Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements

by Shearon Roberts (Editor), Jenny Banh (Contribution by), Alexis Woods Barr (Contribution by), Shaniece B. Bickham (Contribution by), Ahli Chatters (Contribution by)

Overview

In the late 2000s, the Walt Disney Company expanded, rebranded, and recast itself around “woke,” empowered entertainment. This new era revitalized its princess franchise, seeking to elevate its female characters into heroes who save the day. Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements analyzes the way that the Walt Disney Company has co-opted contemporary social discourse, incorporating how audiences interpret their world through new media and activism into the company’s branding initiatives, programming, and films. The contributors in this collection study the company’s most iconic franchise, the Disney princesses, to evaluate how the company has addressed the patriarchy its own legacy cemented. Recasting the Disney Princess outlines how the current Disney era reflects changes in a global society where audiences are empowered by new media and social justice movements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781793604033
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Pages:	386
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 9.07(h) x 1.04(d)

About the Author

Shearon Roberts is assistant professor of mass communication and a faculty member in African American and diaspora studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.

Table of Contents

Part I: Rebranding the Disney Princess

Chapter One: Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements

Shearon Roberts

Chapter Two: Diversity Sells: The Dollars and Cents of Woke Rebranding

Shaniece B. Bickham and Shearon Roberts

Chapter Three: Sofia the First: A Princess Life Fit for a Preschool Audience

Sarah Maben

Chapter Four: From Princess to Heroine: Expanding Representations of Girls and Women

Jana Thomas and Holly Speck

Chapter Five: Pop, Hip-Hop, and the Hamiltonization of the Disney Soundtrack

Daron Roberts and Turon Nicholas

Part II: Diversifying the Disney Princess

Chapter Six: Elena of Avalor and Mama Coco: Latina Sheroes and Knowledge Keepers

Alberto Rodriguez and Veronica N. Durant

Chapter Seven: #NolaBorn: Tiana and the Road Home for New Orleans Residents

Sheryl Kennedy Haydel

Chapter Eight: Moana: The Daughter of the Chief and Polynesian (in)Visibility

Jenny Banh

Chapter Nine: #MakeMulanRight: Retracing the Genealogy of Mulan from Ancient Chinese Tale to Disney Classic.

Jenny Banh

Chapter Ten: Pocahontas: Digital Coloniality, Coercive Fiction, and “Renewing” Western Hegemonic Power.

Leece Lee-Oliver

Chapter Eleven: A Whole New World: Gender Norms, Islamophobia and Orientalism

Krystal Ghisyawan

Part III: Deconstructing Princess Narratives

Chapter Twelve: Belle: Beyond the Classic Story for the Modern Audience

Rebecca Weidman-Winter

Chapter Thirteen: “Let it Go” as Radical Mantra: Subverting the Princess Narrative in Frozen

Susanne R. Hackett

Chapter Fourteen: Shuri of Wakanda, The People’s Princess

Charity Clay

Chapter Fifteen: Maleficent: Rape, Wrath, and the Feminine Divine

Sarah A. Clunis

Part IV: Embedding Social Discourse around the Disney Heroine

Chapter Sixteen: Disney’s Social Consciousness: Explaining #BlackLivesMatter through Zootopia

Ahli Chatters and Shearon Roberts

Chapter Seventeen: “It’s Good to Be Bad”: Marginalization and Othering in the Descendants Films

Shearon Roberts

Chapter Eighteen: No Capes Needed: The Plight of Super Moms

Alexis Woods Barr

Chapter Nineteen: The Women of Wakanda: Black Beauty and Casting

Abeo Jackson

Chapter Twenty: Culture Wars and the Politics of Finding Dory

Prairie Parnell

Epilogue: Notes from Behind the Camera from a Father of Two Daughters

Varion Laurent

Editorial Reviews

Shearon Roberts brings together a range of critical contributions to scholarly discussions about the contemporary Disney princess brand and connected consumer culture. This book offers incisive analyses of Disney’s changing media landscape and related issues concerning race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, coloniality, structural inequalities, and the marketing of "difference." It explores socio-political dimensions of Disney pop-culture and offers readers the chance to learn about the evolving image of the Disney princess.

Francesca Sobande

Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements brings together a wide range of scholars to provide up to date analyses on the many faces of contemporary Disney productions. Written in a highly accessible style and taking up central issues of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, generation, and nation, the chapters in this book explore most of the recent Disney hits in relation to issues of difference and diversity. As such this book makes an excellent addition to the growing field of Disney studies.

Angharad N. Valdivia

Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements offers an insightful and unique analysis of the Disney princess as a pop culture phenomenon. This volume interrogates the values that drive Disney movie narratives, scripts, and assumptions. Each contribution gives the reader a new perspective, forcing one to reflect on the role and influence of entertainment in shaping social norms. This book opens new vistas to our theoretical, philosophical, and practical understanding of entertainment culture. It is a timely and critical resource for the pop culture industry, scholars, professionals, and consumers.

Bala A. Musa

Media entertainment reflects the culture of its time. In this volume, Roberts introduces readers to "Disney 4.0"—a brand of Disney in which protagonists are as diverse as the children and adults who watch these stories. From the author's own recollections of her daughter's desire to be the next Vanellope Von Schweetz (the daredevil racer and one of the heroes of the Wreck it Ralph films) to a collection of essays from children recounting their excitement with seeing princesses on-screen that looked "just like me," Roberts and her contributors make a compelling argument for why diversity matters for Disney and for us all. Through a mix of anecdote and theory, this volume assembles a diverse set of voices who individually and jointly make a strong case for why we should critically consume the heroes of our generation and past generations. The book is easily accessible and should inspire us to revisit our familiar Disney properties with a fresh perspective.

Nicholas Bowman