Ideologies in Disney Films

Walt Disney began his company in 1923 in Holly-Vermont Los Angles with his brother Roy. The two brothers produced a short animation film called the Alice Comedies for the company Laugh-O-Grams in Kansas City which eventually went bankrupt. They soon moved to Los Angles where he created Micky Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald Duck in 1928.  In 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney’s first full length animation feature. The film produced at the unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. Within the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi. It has been said that Walt Disney is a legend/hero of the 20th century and that his worldwide popularity was based upon the ideals which his name represents which are: imagination, optimism, creation, and self-made success in the American tradition.

Implicit messages have been described as messages that are not said out right but expressed by visuals or hidden within the context. Film makers also embed ideological messages in the films make, be it explicit or implicit. An example of explicit an ideological message in a film is commonly in the title of the film, or is identifiable by what a character explicitly says. On the other hand, implicit ideology in films is not what is said or shown, but what the deeper meaning of the film is, what is meant but not said. Many Science-Fiction films use implicit ideological messages, as while they show space ships and robots, they are almost tell the audience something about the present. There has been several examples of Disney films that have been said to have implicit messages within them. The issues they are dealing with are women, race, and culture to name a few. In M. Keith Booker’s book ‘Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Messages of Children’s Films she talks about the structural assumptions of Disney films which should be carefully distinguished from the ideologies they embody which are: animated animals ( presented as to appear friendly) have an innocence, these animals serve as stand ins for children, the strategically inserted musical numbers help hold the attention of young viewers, magic, children find the slapstick violence entertaining, the violence and danger helps keep the children interested in the plot and all threats will be banished leading to a happy ending, children must be protected from any hint of sexuality, and lastly physical labor is shown to be pleasant, and highly rewardable.

Even though it was not uncontroversial in the 1930s Snow White and most of the other if not all of the Disney princesses are perceived as a helpless victim who must be saved by a man and whose main talents seem to involve singing and doing housework. Snow White is seen as the ‘mother’ towards the dwarfs as she lives with them, they need someone to clean. Her only enemy is her step-mother. Within Disney films the villain is usually an evil older women with more power and she is always destroyed. All in all Snow White basically is a happy homemaker who waits for a man to come along and bring her back to life.

Racism is another that pops up within certain Disney films. An example is Aladdin, if you look at the character’s skin colour within the film you can see that Aladdin is much paler than some of the others and the evil characters like Jafar look very Arabic. As well Aladdin asks for people to call him ‘Al’ which is not an Arabic name more of an American one. The Lion King as well shows signs of racism with the animals characters. The main character Simba who is the hero has  an American accent while two of the villain hyenas do not. There are various videos available online that portray gender and disney as well as some subliminal messages.

One of the newer examples of Disney movies having implicit ideologies is Wall-E. While this film is not showing ideologies about gender or racism it is focusing on global warming. Within each Disney Pixar film there is at least one member of the team is human and one is not but possesses human levels of intelligence. Within each film technology plays an important part especially with Wall-E and UP! In Wall-E specifically the human race is saved from self-induced extinction by a machine. From the outset hearing about this film from the poster and hearing the film title does not indicate what type of plot it will consists of. The ideological message that it being sent to the audience becomes clear when they watch the film. Without it being a cute children’s film about a robot who falls in love, it becomes a hyperbolic version of the future where Americans are so reliant on technology they can no longer do anything for themselves because they have damaged the Earth so much with their pollution.

There are several different ideologies hidden within different Disney films. There are the Disney princesses who have to wait for their young and handsome prince to save the day. There are the films like Wall-E and Mulan have to work together on a team to save the day.  “The message hidden inside Pixar’s magnificent films is this: humanity does not have a monopoly on personhood. In whatever form non- or super-human intelligence takes, it will need brave souls on both sides to defend what is right. If we can live up to this burden, humanity and the world we live in will be better for it.”

http://studioservices.go.com/disneystudios/history.html

Walt Disney, Biography

Booker, K.,M. (2010) ‘Disney, Pixar, and the hidden messages of children’s films’: Greenwood Publishing Group

http://www.newint.org/easier-english/Disney/diswomen.html

http://www.esfmedia.com/page/Wall-E+-+Ideology

http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/the-hidden-message-in-pixars-films/

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech came into theatres on the 7th of January 2011. It was described on IMBd as the story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. This film is a historical drama which was directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays King George VI who goes to see a speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush to help with a stammer so George VI can make his first wartime radio broadcast on Britain’s declaration of war on Germany in 1939. During the end of the film the declaration of war with Nazi Germany was begun and the King summons Logue to Buckingham Palace to help deliver the speech. They then enter into a room with just a table and microphone and no one else where the King soothes the frightened nation with the silent help of Logue.

The writer of the film David Seidler wrote The King’s Speech after overcoming his own childhood stutter, “It’s not a pleasant experience. Nobody in their right mind would choose to be a stutterer.” As a child his parents would play his audio tapes of King George VI stating that if this royal figure could overcome a stutter and lead a nation during wartime so could David. The early 1980’s was when Seidler started to write about the relationship between the king and his therapist, but he had to postpone his writing at the request of the Queen Mother until 2002. The director Hooper used three different techniques during the shooting of the film to make it stand out from other historical dramas: hard light, wide lenses, and off centre framing of characters. This off centre framing can be seen when George VI is hunched over the side of a couch at the edge of this frame during his first consultation with his therapist. Hooper and the cinematographer Danny Cohen used 14mm, 18mm, 21mm, 25mm, 27mm lenses to help convey the discomfort in the King’s face. Hooper captured the actors body language by using wide shots, he also used close up shots to catch the emotion on the actors faces. Unlike other historical dramas who use soft lighting, Hooper wants a darker light to give the film more a contemporary feel.

To prepare Firth for the dialogue of the film he worked with Neil Swain and his sister Kate Firth who are both voice coaches. In an interview with the British Stammering Association, Swain said: “It was very interesting while we were working on the film just to think tonally how far we could go and should go with the strength of George’s stammer. I think a less courageous director than Tom [Hooper] – and indeed a less courageous actor than Colin [Firth] – might have felt the need to slightly sanitise the degree and authenticity of that stammer, and I’m really really pleased that neither of them did.”

The budget for the film was £8 million and grossed over £250 million in the box office. The film won several awards from the British Academy of Film such as: Best Picture, Best Actor (Firth), Best Supporting Actor (Rush), and Best Supporting Actress (Bonham Carter). It also won four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Firth), Best Director ( Hoopers), and Best Screenplay (Seidler). Without a doubt this movie alongside other historical dramas stands out tremendously. With an award winning cast and director this became the film of the year winning a variety of awards and the hearts of the British nation.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/

http://www.filmcritic.com/features/2011/01/interview-david-siedler/

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=137037

Wall – E & Fahrenheit 9/11

The Oxford Dictionary states that ” ideology is a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.”

 Film makers plant ideological messages to make the film be explicit or implicit.

Wall-E is an example of implicit ideologies. From the title of the movie the audience have no idea that they are about to watch a hyperreal version of the future with regards to global warming. The film shows us a warning of what the future could hold where all humans have left earth in an attempt to let technology clean up and fix the problems that the humans have created. They used a slow moving camera in the opening scene with uplifting music which eventually dies down as the camera moves closer to earth showing all the mounds of trash everywhere. One part of the film that stands out is when Wall-E watches “Hello Dolly” he sees the bright, happy and cheerful past that once was and watches it continuously. Just by looking at the most poster and reading the headline “After 700 years of doing what he was built for, he’ll discover what he was meant for” you really do not have a big inclination on how hyperbolic the movie is going to go, especially with the humans who have left earth and now are so reliant on technology that they can no longer stand up or even eat without assistants.

 

Fahrenheit 9/11 is a documentary film by Michael Moore. IMDb states the film as ” Michael Moore’s view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bust Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward it’s agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” This film shows explicit ideologies more obviously than the implicit films. During the film Moore narrates what happened during the time George W. Bush was told “the nation is under attack”, it shows footage for Bush sitting reading ‘My Pet Goat’ to elementary students in Florida while Moore continues to narrated what could have been going through Bush’s head…”i’ve been hanging out with the wrong crowd.” One review from about.com describes the film as “equal parts entertaining and infuriating”.

http://www.esfmedia.com/page/Wall-E+-+Ideology

http://worldfilm.about.com/od/documentaryfilms/fr/fahrenheit911_2.htm

Mainstream Cinema

Mainstream hollywood films follow specific standards and techniques. They have a clear plot line where each scene is progressing towards a goal. This is combined with together with music to create certain emotional reactions from the audience, you can also tell if the film is mainstream by the stardom of the cast members.

The romantic comedy or the “chick flick” is a good example of mainstream hollywood films. The norm for these types of films usually have the A list star as the lead with a less popular actress as her best friend. Pretty Woman and The Notebook are two perfect examples of mainstream hollywood. They both have A list lead characters that initially have some problem or issue that prevent them from getting the dream man, there are also some form of an obstacle where they make it seem like the couple will forever parted ways but what is a chick flick without some form of happy big romantic ending?

The Twilight series has also shown how much money can be made by using the same plot line of overcoming obstacles for the girl to get the guy. The first film Twilight made $35.7 million just on opening day alone. The second film New Moon gained the biggest midnight opening in the USA and Canada; but the third film Eclipse grossed $709 million worldwide making it the fourth highest opening weekend in domestic history.

Terri Schwartz states that The Twilight series may be hollywood’s most successful film franchise just because “they’re so dirt cheap to make.”

http://voices.yahoo.com/guide-hollywoods-mainstream-movie-529616.html

http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2010/07/06/twilight-successful/

Auteur Theory

“A filmmaker, usually a director, who exercises creative control over his or her works and has a strong personal style.”

Auteur translated from french means “author”; auteur theory was started by film director and critic Francois Truffaut. Cahiers du  Cinema is a journal where auteur theory was discussed who was the “author” of a film. This group argued that films should reflect the directors personal vision.

Tim Burton is very well known for this dark and artistic movies. His first two shorts were developed from his work at Disney: Vincent(1982) and Frankenweenie(1984). “The combination of bizarre characters and the constantly shifting expressionist backgrounds produced a film that may best be described as ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari meet Ray Harryhausen.’ This was describing the short Vincent which was done in ‘claymation’ to tribute Burton’s idol Vincent Price.

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure(1985) was Burton’s first movie deal. This movie was created around TV personality Pee Wee Herman, it was filled with childish comedy and received poor reviews but still made audiences laugh with its charm and child-like state. Burton had a limited budget for this film still managed to create a sense of reality in the film and became a new visionary in Hollywood.

In 1988, Burton brought Beetlejuice to life which was a black comedy about “a dead couple disturbed in the haunting of their own house by a snobbish city family intent on redecorating.” Burton worked with Bo Welch to create one of the most visually distinct film sets. The budget for Beetlejuice was $13 million and with $1 million for visual effects alone, he stated that he wanted to make it look like the B movies he had grown up with. “I wanted to make them look cheap and purposely fake looking.” With this he created a slapstick horror and social satire.

One of Burton’s most well know film Edward Scissorhands has been called is masterpiece. IMBD states the plots line as…”An uncommonly gentle young man, who happens to have scissors for hands, falls in love with a beautiful teenage girl.” This film has been compared to fairytales in certain research they state that like a fairytale the young man finds love and fame and then is rejected from the heart of suburbia. Unlike a fairytale though Edward see a plea for tolerance for handicapped people. “Johnny Depp brings a feeling of tortured emotion to his almost silent character that lingers long in the memory.” American critic Rodger Ebert states, ” Burton uses special effects and visual tricks to create sights that have never been seen before. The movie takes place in an entirely artificial world, where a haunting gothic castle crouches on a mountain-top high above a storybook suburb, a goofy sitcom neighbourhood where all of the houses are shades of pastels and all of the inhabitants seem to be emotional clones of the Jetsons.”

Tim Burton is considered an auteur director because of his distinctive style and content from his work. His blend of dark humour and horror has made an impact on audiences and the industry of cinema.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/auteur

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Academy-Awards-Crime-Films/Auteur-Theory-and-Authorship.html

http://www.timburtoncollective.com

Burton, Tim

Five Defining Moments in Cinema Pre-1930

Louis and Auguste Lumiere were inspired by Edison’s work and created the Cinematographe; they combined a camera, printer, and projector to create it. The Lumiere brothers were the first people to show their film to a paying audience in the worlds first movie theatre. They had a twenty minute showing of 10 short films, the first was Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory which was 45 seconds long.

http://www.filmsite.org/pre20sintro2.html

George Melies is a French director who wrote, acted, directed, photographed, produced and designed sets and costumes for A Trip to the Moon. This film is the first ever science fiction film that used innovative special effects and ran 14 minutes long. It was inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and H.G. Wells’ First Men in the Moon (1901). It was named one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century by The Village Voice, ranking at number 84.

http://www.filmsite.org/voya.html

In 1903 Edwin S. Porter directed and photographed The Great Train Robbery, it is the first narrative film which runs 10 minutes long and 14 scenes. Parallel editing, minor camera movement, location shooting and less stage-bound camera placement are just some of the innovative techniques used in the film; it also uses the first ever pan shots and ellipsis. This film was the most influential films to show the possibility of fictional stories on film.

http://www.filmsite.org/grea.html

D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation is a controversial film based on the former North Carolina Baptist minister Rev. Thomas Dixon Jr.’s anti-black play The Clansman. It’s controversy stems from the portrayal of African American men and then portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan who are the heros of the story. The film has criticism from the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. Griffith also did cutting edge technical work that were first used in this film are now standard features of films.

http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html

The Jazz Singer was the first feature length Hollywood “talkie” film. In 1927 Warner Brothers produced the film with synchronised sound using a Vitaphone. Warner Brothers saw profits of $3.5 million at the box office. The actors for the film were not just chosen by their acting skills they were chosen also by their speaking and singing capabilities.

http://www.filmsite.org/jazz.html