle for their continued support throughout this senior thesis distinction project process. In addition, I would like to thank the Duke University Cultural Anthropology department as a whole for fostering my education over the last four years. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, my Yaya, and Jason Kaplan for their guidance through this journey. Hurley 2 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Literature Review .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Research Methods ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Synthesis ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Deduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 Chapter I: Just Around the Riverbend .............................................................................................................. 17 Princess Pocahontas ........................................................................................................................................ 19 The Real Pocahontas ....................................................................................................................................... 20 The Right Choice ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Only When She’s Ping ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Domestic and Dreamy ..................................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter II: Motherless ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Forced to Fall in Love with Love ..................................................................................................................... 43 Only One Can Survive ..................................................................................................................................... 46 A Real Mother ................................................................................................................................................. 49 Wicked Witches ............................................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter III: Fairies, Forest Creatures, Father Figures, and Fictive Kin .......................................................... 58 “Daddy Issues” ............................................................................................................................................... 59 Fill-in Family .................................................................................................................................................. 67 Just Not a Girl’s Girl ....................................................................................................................................... 72 Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Who? ..................................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter IV: Married Ever After ....................................................................................................................... 79 Youth: Capitalism’s New Frontier .................................................................................................................... 82 Playtime .......................................................................................................................................................... 87 The Happiest Day of Your Life in the Happiest Place on Earth ......................................................................... 91 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................... 95 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 100 Hurley 3 Introduction In the beginning of every Disney movie, the majestic Disney castle triumphantly engulfs the screen, calling to mind one of the most powerful companies in the world: The Walt Disney Company1. With ownership over four major film studios2, sixty animated feature films which have won thirty-six prestigious awards3, The Disney Consumer Products (DCP), five theme parks world-wide4, a popular cruise line, and various TV networks5, Disney’s reach extends beyond its youth audience. With Cinderella’s castle as the symbol of Disney’s control over American media, it should come as no surprise that the Princess6 division of the company is one of its most successful and recognizable. While a majority of the princess movies were released before the twenty-first century, Disney has managed to immortalize these characters and their storylines through their theme parks, Princess consumer products, and their most recent business tactic: the revival of these movies through new live-action films. After the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, Disney made plans to create similar versions of Aladdin and Mulan set to release in May 2019 and March 2020, respectively (Johnson 2017). In fact, the DCP’s Princess division alone has become an industry worth over four billion dollars (Wohlwend 2012:6). In addition to the sheer volume of Disney material in the United States, it is also important to consider who constitutes Disney’s target audience: families. 1 Trading under the ticker NYSE:DIS, The Walt Disney Company has a total value of Institutional Holdings of $94,221,069,303 split amongst 2,153 holders. Four out of the top five institutional holders are investment firms with the exception being State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance ranking in at fourth. As of March 29, 2018 their market cap is at $151.03 billion (NASDAQ 2018). 2 Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm Ltd. (Johnson 2017). 3 13 Academy Awards, 9 Golden Globe Awards, 11 Grammy Awards, and 1 Oscar were awarded to various films included in the sixty animated films (Johnson 2017). 4 The parks are located in the Anaheim, California and Orlando, Florida respectively and one in Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai (Johnson 2017). 5 The largest subsidiary under Disney Media Networks is ABC. Other noteworthy assets include part ownership of Hulu, 21st Century Fox, Comcast, ESPN, and A&E Networks (Johnson 2017). 6 Any capitalization of “Princess” will denote that I am referring to a Disney Princess as opposed to a generic princess unrelated to the Disney company. Hurley 4 Parents feel safe with the company that has earned the reputation of always concluding their films with a “happily ever after.” Where as many other films need vetting before parental approval, Disney has never let parents down before, ensuring all the material is appropriate for the innocence of their children parents so dearly wish to protect. With this heavy saturation of Disney Princess material in the US market combined with the “safety” factor of the company’s reputation, it is important to analyze the messages that are being projected to their target audience. What