The essay entitled “Representation of Disney Princesses in the Media” by Isabelle Gill compares the portrayal of women in the media with the depiction of Disney princesses in film reviews. The author argues that both women in the media and Disney princesses in the reviews assume strong feminist features and are primarily seen through the lens of passiveness and domesticity. To effectively present her point of view, the author analyzes the trends in the current depiction of the princesses. The author claims that these tendencies comprise the use of “traditionally feminine vocabulary, degrading physical descriptions, and critiques that serve to trivialize accomplishments” (Gill, p.2). To make her argument, the author uses exposition rhetorical mode, which consists of a thesis, arguments to support, and the restatement of the author’s idea.
Personally, I agree with Gill’s view on the topic as, in my experience, Disney princesses tend to be described in the language that highlights their feminine and passive features. Serving as role models for millions of young girls, these characters usually encompass gentleness and kindness which are seen as typically feminine traits. Moreover, many reviews focus on their physical appearance highlighting sexuality of the Disney princesses. However, if I were to present this argument, I would do it differently. I would compare the representation of male and female personas in Disney films’ reviews to show the drastic difference in the choice of lexis and overall representation. Some people may disagree with the author’s stance because some Disney princesses do exhibit masculine features such as courage and recklessness. However, these traits of character are often downgraded in film reviews that people read. I believe female audience would benefit from reading the articles since girls and women will see how they are being manipulated through film reviews to fit the roles envisaged for them by men.
THESIS: The essay “Representation of Disney Princesses in the Media” by Isabelle Gill shines a light on the representation of Disney princesses in film reviews and the author argues that princesses are portrayed to have mainly feminine, passive and domestic features.
Reference
Gill, I. Representation of Disney princesses in the media [PDF].