DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID: A FILM CRITIQUE
... that!”, and so on. In real life no Mer-world exists, therefore the message to children can allude to social classes, race, socioeconomic status, religion, or even physical appearances. The strongest correlation would probably be race, as the two kinds of people were just that – different races. Ariel whole heartedly rejects this division, and even risks her soul to overcome it. This is probably the intentional message of the movie, and it is not an offensive one. A sub-theme of gender roles, however, is more complex. It seems, that Disney did approach this film with good intent, casting Ariel as a more assertive and self-empowered female than her predecessors. From the start she is constantly rejecting parts of her father’s definition of who she should be with her actions, and in saying “I just don’t see things the way he does.” This same attitude is also dealing with her coming of age, but the gender aspect is prominent as well. Ariel has no apparent Mother and she is breaking herself free of the Male-dominance from her Father as well as her musical mentor Sebastian. This part of the gender theme, which I believe to be the intentional part, is also a positive aspect of the film. There are, however, gender connotations which seem less reaffirming. Indeed it is the Males in the film – Eric and Triton – which represent power on the side of the protagonists. On the flip side evil is represented by a female – the witch Ursula. It doesn’t appear that this is outright gender warfare, as the main focus of the film is on Ariel as good and innocence. Still, when one thinks of all the previous Disney films fitting the same mold, it is a tired notion that power is only held by females if they are evil. Moreover, although Ariel is willing to look past racial barriers and take great ...