Description
‘Are You a Monster, Too?’: Genre, Gender, and Hybridity in Disney’s Frozen (2013) In this paper, I will examine generic hybridity in Frozen (2013), and the way it impacts on the film’s construction of femininity. Relying mainly on textual analyses, I will observe the extent to which it blends and reworks several popular film genres. I will especially focus on the 2000s fairy-tale revival in live-action films – strongly influenced by the irreverent and self-reflexive tone of the Shrek franchise – and Hollywood’s postfeminist update of the genre through romantic comedies and ‘girly films’. My study will be informed by Diane Negra and Yvonne Tasker’s work on postfeminism (Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture, 2007), and especially the latter’s reading of films such as Enchanted (2007). I will also take into consideration wider contemporary Hollywood trends: the family-adventure genre, the latest waves of female-centred action films, and the recent multiplication of (Marvel) superhero blockbusters. I will build on Shahriar Fouladi’s concept of the ‘underlying monstrosity’ of most superheroes, which is particularly relevant regarding the character of Elsa in Frozen. Indeed, her depiction includes tropes of power, control, and anger, evident in male-centred superhero films such as The Incredible Hulk (2008), yet more problematic when associated with the representation of the active female body on screen. This approach will allow me to investigate the extent to which Frozen may present potentially challenging images of femininity, and aims at opening up new ways of considering Disney’s output, beyond the categories of children’s animation or ‘princess films’.| Period | 16 Apr 2015 → 18 Apr 2015 |
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| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Manchester, United KingdomShow on map |