Mouse morality : the rhetoric of Disney animated film / Annalee R. Ward ; foreword by Clifford G. Christians.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ward, Annalee R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animated films--United States--Themes, motives.

Animated films.

Walt Disney Company.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (200 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin, TX : University of Texas Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Kids around the world love Disney animated films, and many of their parents trust the Disney corporation to provide wholesome, moral entertainment for their children. Yet frequent protests and even boycotts of Disney products and practices reveal a widespread unease with the sometimes mixed and inconsistent moral values espoused in Disney films as the company attempts to appeal to the largest possible audience. In this book, Annalee R. Ward uses a variety of analytical tools based in rhetorical criticism to examine the moral messages taught in five recent Disney animated films-The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Mulan. Taking the films on their own terms, she uncovers the many mixed messages they purvey: for example, females can be leaders-but male leadership ought to be the norm; stereotyping is wrong-but black means evil; historical truth is valued-but only tell what one can sell, etc. Adding these messages together, Ward raises important questions about the moral ambiguity of Disney's overall worldview and demonstrates the need for parents to be discerning in letting their children learn moral values and life lessons from Disney films.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

ONE • Disney, Film, and Morality: A Beginning

TWO • The Lion King: Moral Educator through Myth, Archetype, and Ritual

THREE • Pocahontas: The Symbolic Boundaries of Moral Order

FOUR • The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Comically Framing Virtue and Vice

FIVE • Hercules: A Celebrity-Hero

SIX • Mulan: East Meets West

SEVEN • A Disney Worldview: Mixed Moral Messages

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [153]-172) and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79866-0

OCLC:

55895421