The Revolution of Pixar and the Submission of Female Protagonists

Jordan Nolfi

Rutkowski

English Composition II

05/09/2013

The Revolution of Pixar and the Submission of Female Protagonists

For over a decade researchers have challenged people to carefully re-evaluate the ways they use the terms “gender” and “sex” in casual conversation and especially in research. To truly do so, Joy L. Johnson claims people must move beyond the binary by “reconsidering how we have conceptualized distinctions between masculine/feminine and male/female and rethinking conceptualizations of gender as strictly social and of sex as strictly biological” (Johnson). This conceptualization is formed through social interaction, external instruction, and the observation of male and female models (Lorber). As a result, media creates a societal gender structure that is extremely fixed and seldom questioned, but tremendously influential. Being that media provides male and female character models for observation by all generations, it has been reasoned that viewing films and television programs may shape gender conceptualizations and the understanding of the male-female relationship (Devor). This likelihood has led to extensive research about the gendered messages and sexual stereotypes conveyed through the media, specifically through the medium of animation with respect to films created by Pixar Animation Studio. This paper will discuss the revolutionary team of Pixar Animation Studio and examine the gender portrayal and gap of the first twelve feature-length films produced by Pixar.

Beginning in the 1950’s, researchers have incorporated gender themes into studies on television, finding male characters double female characters (Head). These analyses have found that males display independence, intelligence, and courage while women are portrayed as passive and dependent. Though some gains were made in media of the 1990’s in portraying a greater variety of female roles and the behavior of males, the twenty first century has returned to commemorating masculinity, the sexual objectification of females, and the demotion of female narratives (Wiersma). Traditional gender norms have been reinforced by the portrayal of heroes or protagonists as fitting exclusively the masculine mold in films.

The adherence to this traditionalism is most clearly exhibited in the animated features of Walt Disney Animation Studio, where the females exist merely to exemplify beauty, to be rescued by males, and to serve as nurturing mothers (Wiersma). Though there have been additional female features of intelligence, capability, and bravery to recent animated films, the stories of female protagonists are largely driven by romantic interest while the males appear in a broad variety of roles (Gillam and Wooden). Nevertheless, Disney male characters continue to be courageous, clever, and commanding with female characters serving primarily as means for male growth and change (Gillam and Wooden).