Podcast Sources

The sources I'll be using for the group podcast project.

Killing Us Slowly 4

Senior Editor of Advertising Age, Rance Crain, “Only 8% of an ad's message is received by the conscious mind. The rest is worked and reworked deep within the recesses of the brain” (Kilbourne 4:04).

This is a lecture, Killing Us Slowly, made by Kilbourne. Throughout her lecture, she discusses how media, while having her main focus be advertisements, are slowly killing us as it presents toxic images to the public that results in damage to people's self-image. By showing different types o advertisements through the lecture, she is able to thoroughly explain the deeper messages of the ads and how they affect the way we view ourselves, in particular, how we view ourselves as men and women in society. Although her main focus is on advertisement, the same idea applies to films, like Disney princess films. Kilbourne explains how advertisements affect our perception through it's quick affect on our subconscious and support this by quoting Senior Editor of Advertising Age, Rance Crain, "Only 8% of an ad's message is received by the conscious mind. The rest is worked and reworked deep within the recesses of the brain” (Kilbourne 4:04). I will use this as a lead in for the overall topic of how Disney films affect our perception by providing evidence from Disney films, like Tangled and Cinderella.

"Cinderella"

“Cinderella demonstrates the most submissiveness of any character in any film they looked at. ‘In Cinderella, the princess did domestic work as an act of submission. She accepted without complaint the hard labor her step mom assigned and always sang and smiled pleasantly while working’” (Casey, R. & Casey, E. 13:30)

This is a podcast episode produced by Rachel and Erin Casey, which is part of a larger series called Deconstructing Disney. In the podcast, they analyzed Cinderella as a whole and they chose to focus on the gender roles portrayed by the characters and the passiveness of Cinderella. They used elements of the film to support the idea that Cinderella is passive and even included quotes from research articles to support their points. To support their view that Cinderella is so passive, they mentioned research by England deCart saying “Cinderella demonstrates the most submissiveness of any character in any film they looked at. ‘In Cinderella, the princess did domestic work as an act of submission. She accepted without complaint the hard labor her step mom assigned and always sang and smiled pleasantly while working.’” Using research to support the idea that Cinderella is passive further strengthens their point and I could use this same point to support the idea that earlier Disney princesses were passive, idly waiting for a prince to save the day.

Looking into the Magic Mirror: Disney's Impact on the Fairy Tale Genre

“Disney transforms Rapunzel from a damsel in distress into an independent young woman who ‘uses her intellect and sense of right and wrong to challenge the notion her mother pushes on her’” (Haas & Torpedo).

This is an essay by Haas and Torpedo. In the essay they discusses the change of the Disney franchise, indicating that the films are the reflection of current culture, since they reflect what makes money. This leads into other ideas, like an explanation of why Disney princesses are passive, exploration of the unrealistic beauty standards for women in Disney princess films and the progressive change of female characteristics as we enter a more progressive age. Haas and Torpedo explain Rapunzel's characteristics as it reflects a less passive women and a more out going one: "Disney transforms Rapunzel from a damsel in distress into an independent young woman who ‘uses her intellect and sense of right and wrong to challenge the notion her mother pushes on her’” (Haas & Torpedo). This idea would support the topic in the podcast that later Disney films have women that aren't idly waiting for a man to rescue them. Throughout the film, Rapunzel demonstrates her own strength and courage and even shows a more rebellious side that previous princesses lacked. Her action against Mother Gothel is representative of her aggressive side, in contrast to Cinderella passively obeying her step family's orders.