Welcome to Ralph Li, Roxanne Roxas, Jennifer Snow, and Joline Chen’s COGN 150 Final Project Blog. So what is R2J2? To clarify, it's nothing immensely cryptic.
Essentially, Ralph + Roxanne = R2 and Jennifer + Joline = J2. We know, we know. It's not very original, but it gave us a good laugh.
If you like our not-so-subtle play on words/reference to Star Wars, then perhaps you'll find the rest of this blog interesting as well.
We are here to analyze films, cartoons, and animations in relation to disabilities in media. We hope you find the content of this blog entertaining, intriguing, and perhaps even enlightening.
Sources:
Sally Chivers, “The Horror of Becoming ‘One of Us’: Tod Browning’s Freaks and Disability,”Screening Disability, Ed, Christopher Smit and Anthony Enns," (57-64).
Paul Longmore. “Screening Stereotypes, Images of Disabled People in Television and Motion Pictures”. Why I Burned my Book, and Other Essays on Disability. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 2003.
Nicole Markotic, “Disabling the Viewer: Perceptions of Disability in Tod Browning’s Freaks,”Screening Disability, Ed, Christopher Smit and Anthony Enns," (65-72).
Jack A. Nelson, "Broken Images: Portrayals of Those with Disabilities in American Media," The Disabiled, the Media, and the Information Age, (1-24).
Martin F. Norden, The Cinema of Isolation, A History of Physical Disability in the Movies. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ, 1994.
etc.
This blog is a project done for UCSD's COGN150 class. We do not claim to own or hold any authority over the content discussed. Please don't sue us.
The Little Mermaid : Silence is Golden. Or is it?
As one of the most iconic and loved “Disney Princesses,” the Little Mermaid epitomizes what Disney films are all about. Released in 1989, the classic re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s film romanticizes the idea of sacrificing one’s most treasured possession (in this case, Ariel’s beautiful voice and musical abilities) for the sake of true love. Throughout the film, Ariel is portrayed as a lively, curious, and charming daughter of King Triton, ruler of the oceans and merpeople. She is well loved by her peers yet seen as an outcast because of her burning curiosity and interest in the human world.
Understandably, Ariel feels restricted by the confines of the palace and monotony of ocean life. As a result, she rebels against her overprotective father by swimming up to the surface and observing the humans. In the process, Ariel encounters and ends up rescuing Erik, a handsome human prince that she falls in love with instantly. Desperate to be human and win his affection, Ariel agrees to sell her voice to sea witch and villain Ursula. The particular scene below captures Disney’s interpretation of disability as a curse or tragedy, another misconception heightened by the media industry.
Little does Ariel know how difficult it is to communicate with Erik without her voice, a theme throughout the film that emphasizes how difficult and frustrating it is to be “silenced” because of her disability. Despite her initial strength, confidence and effervescence in the beginning of the film, it’s as if her strength and determination slowly fade as she is unable to speak or express her emotions to Erik. Though he gradually falls in love with her, he is hesitant to commit because he is in love with the “girl who rescued him and sang to him” during his recovery. He is not aware that it was Ariel this entire time, and as a result still pines for someone he believes is still out there.
This movie highlights key aspects of society and how we perceive disability as a burden, or an obstacle that stands in the way of fulfilling goals or achievements. Ariel had only lost her voice temporarily, but it’s as if she automatically lost some of the spirt or personality we had seen earlier in the film. She is portrayed as a victim, one that deserves our pity and sympathy because she is unable to speak. In true Disney fashion, however, Erik realizes that it was Ariel that saved his life, falling in love with her and reversing Ursula’s curse. Though the film culminates with a happy ending (e.g., Ariel’s permanent transformation into human form and subsequent marriage to Erik), it still does not dispel the stereotypes prevalent among mass society pertaining to the disabled today.
The “Disney Princess” franchise is known to perpetuate a certain image for its audience: themes of romance, fantasy and imagination, with beautiful and seemingly perfect women as its heroines. Tom Shakespeare, in his article “Art and Lies: Representations of Disability on Film,” concedes that the media industry thrives on these stereotypes and as artists have the right to creative license. But when does it cross the line? Though Disney has undoubtedly provided some of the most influential and emblematic heroines of our generation, one can’t help but argue how their formula only serves to preserve negative stereotypes of disability in our society. After all, Ariel did not have to get her voice back in order to win over Erik, but they still felt that it was necessary to provide a “true” happy ending that didn’t include physical limitations. As Nelson pointed out, American film and media is extremely influential in how people perceive the disabled community (Nelson . By continually portraying the disabled as pitiful and sympathetic individuals, American media continues to reinforce the idea that the disabled don’t typically have happy endings and are at most tolerated as opposed to seen as a heroine. I think it’s important to consider these parallels, as well as the issues behind constantly portraying women (in this case, a disabled female) as helpless individuals. Though not intentional, it definitely sends the wrong message from a young age, further establishing stereotypes that should be eradicated rather than romanticized.
Sources:
- Jack Nelson, “Broken Images: Portrayals of Those with Disabilities in American Media”
- Tom Shakespeare, “Art and Lies? Representations of Disability on Film”
(Source: youtube.com)
