Fairytale (R)Evolution? Women’s Rights and Disney Movies

Keywords: women’s rights, socialization, popular culture, legal culture, sociology of film

English abstract: In the article, the author raises the issue of socialization of children through popular culture. She assumes that popular culture can be treated as a carrier of values and patterns of conduct, and also as a key factor of socialization. The codes, contexts or values that are conveyed through animated movies, are what a child can later refer to the surrounding reality. In this way, it is possible to learn family, professional or gender roles, which are then perpetuated in play. The author explores primarily the impact of popular culture through an analysis of animated films produced by Walt Disney Pictures, in which the main characters are princesses and in which gender roles get considerable exposure. Assuming that gender is socially constructed, we learn about gender norms through interactions with people and popular culture, which convey to us the norms and values of the society we live in. The author points out how the patterns conveyed by Disney movies have changed and what their relationship with women’s rights was. Simultaneously, the author analyses the impact of these films on legal culture, trying to see how animated movies affect legal awareness and attitudes towards the law, and what patterns are passed on to the youngest citizens.