Overview of Important Political Themes Presented in Disney Movies

Nowadays, there are a variety of political themes present in children's literature which helps them understand the world they're growing up in. Some books manage to explain notions on race and culture for example, while others make a poor job describing customs and practices of other societies. Stereotyping is an issue that can be found in literature, which is why it is important to choose well what books you want to introduce your children to. In what ways do books effectively deal with and address political themes? To answer this question, we will analyze two books designated as ''best'' and ''worst'' in three different categories: authority, gender and last, race and culture.

Monsters, Inc. takes us in this pro-capitalist, and elitist production. We can observe a political dimension in which there is a moralization of capitalism but nevertheless some elements of criticism about it. The whole movement of the film consists in substituting for a 'wild' and 'unrestrained' capitalism a more 'moral' and 'human' capitalism. While in the beginning the company was producing energy by terrorizing children, Sullivan substitutes for this exploitation a mode of production where the suffering has been replaced by pleasure (since they now make them laugh instead of to cry). In addition, the competition of employees and the hierarchy within the work teams seem to have disappeared. There is no longer a chart showing the ranking of the best performing monsters.

The work at the factory then looks like a kind of perpetual celebration where everyone is active in joy and good humor, under the paternal and benevolent eyes of Sully, the new boss. By finding the idea that would increase the productivity of the company (laughter produces 10 times more energy than fear), Sully saved 'Monsters, Inc.' from bankruptcy, which his greedy predecessor had not succeeded in. The bad boss who is ready to do anything to make a profit (even torturing children) was replaced by the kind one who watches over his employees as a father to his children. I think it is a good film politically as it explains the concept of capitalism as a system producing suffering (in the first part at least) and to start an opening of criticism leading to an 'alternative' a little more respectful of individuals.

In Mulan on the contrary, we have this ambiguous vision of patriarchy. As is often the case with Disney, we find father figure who appears through the characters of the father of Mulan and the Emperor of China, patriarchal figure by excellence. The originality of Mulan is that all these patriarchal figures are questioned and even find themselves in a weak position. Mulan's father appears as a wise and caring man but also as an aging man that his daughter has to protect. Many times in the film the character is shown in a state of weakness. Certainly Mulan is not the first Disney heroine who disobeys her father or who seeks to protect him but she is the first who does so because he is in a weak position.

The character implicating the most powerful patriarchy, the Emperor of China, is also the one who finds himself in the greatest position of weakness. Indeed, taken hostage by the Huns, the emperor is basically in a helplessness position. However, although the patriarchal figures are shaken, everyone wants them to stay in place (and Mulan first). The whole end of the film is dedicated to saving the emperor, the strongest symbol of patriarchal power and all of Mulan's behavior seems to be reduced to her father, the mother having only a secondary place in the family and in history.

At the beginning of the film, while preparing herself for a special event, Mulan's main concern is to honor her father, not her mother. In the same way, when she returns victorious from the war, her first act is to kneel at her father's feet. I see Mulan as the 'worst' example of authority as it is far from our realities nowadays. It is pretty ironic that one of Disney's only feminist heroines is struggling to keep patriarchy in place.

Indeed, Mulan is the 'best' example of the notions of gender and feminism. Upon her arrival at training camp, Mulan, along with her entire team, is unable to follow Captain Shang's training, supposed to make them men and whose first test is to pick up an arrow at the top of a post, weighed down with discs made of bronze. Manhood, according to Shang, comes down to developing skills and the ability to wage war. While he ends up 'firing' her because she cannot keep up with training, Mulan has an idea and manages to shoot the arrow thanks to an ingenious ploy and therefore, triumphs over the training. In the same way, when the Shang regiment finds itself in strong numerical inferiority against the Huns, Mulan triggers an avalanche that engulfs the Huns.

Moreover, in the last fight against Shan Yu, Mulan managed to kill him by trick rather than force. Although Mulan demonstrates her strength and ability to fight (in training and against Shan Yu), the film's message is clear: there is no need to be the strongest to succeed in life. This message is also expressed through the course of Mushu: in the beginning everybody laughs at him, while in the end he wins the respect of the ancestors. Initially rejected and considered as incapable, Mushu and Mulan managed to prove themselves as courageous and strong. For me, it is the best example for gender as Mulan, a girl, shows herself as braver and as competent as the other men soldiers.

The worst example would be Aladdin, as it mobilizes a pattern of sexism. Not only does the Sultan prevent his daughter Jasmine from leaving the royal palace, but he also tries to marry her by force to a prince. Jasmine does not have a choice as her father figure is a man she needs to respect and obey. The scene that introduces the two characters lays the abusive behavior of the father (harassment, pressure, coercion...), who is shown as not an oppressor but a victim. Indeed, the Sultan is victim of the traditions of his country: when he talks to her about marriage, his says that it is the law. This is because in Arabic countries, women are oppressed due to archaic traditions and policies. Thus, according to the sexist spirit of the film, Jasmine is not only oppressed by men and patriarchal power, but also by the archaic laws of his country of 'barbarians'.

Finally, the Sultan is not the only oppressor as the true oppressor, who makes Jasmine his sexual slave and tries to marry her by force, is Jafar. The film makes him a great manipulator, who hypnotizes the Sultan and makes him his puppet. I categorized Aladdin as the 'worst' example for gender, because in the past century there has been a lot of progress toward's women's independence and assertion. Even if it isn't fully the case yet in the Middle East and Northern African countries, we can observes movements and demonstrations towards more progressive governments, customs and way-of-life.

As for race, it was hard to find an example without stereotypes on a particular culture or ethnicity. For that reason, I chose to talk about Zootopia, which is one of the latest feature films of the Disney Grand Classics and has been categorized by some as a work with a satirical look at society and a message of acceptance and tolerance. There is a new progressive message in the production as Zootopia presents itself as an allegory of inequalities, although the fact of essentializing differences between humans by using animal species for its metaphor is in itself debatable. Only the various oppressions to which the film refers to - as it clearly alludes to contemporary social phenomena - lead to a good idea of what minorities have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. They struggle to have the same access to opportunities as the majority, and are constantly being despised, mocked, or reduced to nothing. It is a good movie to show children how toleration is necessary for us to coexist.

Lastly, the worst example of race would be Pocahontas. The first mechanism of the movie consists of making Indian people immersed in nature, in 'connection' with it, where whites have emerged from nature, rose above her and dominate her. The categorization process therefore allows the association of beliefs - stereotypes - to a particular case. To know that an individual belongs to a category (for example white / Indian, woman / man, hetero / homo, etc.) makes it possible to presume that he or she has ineluctably the characteristics associated with this category. This reactivates the idea of ''races' with different properties. The whites are 'cultured', the Indians are beings of 'nature'.

The second mechanism is to portray the Indian as a homogenous people (whereas there were hundreds of different Indian cultures), reduced to the most mundane stereotypes, or even worse, associated with them practices they did not have. One example among others is the representation of the Indian village as hierarchically structured which is a distorted view of the priories of their culture in relation to political power. Indeed, Indian political practices were very often close to what would be called anarchism, and the positions of authorities were often either very relative or ephemeral. As a result, all the scenes in which the leader is seen talking to his docile and passive people, do not at all reflect the reality of the life of the vast majority of Native American peoples, and yet again is an overwhelming ethnocentrism that was not taken into account.

There are a few actions you could take to steer children toward the ''best'' books and away from the ''worst'' of children's literature. First, you could read the books yourself before deciding if it will be appropriate for your child as children's literature tend to be short and easy to read. There are also many websites resourceful in determining what age range is associated with certain books that deal with more or less complicated topics. Second, you could get information through schools which can provide you a list of what the educational board is requiring them to teach children. Lastly, you could always do your own research, whether it is online or in libraries, but no matter what, your children will have other ways and resources to develop his ideas and values that will prepare him to live in our society.