Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Theses Department of Communication Fall 12-14-2011 Disney's Portrayal of Nonhuman Animals in Animated Films Between 2000 and 2010 Oana Leventi-Perez Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses Recommended Citation Leventi-Perez, Oana, "Disney's Portrayal of Nonhuman Animals in Animated Films Between 2000 and 2010." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2011. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses/81 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DISNEY’S PORTRAYAL OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS IN ANIMATED FILMS BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010 by OANA LEVENTI-PEREZ Under the Direction of Dr. Marian Meyers ABSTRACT This paper used the constant comparative method to examine the 12 animated features released by Disney between 2000 and 2010 for: (1) their representation of nonhuman animals (NHAs) and the portrayal of race, class, gender, and speciesism within this representation, (2) the ways they describe the relationship between humans and NHAs, and (3) whether they promote an animal rights perspective. Three major themes were identified: NHAs as stereotypes, family, and human/NHA dichotomy. Analysis of these themes revealed that Disney’s animated features promote speciesism and celebrate humanity’s superiority by justifying the subordination of NHAs to human agency. Furthermore, while Disney’s representation of NHAs remains largely anthropocentric, most of its animated features do not reflect the tenets of animal rights. INDEX WORDS: Animal rights, Animation, Anthropocentrism, Anthropomorphism, Disney, Cultural studies, Hegemony, Humanism, Ideology, Gender, Class, Race, Speciesism, Stereotype DISNEY’S PORTRAYAL OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS IN ANIMATED FILMS BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010 by OANA LEVENTI-PEREZ A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2011 Copyright by Oana Leventi-Perez 2011 DISNEY’S PORTRAYAL OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS IN ANIMATED FILMS BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010 by OANA LEVENTI-PEREZ Committee Chair: Marian Meyers Committee: Michael Bruner Carrie Packwood-Freeman Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2011 IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my committee chair, Dr. Marian Meyers, who has continuously supported me throughout my thesis with her patience and knowledge. Without her guidance and persistent help, this thesis would not have been possible. Warm thanks go to Dr. Freeman for awakening my passion for animal rights and inspiring me to be a caring person. Working with her has been meaningful and rewarding, and I will always strive to pass these lessons of love and respect on to others, especially my daughter. Many thanks and appreciation goes to Dr. Bruner, who has encouraged and challenged me throughout my academic career. I was lucky to have him as my advisor, research supervisor, and thesis committee member, and to benefit from his wealth of knowledge and inquisitive spirit. Last but not least, I offer my deepest thanks to my supporting family, especially to my beautiful Mom. V Table of contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…...………………………………………………………..…………v INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………………....6 1. A Historical Look at the Disney Company and its Animated Feature Films…......…….6 How Walt Taught Mickey to Obey……………………………………………….6 Animated Movies……………………………………………………………..….11 The Disney golden age………….…………………………………..........11 The movie factory……………………………………………………..…17 Team Disney…………………………………………………………..…22 2. Cultural Studies…………………………………………………………………..…….. 28 Culture, Ideology, and Hegemony………………………………………………28 British Cultural Studies and the Politics of Representation………………….….36 Class, Gender, and Race Representations in Disney Animated Films ……..….. 41 3. An Overview of Animal Rights Philosophy……………………………………..………49 4. The Communicative Power of Nonhuman Animals in Film and Animation……….…..58 VI METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………………...….65 1. Sample Films…………………………………………………………………….………68 2. Character and Plot…………………………………………………………………..……69 3. Analysis…………………………………………………………………………...……...84 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……………………………………………………….………..86 1. Nonhuman Animals Are Portrayed as Stereotypes…………………………………..…..87 Nonhuman animals stereotyped according to their species…………………...…87 Nonhuman animals as human stereotypes…………………………………...…. 91 2. The Family Unit Is Described in Anthropocentric Terms…………………………..…..95 3. The Human and NHA Realms Are Fundamentally Divided…………………………….99 Domestication……………………………………………………………..……102 Nonhuman animals as pedagogical ………………………………………....... 104 Speciesism, Disney’s new racism ………………………………………..…….106 The naturalization of hierarchies ………………………………………………109 VII CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………111 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………119 2 Introduction Since becoming famous in the 1930s, the Walt Disney Corporation has shrewdly constructed imaginary characters, story lines and themed fantasy spaces which, by tapping into transcultural myths of magic and innocence, allowed the corporation to build a strong reputation for quality goods and services and capture the imagination of children and adults worldwide (Budd, 2005). Disney’s products cut across age groups as adults consume Disney products together with their children in an effort to recapture fragments of their lost childhood, and, in doing so, introduce their offspring to the same mainstream American values and ideals they cherished growing up (Vasko, 2001). Starting with the well-known Mickey Mouse and continuing with Dumbo, Bambi, and later with the Lady who fell for the Tramp and the lion destined to be king, Disney has populated its world with anthropomorphized nonhuman animals (NHAs) who, through their gendered, ethnic, and racialized identities teach their adoring audience important lessons about the Western world view, its value system, and dominant presuppositions. Indeed, NHAs play a key role in creating for Disney an aura of childhood innocence and the general perception that Disney’s products are wholesome and family-centered. However, a more critical look at the corporation reveals how “Disney has its corporate finger in more sociocultural pies than perhaps any other twentieth century producer of mass entertainment” (Smoodin, 1994, p. 2). Several studies have identified recurring themes in both Disney animated movies and comic strips, which relate mostly to representation and ideology. According to Dorfman and Mattelart (1975), Disney ideology includes the representation of Third World people as “noble savages” (p. 44) and the glorification of consumption. Artz (2002) argues that 3 Disney’s animated features promote consumerist values and ideologies supportive of capitalist globalization. Little research, however, examines the representation of NHAs in Disney animated movies. Disney’s reach into the lives of children is unsurpassed by any other media conglomerate, thereby giving it an unparalleled opportunity to shape children’s and adults’ views of their world – and NHAs. 1 Indeed, Vasko concludes, “Disney holds an almost sacred place in the lives of many Americans” (2001, p. 2). In the light of the fact that hundreds of millions of people watch Disney films or home videos every year (Giroux, 1999), and given that Disney films have tremendous reach in popular culture and have emerged as important moral educators (Ward, 1996), the depiction of NHAs in Disney films warrants further examination. By anthropomorphizing its NHAs, Disney goes beyond giving them human attributes by also inscribing them into gendered, racial, ethnic, and classed categories (King et al., 2010). Given that racism, sexism, and speciesism are “interconnected, mutually reinforcing systems of oppression and ways of organizing the world” (Adams, 2007, p. 202), the representation of NHAs must be analyzed not only within the context of gender, race, and class but also within their relationships to human animals so as to better understand how speciesism may work within Disney films. Thus, this study will analyze the ways in which the animated movies released by Disney between 2000 and 2010 depict NHAs, the human - NHA relationship, and whether these Disney films promote animal rights. It extends the existing literature by examining 12 Disney 1 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ” is considered one of the highest grossing animated films in history, with profits of $782,620,000 adjusted for inflation. It is followed by “ 101 Dalmatians ” with a revenue of $717,405,900., and “ Fantasia ” with $596,252,200, while, “ Lion King ” and and “ The Jungle Book ” also rank among the highest grossing films in the history of animated movies with profits of $554,524,300 and $529,021,800 respectively. More recent productions, such as “ The Princess and the Frog ” and “ Tangled ,” continue to top the charts with revenues of $104,400,899 and $ 200, 821,936.(The Numbers Animated, n.d.). 4 animated full-length feature films for (1) their representation of NHAs, including the portrayal of gender, race,