THE ANIMATED WOMAN: The Powerless Beauty

of Disney Heroines from Snow White to Jasmine

Layng, Jacqueline M . The American Journal of Semiotics ; Kent  Vol. 17, Iss. 3,  (Fall 2001): 197-215.

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ABSTRACT (ENGLISH)
Disney occupies a special place, where its powerful and interactive animated images are seldom viewed through a
critical lens. Because non-critical viewing of such a dominant and powerful medium takes place and is encouraged
by Disney, analysis of Disney films takes on added importance and significance. [...]a woman has a place in
society, step outside this place, as the queen does in Snow White and suffer the consequences of death or
alienation. Snow White is a romantic figure with child-like qualities making her a child/woman character. Because
she is a beautiful woman, the evil queen is jealous of her and the prince finds her attractive, but she is youthfully
innocent as well as genuinely good in the image of a child. [...]dependency is profitable, gaining wealth, security
and love for the heroine, while the independent queen's efforts result in alienation as well as death.

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1. Walt Disney Movies

During the 1990's, the feature-length animated film made a strong comeback to movie theatres and has become a
popular format in the new millennium. Almost all of the movie studios have released an animated film of some sort
in the last decade (Rohter 1991). The drive was originally fueled by the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The
Little Mermaid, and Toy Story. These films resulted in enormous profits at the box office and million more in
merchandising and video sales. The reason for the success of animation is because Walt Disney and other media
companies address the most common problem of the entertainment consumer, "Where can we take the kids?"

Of all the Disney products, the feature-length film has reached the largest audience. Disney feature films have been
around since the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, one of the top grossing films in history
(Dirks 1999). Disney has been producing feature-length animated films for over sixty years, and they are still box-
office hits. Originally, Disney animated films were shown every eighth year to give each new generation a taste of
the Disney message. Who in this country has not been touch by the magical kingdom of Disney in some way? If
you haven't visited one of the theme parks, it is almost certain that at some time in an American individual's life a
Disney feature-length film has appeared. In fact, a study conducted by Michael Real in the mid-seventies on the
impact of Disney products disclosed new insight into this American institution. Responses to the survey speak to
the power of the Disney message: "Disney products were a very important socializing force on my early childhood.
Yes, I grew up on Disney films. All the characters get married, have kids, the men work...middle class stereotypes
even in cartoons" (Real 1977: 73). Now that the films are being sold on video, children can watch the Disney
messages over and over again. According to James Murrow, "the theatrical re-releases and TV reruns permit
children to have sustained Disney experiences" (Murrow 1978: 34). The popularity and availability of these films
make them an important contributing factor to the socialization of children, not to mention adults who have
already run the gauntlet of Disney's adaptations of classic fairy tales.

The strength of animation has long been underestimated as mere cartoons for children's entertainment, but

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animated films are particularly powerful medium in influencing audiences because animation has attributes that
regular mainstream films do not (Bush and Gresham 1986). Ryan and Schwartz's (1956) investigation of
animation's effect on the speed of perceiving an instructional film among adults revealed that among the different
modes of presenting the film, such as drawings, photographs, and live action, the cartoons were perceived in the
shortest amount of time. Animated films contain very strong and salient messages. Murrow (1978: 34) observes,
"In contrast to television literalness and nonstop verbosity, Disney's great features give children much to discover
with their eyes, to interpret with their minds". Animated films also allow the producers to exercise complete control
over those messages. Cells are drawn and redrawn to portray just the right images. Elizabeth (1995: 108) contends
that "animation is not an innocent art form: nothing accidental or serendipitous occurs". In short, complete control
over the production means complete control over the message.

Animated films have long escaped critical analysis. The Mouse and the Mermaid (1995) offers the first organized
critical analysis of Disney. Elizabeth Bell, Lynda Haas, and Laura Sells (1995: 4) contend that this was because
Disney animated films were seen as harmless and "above reproach" by audiences and not worthy of analysis by
critics. Disney occupies a special place, where its powerful and interactive animated images are seldom viewed
through a critical lens. Because non-critical viewing of such a dominant and powerful medium takes place and is
encouraged by Disney, analysis of Disney films takes on added importance and significance. The popularity and
power of Disney's animated films (O'Brien, 1996), along with the perception of their being harmless entertainment,
raises important questions about the meaning that children get from these films.

Media do play an important role in socialization. Real (1989: 15-16) contends that media provide role models for
children that influence personal identity. Barry Brummett (1991: 68) argues that this occurs through a process in
which "the bits and pieces of everyday life, popular culture, participate in and influence the management of
meaning". In this way, media provides patterns that order our experiences and actions within the world. Real (1977:
47) provides insight into patterns created by Disney:

The media not only gives us information, they guide our very experiences and Disney instructs through morality
plays that structure personal values ad ideology.... 'Snow White', 'Pollyanna', and other Disney production become
contemporary examples of every man by placing goodness and evil in an allegorical conflict that illustrates how
virtues such as innocence, beauty, kindness and patriotism triumph over vices and finally result in happiness.

Disney films contain powerful messages constructed to mold and guide society toward happiness and away from
evil. In this way, "Disney media products typify fundamental assumptions of dominant culture but in a Utopian,
idealized form" (Real 1977: 47). One dominant ideological construction in films and in Disney is gender roles. As
Teresa de Lauretis (1984: 15) observes, "The dominant cinema specifies woman in a particular social and natural
order, sets her up in certain positions of meaning, fixes her in a certain identification". Cinema constructs gender
by creating a pattern or identity that we negotiate and inhabit. Thus, cinema provides patterns through which
gender roles are understood and upon which we act.

2. The Role of Women

The purpose of my study is to analyze the ways in which Disney constructs the role of women in society. In
particular, I focus on how these films construct beauty and power in relation to the proper female role. Two classic
Disney feature-length films are analyzed by decoding the animated images of popular heroines, which contribute
to the socialization of American children. The evolution of the Disney heroine image is traced and analyzed
through semiotics. The two films selected are: Snow White (1938) and Aladdin (1992). These films were chosen
because they contain popularly identified human female Disney main characters. There have been many other

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female characters in the Disney films; however, these two movies have been extremely popular Disney film
productions among children and adults, especially females. Snow White is Disney's first attempt at molding the
animated, human heroine while Aladdin is one of the most popular modern attempts. In addition, both heroines are
beautiful princesses, establishing an important basis for analyzing of the intersection of beauty and power within
the proper female role.

Tracing the evolution of the Disney heroine reveals new and insightful readings of Disney feature-length films thus
aiding the viewer in understanding the illusion of reality constructed within this specific context and disclose
messages that perpetuate the stereotypical representations of women in film. Comparing and contrasting these
two Disney animated films also makes a contribution to the progression of semiotic analysis and feminist film
theory. A progress that suggests working with, "plural and complexity constructed conceptions of social identity,
treating gender as one relevant strand among others, attending to class, race, ethnicity, age, and sexual
orientation" (Fraser and Nicholson 1990: 34). Modleski (1986: 136) notes that the "ultimate goal of feminist
criticism and theory is female empowerment" and argues that one way this takes place is by informing women of
the meanings within texts. Dominant cinema, "feature-length narrative sound film made and distributed by the
Hollywood studio system, is an important text in constructing social identity" (Kaplan 1983: 11). Through
understanding the various representations of women in film, the multiple layers of messages can be interpreted
and used to help free "women from all male captivity narratives" (Modleski 1986: 136).

3. Semiotic Method

As De Lauretis (1987: 13) observes, cinema is a "semiotic apparatus". In the same vein, Real (1977: 81) notes that
the Disney message creates an identifiable, "universe of semiotic meaning". Thus, suggests semiotic analysis as
an appropriate method to uncover meaning with these films. A semiotic analysis allows an indepth view of the
construction of beauty and power and their meaning within these two films. As Manning (1987: 25) states,
"Semiotics is primarily a mode of analysis that seeks to understand how signs perform or convey meaning in a
context". These codes are accepted as reality and aid the viewer's interpretation of the world around him/her
(Fiske 1987). Heinz-Gerd Schmitz (1993: 201) explained, "Signs indicate by startling us. If we get used to them, new
signs are required. This is the reason why texts already explained need further explanation". The semiotic critic is a
critical viewer who strives to break the routine acceptance of signs. When a sign becomes a natural perception of
reality, it becomes easier to manipulate the readers of that sign.

The basic application of semiotic criticism is to identify signifiers and signifieds which make up signs that link
together to create codes. In the context of film studies, this is accomplished through the identification of a sign
that can only happen by recognizing signifers (objects) and signifieds (concepts). For example, the signifier
(Disney heroines) arrives at the mind's doorstep via our sensory receptors; we then supply the approximate (we
hope) signified (concepts) from our storehouse of memory traces, thoroughly recognizing the familiar in the new
(Nichols 1981: 44). Furthermore, it is the joining of concept and material (Disney Heroines) through a historical,
social, and cultural process that creates meaning (Moore and Dwyer 1994: 301). Semiotics allows the critic to
break down a film's plot into parts that eventually make up the whole narrative. For example, Pam Cook describes
these parts to include, "the agency of female characters...the place of female characters...female characters'
control (or lack) of the story...and abstract notions of femininity and sexuality"(Cook 1988: 280). All these parts
make up the entire narrative code and must be analyzed to truly understand women's representation in any
particular film.

As Deely (1994: 96) states, "Semiosis proceeds rather through a succession of signification only some of which are
simultaneously achieved, while others are achieved successively and with many duplications, lapses, and

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overlaps". Semiotics is a daily occurrence, whether it is a conscious or an unconscious act As Wolkomir observes,
"society and everything in it from novels to skyscrapers-is a text, full of embedded signs and codes" (1993: 66). It is
the semiotic critic's role to identify these signs and codes that produce meaning in society. In order to uncover the
representations of women, I analyze Snow White and Aladdin using a semiotic analysis. Julia Lesage (1976-77: 46)
stresses the importance of using codes to re-read a film and discover messages by reading "against the grain" of
Hollywood cinema. This reading "against the grain" allows the critic to view the spectator position from a point
outside the Hollywood positioning of the spectator.

4. Snow White

4.1. Narrative of the Heroine Image

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a story about a young beautiful woman who is threatened by an evil queen
because of her beauty. The queen discovers from a magical mirror that Snow White is the fairest in the land, in fact
she has become more beautiful than the queen. The queen tells her huntsman to take Snow White out into the
forest, kill her and cut out her heart returning to the queen as proof the deed was accomplished. The huntsman
finding Snow White so innocently beautiful cannot bring himself to kill her and she flees into the forest. The
huntsman returns a pig's heart to the queen. Snow White, escaping the queen's assassin, runs terrified into the
forest, where animals befriend her and lead to the seven dwarfs cottage. The dwarfs befriend the beautiful woman
and she keeps house for them. At this point, the evil but beautiful queen addresses her magical mirror a second
time to discover that Snow White is still the fairest in the land. The queen disguises herself as an ugly, old woman
and tricks Snow White into eating a poison apple. The dwarfs return to find Snow White seemingly dead and chase
the old woman off a cliff to her death. Snow White is so beautiful even in death that the dwarfs cannot bring
themselves to bury her; therefore, they lie her in state in the forest for all to pay their respects. The prince, who she
briefly met earlier at the wishing well, arrives to pay his respects and is so taken by her beauty that he must kiss
her. She awakens, everyone rejoices and the couple lives happily ever after.

4.2. The Social Codes

The major code, which drives the entire plot of Snow White, is her pure beauty and the many conflicts it causes.
The fact that she is so beautiful creates the initial conflict between the queen and Snow White. It is the clash
between Snow White's pure beauty and the queen's vain beauty, as well as her need to remain the most beautiful,
which is the center of the plot. The queen's vindictive vanity forces Snow White into the jaws, of death but her
beauty saves her from the assassin. This same beauty comes to her rescue a third time when the animals and the
dwarfs befriend her. Once again, the plot moves forward as the queen's reaction to Snow White's beauty continues
to endanger Snow White's life. Finally, because Snow White is so beautiful, the dwarfs cannot bury her and the
prince is driven to kiss her. Snow White's beauty functions as a double-edged sword, at once creating the conflict
and resolving the conflict throughout the narrative. It is obvious that her beauty creates the tensions within the
plot, but is not the creator of meaning (agent), rather, it is that which is acted upon (object).

Her beauty and the fact that she is so youthful and innocent drive the action codes of Snow White. It seems quite
natural considering her visual persona and the time period in which this film was produced that Snow White would
make friends with animals, happily clean house and take an apple from a strange old woman. Similarly, it appears
natural when she leaves the castle and wanders aimlessly through the forest because the queen tries to kill her;
even though, there are alternative choices, such as gathering supporters to fight the queen. But Snow White never
acts to help herself. When the Prince comes to the castle, she runs inside. When the huntsman threatens her with
a knife, she covers her face and screams, and he has to convince her to run away from harm. When frightened in

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the forest, she cries and the animals find her a place to live. When the old woman offers an apple, she eats it. And
when in a sleeping death, she can only be saved by the prince. Snow White has no agency in saving or protecting
herself from harm. In order to produce the Disney message no other options are given to Snow White. Other
avenues taken by Snow White may have delivered the Disney message and displayed a more holistic image for
spectators viewing the film. However, the Disney heroine does not act herself but can only be acted upon and,
thus, has little voice in the narrative. She is truly an object, not an agent.

The only voice Snow White has is in the house of the dwarfs. Here, she directs the animals to help her clean, so
that the dwarfs might let her stay. When the dwarfs return, she offers her services as a housekeeper in exchange
for a place to stay. After they agree, she orders the dwarfs to wash before eating. In fact, Snow White's living
situation is altered little. She has moved from scullery maid at the castle to housekeeper for the dwarfs. Rather
than depending on the dwarfs to serve her as a princess, she serves them as a woman. Only when Snow White
leaves the home of her parents and enters the house of men as the sole woman does she find her voice. The
dwarfs' cottage is shown as her natural environment, and she exercises power with it. But, serving the dwarfs is
just a transition until her prince comes. Interestingly, Snow White longs for him to take her to his home, not for him
to help her regain her frightful home.

The actions of Snow White parallel the situation of a woman in the era of the 1930s in the United States of
America. Women were given very little voice within as well as outside the patriarchal system. Women's proper
place, just like it is for Snow White, was in the home. These social constraints are also dramatically imposed on the
evil queen. When she leaves her home and acts in the world outside the castle, she faces death. In short, a woman
has a place in society, step outside this place, as the queen does in Snow White and suffer the consequences of
death or alienation.

In the film, Snow White's image is that of purity, innocence and youth. She has very child-like qualities, such as her
bobbed hair tied with a ribbon. Her dress covers her entire body disclosing no curves or body shape, and the puff
sleeves exemplify these child-like qualities. Yet she is a woman and perceived as a very real threat by the evil
queen. However, other than beauty, there is nothing threatening about Snow White. Snow White is a romantic
figure with child-like qualities making her a child/woman character. Because she is a beautiful woman, the evil
queen is jealous of her and the prince finds her attractive, but she is youthfully innocent as well as genuinely good
in the image of a child.

These codes also reflect the era in which this film was produced. In the thirties, woman's fashion and body ideals
represented child/woman qualities. The thirties' woman was not expected to be sexual in any form and the film
reflects this through the visual persona of Snow White. In contrast the evil queen has a sexual image (body shape,
gestures and facial expressions) with defined curves that display she is a woman with no visual childlike qualities.
The images of her power over men (e.g., the huntsman) and her independence from the society in which she lives
construct a morally unacceptable persona in the film and society.

In Snow White the antithesis of good/evil, child-like woman/ sexual woman, and dependent/independent. Snow
White symbolizes all that is good while the queen symbolizes all that is evil. The visual image of Snow White is
light, fair and child-like in contrast to the dark, and sexual image of the evil queen. For example, the environment of
the queen (the interior of the castle) which is the castle, is dark, cold, and gloomy while Snow White's environment
of the exterior of the castle, the forest, is bright, warm, and cheerful. Only when she first enters the forest alone at
night is she out of her element, but the animals (symbols of Natural Order) rescue her and take her to the cottage,
reinforcing her image of lightness, fairness, and dependence.

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Later, when Snow White meets the evil queen disguised as the old woman, the antithesis is supported through the
striking visual contrast between the beauty and innocence of Snow White against the ugly and haggard image of
the old woman. Here, Disney provides a powerful image of the queen's true persona, which is that of a vain sexually
self-absorbed and thus "ugly" woman. These same visual images depict Snow White as dependent and the evil
queen as independent, thus constructing dependency as virtuous and independence as evil. Snow White requires
the constant aid of others (the huntsman, animals, dwarfs and prince), but the queen is self-sufficient. In the end
dependency is profitable, gaining wealth, security and love for the heroine, while the independent queen's efforts
result in alienation as well as death. This film constructs beauty as an important motive for the action of others.
True beauty does not act. Beautiful women who are independent and have agency are evil and, thus, ugly. The role
for the proper woman is to be beautiful, to be dependent, and to be powerless. The moral to this story is apparent-
dependence reaps benefits, independence results in death.

5. Aladdin

5.1. Narrative of the Heroine Image

The narrative of Aladdin is based on the exploits of a young street urchin named Aladdin. He is a thief who steals
to eat and has a chance encounter with Princess Jasmine. She is escaping the pressures of the palace by running
away from her duty to marry a prince by her next birthday. As she naively wonders through the market place,
Aladdin saves her from danger. Meanwhile, Jafar (the evil wizard) is seeking to obtain the magic lamp and
discovers he needs Aladdin to accomplish his quest. Jafar's henchman abducts Aladdin and the princess fails in
trying to save him. Thinking Aladdin is dead, Jasmine becomes despondent. Jafar disguised as a hideous old man
tricks Aladdin into trying to obtain the lamp. Aladdin unleashes the genie and uses one of his three wishes to
become a prince in order to marry Princess Jasmine. However upon losing the lamp, Jafar plots to marry Jasmine
himself and take control of the kingdom. Jasmine falls in love with Aladdin, the prince, but Jafar interferes by once
again abducting Aladdin and trying to kill him. Aladdin returns just in time to stop Jafar from marrying Jasmine
and uncovers Jafar's evil plot. Jafar gets a hold of the lamp thwarting the wedding plans of Aladdin and Jasmine
as well as obtaining the power to rule the world. Jafar turns Jasmine into a love slave. Jasmine distracts Jafar by
trying to seduce him so Aladdin can steal the lamp but instead he endangers Jasmine in the process. Aladdin
finally outsmarts Jafar by tricking him into using Jafar's third wish to be turned into a genie and therefore trapping
him in a lamp. Aladdin lets the first genie of the lamp go then marries Jasmine and they live happily ever after.

5.2. The Social Codes

The major codes in Aladdin are the attempt to fulfill personal desires. Aladdin, Jasmine, and Jafar all desire
freedom to pursue their dreams Aladdin wishes for freedom from his life as street urchin; Jasmine desires the
freedom to marry who and when she wants; and Jafar want the freedom of ultimate power. The tensions created
between the characters and their ultimate desires drives the narrative. Aladdin wants Jasmine because he loves
and desires her beauty, and Jafar wants Jasmine for power and sexual beauty. Jasmine desires to be free from
this system, but she is trapped by her love for Aladdin and her ignorance of the social worlds inside as well as
outside the palace. Once again, the main female character is acted upon and does not create meaning. Jasmine's
beauty and position create tensions between the two male characters and drive the plot, but she plays no active
role in the plot despite the power of her position and her own desire to be free.

Jasmine's character is constructed around a clash between what she says and what she does. The film subverts
this clash so her actions appear to be natural, when in fact they are very unnatural. For example, she consistently
states that she desires freedom of choice and argues with the establishment (Jafar and her father); however, the

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only direct action she takes to accomplish this is to run away. Even in this action, she fails by returning to the
palace to free Aladdin and then stays because she is incapable of living in the real world. One must join her father
in wondering "where she gets it from". If Jasmine is truly so ignorant of the world and has been raised in such a
closed environment, then where do her progressive ideas come from and her courage to voice them? An Arab girl,
even a princess, would have been trained to obey and support the current system, not to fight it.

A reading of other action codes in this film reveals a significant conflict within Jasmine's character. Disney
presents her as a free-spirited outspoken princess, but her actions display a helpless child. For example, in the
market place when her hand is going to be cut off for stealing, she does not use her power as princess to save
herself. Instead, only through Aladdin's timely arrival and skill is she able to escape. As part of the escape, Jasmine
acts as if she is "crazy", which is an interesting contrast to using her status to escape certain harm. The appeal to
weak mentality is constructed as proper (affirms the social codes as rational); whereas, the simple appeal to
power is improper. The antithetical nature of these two characterizations of Jasmine provides insight into the
princess' persona. In other words, she speaks progres-sively, but acts traditionally. Through Jasmine, the Disney
repre-sentation of the conflict for woman between traditional and non-traditional modes of power can be seen. Her
lack of action and reliance on tradition shows Disney's resolution of that struggle for womenwomen may speak
about freedom, but they really want to be taken care of by others and run into trouble if no man comes to their aid.
This depiction creates an image of women not knowing what they want or what is best for them.

Jasmine's visual image sets up a similar clash between what she looks like and how she acts. Her face appears
innocent, while her body is anything but innocent. Her hair is jet black long and flowing, but her puppy dog eyes
give an aura of innocence. However, she has a blatant sexuality, seen through her large breasts, tiny waist, and
rounded buttocks (all displayed by reveal-ing costumes). She is a 1990's woman with a completely unattain-able
body ideal (without the aid of surgery), and, although this character is Arabic, she flaunts her body throughout the
film. The body image of Jasmine gives the impression that she is sexually liberated. An image supported further by
the fact that she is articulate and she speaks with authority. Yet, her actions are that of an ignorant little child. On
the surface, Jasmine appears to be a feministspeaking, freedom-seeking progressive, but her actions betray her
true nature of a traditional woman in need of being constantly protected. Besides running away, the only other
action Jasmine undertakes is seducing Jafar to distract him from Aladdin's activity, but her gestures are so
sexually powerful that she even distracts Aladdin. Her sexuality gives an insight into Disney's construction of the
1990's woman-sexual and powerful, yet innocent and childlike. Indeed, Jasmine thinks she knows what she wants,
but really does not.

The overall symbolic code of the narrative is good/evil, but the codes associated with Jasmine provide a more
detailed understanding of the construction of beauty and power within the film. Unlike Snow White, where two
female characters provided a dichotomy of female roles, Aladdin locates its dichotomy of proper females roles
within one character. Therefore, Jasmine's character traits are antithetical: progressive/traditional,
authority/submissive, independent/dependent and sexual/innocence. As discussed earlier, Jasmine appears to
have progressive characteristics when in fact she fits a more traditional role. This typification is disclosed when
Jasmine returns to the palace to aid Aladdin, fails in this quest, and then stays in the security of the palace instead
venturing back out into the world. She is forced to choose the known and safe establishment over the unknown
possible free environment of the outside world. Jasmine's ignorance is her downfall in her quest for autonomy.
Although she is in a position of power and speaks with authority, she is rendered submissive by the system and its
manipulation of her. She is acted upon and must deal with the consequences of others' actions. Her two main
actions are to run away and to seduce Jafar. Both show the limits of her power. When she can't get what she
wants, she runs away to a new life or she uses the only power she has, her beauty, to influence those with power.

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The system has kept her ignorant so that she will obey the Law of the Father. According to the Disney message,
she has no recourse but to obey. Her persona is given an air of independence with no substance. She claims she
desires independence, but the system dooms her to a life dependency. In fact, at the end of the film, she is allowed
to "choose" whom she wants to marry, but still she must marry; she needs a man to attain the freedom that she so
desires. Ironically, Aladdin, who earlier pretends to be a prince to win over Jasmine, becomes the prince for which
she was waiting. In the end, Disney's answer for women today is same as it was in 1937 -marry the right man and
live happily ever after.

6. The Disney Code

Snow White and Jasmine provide an illustration of Disney's construction of the "correct" woman. They are the
personification of extremely different eras, and yet in many ways they are strikingly similar. In the 55 years
between these two images, many developments have had an Impact on the role of women in society. Comparing
and contrasting these two cinematic icons demon-strates the changes have not been all that significant for Disney
heroines.1

There are differences between the visual images of Snow White and Jasmine. Snow White's beauty is child-like
and as pure as her name. Snow White's child-like image is consistent with her child-like actions. Meanwhile,
Jasmine's visual image is sexual in nature, but her actions reflect an innocent persona. Jasmine's sexuality is
presented in a "positive" light, but this image merely encourages the role of woman as object. Jasmine, like Snow
White, is really still a child in a woman's body. They are both essentially child/woman even though Jasmine
appears on the surface to be more emancipated. Snow White may not have been much to look at in comparison to
Jasmine, but both represent the ultimate attractive image of their respective eras. Further, each is the ultimate
objectification of a woman's role in society -she pleases men both in image and in action. Snow White has child-
like beauty, innocence, and dependence; Jasmine has sexual attrac-tiveness, innocence, and dependence. The only
difference between the two is the change in beauty standards. They are both beautiful, innocent, dependent, and in
constant need of being protected from others and themselves.

Dependency is a consistent theme, as both "heroines"' are required to rely on heroes to save them. Snow White has
the huntsman, the dwarfs, and the prince, and Jasmine has Aladdin and her father. Each one is unable to break
from their traditional role, take action to save themselves, or create meaning with the text. The complete
objectification of women in both films is further illustrated by the double entendre of their visual images. For both,
beauty endangers and rescues them continually throughout the narrative of each film. Beauty and its relationship
with power play an important role construction of female roles in both films.

The female roles in Snow White reveal important intersections between beauty and power. The vain queen has
beauty but also is independent and wields power; therefore, she exercises no power except in the well-defined
domestic constraints within the home. Snow White is the perfect woman; she is beautiful, can cook and clean, and
completely dependent upon animals and men. The evil queen is flawed; although beautiful, her power and
independence are unacceptable. Snow White's beauty is a signifier, and what is most significant is the intersection
between beauty and power. Power for women is constructed as only acceptable within the constraints of women's
proper sphere, the home, and then only over cooking, cleaning, and eating.

Jasmine's representations of the proper female role tells a strikingly similar story about the intersection between
beauty and power. Just as for Snow White, beauty grants Jasmine certain privileges, but not direct power. Her
beauty is acted upon; it is not action. Although she speaks progressively, she like Snow White, is a object, not an
agent, in the story. All her orders are ignored and all her attempts at action fail. In actuality, she has no power

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unless her father acts on her wishes. From her father, Jasmine gains the freedom to marry that she chooses, but
not the freedom to live anywhere else or to be anything else. Her power and role change little when marrying
Aladdin. The role of sultan's wife is substituted for sultan's daughter, and she still can only exercise power through
others. Unlike Snow White, who exercises power at the cottage, Jasmine is given no proper place for her power,
just a proper role. She will always be a princess, who lives within the protection of her father's palace. Her "whole
new world" looks strikingly like her old one. Like Snow White, Jasmine just changed masters, and her only hope is
in marrying the right man.

Overall, the representation of Snow White is consistent, but Jasmine's is full of tension. In Aladdin, the identity of
women is blurred; she does not know what she wants. For example, Jasmine, unlike Snow White, has power, but
she does not know how to utilize it, leaving her trapped and just as helpless as Snow White. It is not enough to
desire independence or to have power, if a woman cannot or will not act. Disney's construction of Jasmine leaves
the spectator with the message that women have no voice independent of men. Therefore, Jasmine with all her
attributes must ultimately rely on Aladdin and her father to "free" her, just as Snow White must wait for the kiss of
her prince. In the end, the 90's woman remains trapped by tradition.

Women's position in society has changed since the 1937 premier of Snow White, but in Disney's world, little has
changed. The 90's woman may speak more liberated, but in reality, she still needs a man to protect her. Young
children can easily go from Snow White to Aladdin with very little dissonance because Snow White and Jasmine
are sisters in Disney's traditional family. These traditional messages are seen daily and repeatedly by millions of
children throughout the world. Children love the animation and the music, but the meaning within these texts is not
lost on them. Young girls identify with these heroines and act out their roles (Giroux 1995). In the extension of the
socialization power of Disney beyond the films into role playing and merchandising, traditional gender roles and
communication patterns are norm-alized, practiced, and internalized. The ideology of traditional gender roles
within Disney films establishes patterns that shape the experiences and actions of viewers. The traditional is
normalized, and the nontraditional is punished or seen as ineffective. In the milieu of media messages, Disney
offer a view of traditional gender roles that serves as an influence on children's identity and action. The implication
of these repeated, strong messages is the support and recreation of traditional notions of gender and power and
tradition modes of communication and action within society.

The impact of these messages extends beyond individual so-cialization to influence public discussion of gender
roles (Hoerrner 1996). Offering just one role and placing all women and all men (Jeffords 1995) within the
constraints of that role streamline complex issues about gender and identity into either/or choices. The result is
dissonance for both women and men. Society is not the happiest place on earth, but the argument becomes that it
could be if we would follow Disney" model and stay reduced by such dramas. Important continued discussion
participates in the backlash against the changes in women's roles.

Analyzing popular films, such as Disney, across time provides an opportunity for critics to see how dominant code
constructions of gender have been adapted to the societal changes in women's roles. Further, this helps us
understand how these messages impact society both as socializes and reducers of the debate. Uncovering the
embedded codes in films can play a role in informing a larger audience about the limitations of the representations
of women and provide a springboard for further research and discussion in this area. In short, this research helps
reopen the discussion that these images attempt to close. Research and discussion about gender construction in
a variety of texts is important and necessary in empowering and freeing women from limiting gender roles
(Modleski 1986). The creation of a continued and expanding dialogue can help women and men begin to see how
women (and men) are limited by most media constructions of gender and the implications this has on society.
Semiotic analysis allows the critic to deconstruct these images, which helps start such a dialogue. Critical

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questioning and discussion is a path to a world where Disney's heroine of the Twenty-First Century can be truly
different than her sisters and not left, like Snow White and Jasmine, waiting for her prince to come.

Footnote
Notes
1. Recently Disney has produced films with more emphasis on the female code such as Beauty and the Beast
(1991), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules(\991), Mulan (1998), and, The
Emperor's New Groove (2000).

References
References
BELL, E.
1995. "Somatexts at the Disney Shop: Constructing the Pentimentos of Women's Animated Bodies" in From Mouse
to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture, ed. E. Bell, L. Haas and L. Sells (Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press), 107-124.
BELL, E., L. HASS, and L. SELLS.
1995. "Introduction: Walt's in the Movies" in From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture, ed.
E. Bell, L. Haas and L. Sells (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press), 1-17.
BRUMMETT, B.
1991. Rhetorical Dimensions of Popular Culture (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press).
BUSH, A., and L. GRESHAM.
1986. "The Communication Effects of Animation", Journal of Applied Communication Research 14.1, 59-65.
COOK, P.
1988. "Approaching the Work of Dorothy Arzner" in Feminism and Film Theory, ed. C. Penley (New York:
Routledge).
LAURETIS, T. de
1987. Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).
1984. Alice Doesn't: Feminism, Semiotics, and Cinema (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).
DIRKS, T.
1999. All-Time Box Office Leaders (http://www.filmsite.org) Top 100 American Films Adjusted for Inflation.
FRASER, N., and L. J. NICHOLSON.
1990. Feminism/Postmodernism (New York: Routledge).
GIROUX, H. A.
1995. "Animating Youth: The Disneyfication of Children's Culture", Socialist Review 24.23-55.
HOERMER, K. L.
1996. "Gender Roles in Disney Films: Analyzing Behaviors from Snow White to Simbà", Women's Studies in
Communication 19, 213-238.
JEFFORDS, S.
1995. "The Curse of Masculinity: Disney's Beauty and the Beast" in From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film,
Gender, and Culture, ed. E. Bell, L. Haas and L. Sells (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press), 161-172.
KAPLAN, E. A.
1983. Woman and Film: Both Sides of the Camera (New York: Methuen).
LESAGE, J.
1976-1977. "S/Z and Rules of the Game", Jump Cut 12-13, 45-51.
MODLESKI, T.
1986. "Feminism and the Power of Interpretation: Some Critical Readings" in Feminist Studies!Critical Studies, ed.
T. de Lauretis (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press), 121-138.

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MURROW, J.
1978. "In Defense of Disney", Media-and-Methods 14.8, 28-34.
NICHOLS, B.
1981. Ideology and Image: Social Representation in the Cinema and Other Media (Bloomington, IN: Indiana
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O'BRIEN, P. C.
1996. "The Happiest Films on Earth: A Textual and Contextual Analysis of Walt Disney's Cinderella and The Little
Mermaid", Women's Studies in Communication 19. 155-183.
REAL, M.
1977. Mass-Mediated Culture (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall).
1987. Super Media: A Cultural Studies Approach (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications).
RYAN, T. A., and C. B. SCHWARTZ.
1956. "Speed of Perception as a Function of Mode of Representation", American Journal of Psychology 69. 60-69.
SELLS, L.
1995. "Where Do the Mermaids Stand? Voice and Body in The Little Mermaid" in From Mouse to Mermaid: The
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175-192.

AuthorAffiliation
JACQUELINE M. LAYNG
University of Toledo, USA

AuthorAffiliation
Biography
JACQUELINE M. LAYNG (b. 1 October 1964). Academic Status: Assistant Professor of Communication. Mail
Address: Department of Communication, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA. E-mail:
<jlayng@utnet.utoledo.edu> Personal Office Tel: (419) 530-4674. Fax: (419) 530-4771. Educational Background:
Ed.D., Northern Illinois University, 1996; an educational doctorate in educational technology. Research interests:
(1) Critical Analysis of Media Technology; (2) The Design of Computer-Mediated Communication; (3) The Future of
Broadcasting. Professional Background: Member, National Communication Association; Member, International
Communication Association; Member, Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Bibliography
Author selection of items. Complete list available from the author.
JACQUELINE M. LAYNG
2000. "Diversity at Work: A case Study of Using Videotape Training to Enhance Performance", Performance
Improvement Quarterly 13.4, 67-86.
1999. "Developing Multimedia Presentations in a New Technology Communication Course", Speech
Communication Teacher 13.4, 1-2.
1998a. "Uncovering the Layers of Diversity: A Semiotic Analysis of the Corporate Training Video Series, Valuing
Diversity", Semiotica 119.3-4, 251-267.
1998b. "Beauty and the Beast Unveiled: An Application of Critical Viewing to a Fable Turned Television Drama",
Journal of Visual Literacy 18.1, 95-110.
1997a. "A Course of Action: A Pedagogical Approach to Multimedia Presentations", Florida Technology in
Education Quarterly 9.3, 28-37.
1997b. "Digital Business Presentations" in Professional Business Presentations: An Audience Centered Approach,
ed. R. Knecht, and E. Wilcox (Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster), 135-152.

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DETAILS

Publication title: The American Journal of Semiotics

Volume: 17

Issue: 3

Pages: 197-215

Publication year: 2001

Publisher: Semiotic Society of America

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Publication subject: Social Sciences: Comprehensive Works, Humanities: Comprehensive Works

Source type: Scholarly Journals

Language of publication: English

ISSN: 02777126

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