Description: I googled podcasts about Disney and Gender, and actually stumbled upon a variety of results. Many lacked focus on the gender aspect of Disney or were incredibly over the time frame I was seeking, until I looked into Duelling Disney’s episode called “Discussing Gender and Race in Disney Films,” that was about 40 minutes long. It’s hosted by Andee Zomerman and Alfred Day, with Andee’s 19-year-old daughter, Emma. Their academic background isn’t really discussed in the podcast or available on the site, but I recall Alfred talking about how he works for a research-university, so I’d assume he’s a professor, and Andee would also have some scholarly credentials. Here is the link: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWVsaW5nZGlzbmV5LmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz/episode/NzlhMmM5NzIyZTkwNDZhMjgxNjc1NTQ3OWMwZmQ0NjI?hl=en
Summary: Andee opens the discussion about Disney’s portrayal of gender through providing her opinions and thoughts after watching Mickey Mouse Monopoly, a documentary that analyzed Disney’s overtly innocent façade with darker messages and values under the surface. She summarized how the documentary exposed Disney’s notion of how “little girls watch [fairy tales and their misogynistic values] and expect real life women to be like that,” highlighting the power and influence of Disney as a public pedagogy (3:54). She also evaluates the documentary’s idea that “princesses must be rescued by a man,” which shows reliance and dependence as feminine gender roles (4:30). Another interesting idea was how Emma provided the childhood experience of Disney, and how she recalled how “every little girl wants to be a princess,” and but they don’t really notice the physical stereotypes and restrictions being placed with that identity, such as “having to be super skinny, and blonde, with blue eyes (22:00).”
Reflection: The podcast starts with a five second audio clip of Walt Disney saying, “to all who come to this happy place: welcome,” which comes from his Disneyland opening speech. The hosts don’t introduce themselves because the listeners are probably familiar with them from earlier podcasts, but they do introduce the guest speaker, Emma. The speakers give a quick recap of their lives before moving onto the discussion. The podcast has a very light-hearted and casual tone to it with bits of humor and laughter. The speakers consistently make remarks and ask questions to maintain a flow of conversation. The podcast closes with a call to listeners for their input on the discussion, statement of the podcast’s social media handles, and a final goodbye.
Comments