The Change of Female Role Portrayal in Fairy Tale Films Analyzing Snow White and Maleficen

Jianing Yang, Tianchen Shen, Chunxiang Shen, Zifan Xu, Fang Xu

East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China

Abstract: The well-known Disney's film studios have portrayed many impressive feminine characters in a series of animated movies over the time, while the portrayal of role character somehow can imply the gender consciousness. So this paper is intended to give two groups of analysis about the change of feminine character representation from the Disney movies over the time. One comparative case study is about princess Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937)and Snow White and the Huntsman(2012)，the other is female villain Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty(1959)and Maleficent(2014).This study was conducted by the method of textual analysis to give a qualitative research into the four movies. It was found that the portrayal of princess and female villain both has changed in 21st century. Snow White in 2012 has become independent, toughened, and emancipated compared with the version in 1937, when male chauvinism has prevailed. Moreover, Maleficent in 2014 was no longer just a simple vicious image than in 1989. The film has given audiences a more comprehensive understanding about her bad behavior. The transformation of Disney’s female characters is a reflection of the development of feminism and an improvement of women's status.

Keywords: Disney movie; Snow White; Maleficent; Feminism