Disney's Moana From a Critical Lens
But when I watched Moana with a critical eye and thought about how women are represented, I was surprised to find so many stereotypes perpetuated throughout this film. Some basic gender roles are made clear in how women are nurturers and passive. Even when Moana was a baby in the beginning of the film, you see Moana gently ushering a lost turtle back to the sea. After Moana has a disagreement with her father about fishing beyond the reef, the mother and grandmother both make their appearance to comfort her.
After her grandmother died she still appears along her journey to help her along. I would even argue that Moana’s grandmother plays the role of the “Knight in Shining Armor” as she saved Moana a number of times on her journey to Te Fiti. And she appears at a moment when Moana needed her most.
Moana does seem strong and independent at a first glance. However, you can see that she is filled with self-doubt and insecurity. When she made her first (failed) attempt at venturing beyond the reef, she was ship-wrecked and she was returned to shore. Her first words when her grandmother appeared were, “are you going to tell dad?” She was relieved when her grandmother indicated she wouldn’t. After just one failed attempt at sea in a rickety boat, she was about to give up and said, “Dad was right. It’s time to put my stone on the mountain.”
She also seemed insecure and reliant on the man when she asked Maui to teach her all about wayfinding. She was portrayed as somewhat clueless and in need of his help, and Maui seemed to mock her. Towards the end when they approached Te Fiti and she handed the heart of Te Fiti to Maui she said, “Go save the world.” When really it was HER efforts. HER courage. HER determination that brought them there. Why, at such a defining moment, did she disregard her hard work and relinquish her power to him?
The role of Te Ka (lava monster) was an interesting one for me to analyze. I feel like the message here with her character is “Don’t get a woman angry because if you do they become vicious and crazy.” Especially if they are in a position of power the way that Te Fiti was as Mother Earth, before she turned into Te Ka, the angry lava monster. I would never have seen that though if I wasn’t looking at this through this critical lens. But from this lens, Te Fiti turning into lava and throwing fireballs, it’s hard to ignore that message. Not to mention at the end when Te Ka was filled with rage and lava and seemed unreasonable. All it took was for someone to “calm her down” and bring her to senses, and to return her to her normal nurturing self was a few simple words… This does not define you...This is not who you are...You know who you are...
The portrayal of men in this film in their stereotypical roles seem much more obvious. The father and Maui have “ginormous” (as described by my 8 year old) bodies, depicting men as strong and powerful and showing a value for able-bodiedness.
The choice for the actor to play Maui’s role, Dwayne Johnson, known as “The Roc” was an interesting one as he is known as a sex symbol in our culture. These characters’ actions show that men are strong and brave and the ones who are in charge and make the decisions. For example, when Moana suggested they fish beyond the reef, he angered quickly, threw the paddle on the ground and stormed off- indicating that the man makes the final call. During Moana and Maui’s first exchange together, he kept interrupting her and then said, “so what you really mean to say” as if to show that what women have to say is less important and inaccurate. Even his theme song, “Your Welcome” comes across as condescending and even, dare I say... narcissistic. I never thought of it in that way before and always enjoyed this song! When Moana tried to point out what he did wrong (taking the heart of Te Fiti) he seemed aloof and unconcerned. The whole scene whenMoana and Maui travel on the boat together felt annoying to watch while viewing it from this critical lens. It was loaded with sexism. “If you wear a dress and have a sidekick you are a princess and you will never be a wayfinder.” When she awoke from her sleep he said to her, “Enjoy your beauty rest?” Indicating that women are more concerned with beauty than focusing on the job that needs to be done. “Muscle up buttercup” - indicating muscles are needed to show bravery.
I really could go on…
Tamatoa was the crab. He was very clearly a “gay crab” and portrayed all the stereotypes of gay males: his voice, the sparkles and the jewels, And of course the straight, domineering male Maui was condescending to him as well, “Hey crab cake…”
The side-kick role, AKA the “never good enough to be the star” role was played by a crazy chicken named “Heihei” An elder even commented on him at the beginning of the film by saying, “...that chicken eating the rock. He seems to lack basic intelligence.” Interesting message here...
His role, at the very least, was to create some humor.
It’s interesting to me that DIsney portrayed men in such a negative way. If I wasn’t looking at this film from this critical lens I would have never picked up on it. And to be clear...I don’t assume this is how all men are.
I have a few I Wonders as I conclude my viewing of Moana this evening. The heart of Te Fiti, known as the “heart of creation”...does that symbolize fertility and women’s role in that? What is the significance behind Maui’s fish hook? That prop was intentional, no doubt, and I’m wondering what it symbolizes?
Moana was brave and triumphant at the end. And Maui was humbled. That is what I originally saw in this movie. The image of the shell on top of all the other rocks at the end was a symbol of Moana’s victory.
Before ever taking this class I thought that Disney was making improvements in the way girls and women are portrayed in their films. I do still believe that they are. But there are still so many powerful examples of how they are using their influence to perpetuate stereotypes.
In thinking about seeing Disney through the critical lenses posed by Christensen and Dr. Bogad, I feel like the innocence of Disney movies is gone for me. It’s clear now that there’s so much more to these movies than beautiful animation and a catchy soundtrack. The gender and sexism stereotypes are pervasive and I have a much deeper understanding for the role this popular enterprise plays in our culture. I enjoyed watching this film from this lens and I will do it again with other films. However, I will keep in mind what Dr. Bogad said about balancing pleasure and critique. I don’t want to be the grumpy parent at Disney World. I am still going to watch Disney’s next biggest hit on repeat with my girls and blast it’s theme song in my car on the way to school with them. I’ll just be sure to sprinkle some teachable moments in there to hopefully educate my girls on some of Disney’s “secret education.”
Such smart analysis, Leigh. And you don't have to stop belting out the tunes with your kids. :) I think that you offer such great critical points here. They resonate with me. And I also think that Moana does some things that no other film has done for me. Namely, it shows that courage and bravery are not magical skills that you have to be born with. They can be learned and practiced -- I AM MOANA, she says over and over again. She is afraid but she keeps rehearsing her courage and the film rewards her for that in the end. I love her vulnerability because she is not punished for it. It takes a village and this film does not see that kind of team building -- Maui, Moana, her dad, hei hei, grandmother, etc -- as a weakness. It is part of Moana's strength. Does that make sense to you at all? Just my 2 cents!
ReplyDeleteI love singing the music too! This was my first time watching the movie though. I have to say the music is so different without the film. It seems more inspirational and fun. When I hear the songs in the movie, they evoke more meaning and emotions. You really start to listen to the lyrics and be more aware of what they are actually singing.
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