Gender Stereotypes in 'Peter Pan' and Media Culture

Introduction

“Real life is becoming indistinguishable from the movies” (REF). This bold statement was made by Adorno and Horkheimer in their 1947 work of social criticism, “Dialectic of Enlightenment”, to explain what they coined ‘the culture industry’. This ‘industry’ as a product of capitalism, dictates the creation of unique media under the disguise of artwork, however, are subjected to the interests of profit and therefore art is no longer autonomous. Rather, it is commoditized through the standardization of content to elicit a conditioned response from the audience to ensure is profitability. Although, Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory does not seem very optimistic, decades of research and evidence support its accuracy. A common has standardized the common characteristic of male gender stereotypes. This is evident throughout various media forms such as posters, novels, video games, and films. The psychological and emotional responses.

Culture Industry: Standardizing Male Stereotypes

The culture industry created and standardized the general male stereotype of the protector. During WWI in 1914-1918, posters were sent out by the British government which possessed both visual appeal and easy reproduction techniques to encourage the men of the country to join the army in the Great War. The famous poster “the women of Britain say GO” socially impact the men who stayed at home because they were seemed cowardly and unmanly. When used politically, this propaganda of the world war I posters ultimately led to the predictable conditioned-response of these men being emotionally forced to join the war. Those who refused to do so would be held in contempt by lovers, and face accusations, as in another poster, ‘What did YOU do in the Great War, Daddy?’. An explanation of Adorno and Horkheimer’s essay 'culture industry' published in the mid-1940S states that “it offers a vision of a society that has lost its capacity to nourish true freedom and individuality - as well as the ability to represent the real conditions of existence.” as presented during the time of the great war where men were criticized and shamed for not joining the army to serve the country stripping them of their freedom to choose. The only freedom the culture industry has to offer is freedom from thinking.

The Historical Background of 'Peter Pan'

The root of J. M. Barrie’s classic fairy tale Peter Pan can be traced back in time to 1904. The novel presents typical male gender stereotypes regarding expected social norms in the early twentieth-century in English families. Traditionally, men had to possess a tough, masculine, and protective trait. The book peter pan being released close after the Victorian era displays these stereotypes boldly. Throughout the novel, Peter Pan also known as the boy who never wants to grow up is the main character and hero. Despite his childish, cocky, and immature personality, he is ironically a well respected male leader and the protector of all the children. Peter cares passionately about the protection of others, especially those who cannot protect themselves like the lost boys who seek refuge under his care even if it involves Peter’s own life being at risk displaying his masculine and tough characteristics. In the culture industry, Adorno and Horkheimer states that “It is idle to hope that this self-contradictory, disintegrating ‘person’ will not last for generations, that the system must collapse because of such a psychological split, or that the deceitful substitution of the stereotype for the individual will of itself become unbearable for mankind.” (Adorno and Horkheimer, p 415) Peter Pan’s stereotypical role of the male stereotype has a detrimental impact on the psychological and emotional responses on children whom the novel is geared towards. A study conducted in the UK found that children whose friendship group emphasizes traditional gender roles and stereotypes like “boys don’t cry” have lower well-being than others resulting in poor childhood development in contrast to children who chose the relatively gender-neutral trait, ‘working hard at school’, as the most important attribute have the highest well-being [number]. Thus, proving Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory that the deceitful stereotypes will of itself become unbearable for mankind.

Media Influence: Damsel in Distress and Heroic Men

Today, video games make up a $100 billion global industry and statically are now the most popular and profitable form of entertainment [5]. The core storyline in many video games is about a damsel in distress and how a hero needs to save the girl from the evil villain. This concept is greatly shown in games like the Mario Bros where a beautiful female, Princess Peach is captured by the villain Bowser and locked away in his tower. In order to rescue Princess Peaches from the evil villain, her only hope is for Mario and Luigi to come and save her. Even though the Mario Bros video games are enjoyable for all ages it presents some sensation of gender stereotypes throughout the game. Similar to the Mario Bros, other video games like the legend of Zelda and meet the same criteria for the gender stereotypes. All require the females to be saved and protected by the men whom are the main characters of the video game. “The stereotyped appropriation of everything, even the inchoate, for the purposes of mechanical reproduction surpasses the rigour and general currency of any ‘real style’, in the sense in which cultural cognoscenti celebrate the organic precapitalist past.”

The male gender stereotype of ‘the protector’ can be further observed in the movie industry. An example can be Colin Trevorrow’s 2015 movie, Jurassic World, which became the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time [3]. Taking place in a luxurious theme park resort with genetically engineered dinosaurs as their main attraction, one of the experimental intellectually enhanced dinosaur escapes and wreaks havoc causing the theme park to fall into chaos. It’s down to the former military and animal expert (Owen G) to save the tourists on the island, the female CEO Clair Dearing, and two young brothers from danger. It is almost expected of the male characters to take charge and protect the more vulnerable female and children. This is an ideal example of the standardized response of the audience described by Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of the culture industry. “the modern culture industry produces safe/ standardized products geared to the larger demands of the capitalist economy.“ showing how the film industry is catering to the demands of the society its in and its capitalist economy.