REPRESENTATION OF GENDER, SEXUALITY, RACE, AND ETHNICITY: ANALYSING THE PERCEPTIONS OF CHILDREN ABOUT DISNEY/PIXAR FILMS

Abstract

The representation of prejudiced and discriminatory images, texts, characters, and messages in a visual culture specifically children’s media has had a lasting impact on children. This study focuses on Disney which is one of the world’s leading film producing companies, with more than seven thousand films made already. There is a need to explore what ideological areas have been targeted by Disney’s heavily grossed movies and by keeping that in perspective this study analyses some of Disney’s eminent productions for the identification of gendered, racial, ethnic, and sexual themes. These identifications, in the study, are supported through the perceptions of children. Since Disney’s content targets a younger audience, the research focuses on the views of preadolescents. The study is supplemented through a theoretical as well as a conceptual framework that is based on the Cultivation theory and Erickson’s stage four of his development theory. The research under qualitative design takes on an exploratory nature, using an interpretive approach to analyse the research problem. In-depth interviews and interview guide construct the research method and instrument design for data collection respectively. Furthermore, the thematic analysis of data leads to significant results showcased as the findings of this study. Results signify that the study answers all proposed research questions beginning with the confirmation of the presence of thirteen themes for underlying representations of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in the sample films. Secondly, it shows that gender themes are prominent with the highest number of themes from that category. And lastly, children’s perceptions signify that, preadolescents have the capacity to understand and interpret visual representations of discriminatory content and prejudices. These findings contribute to the knowledge of visual culture associating with Disney and its normative representations of social constructs. It also distinguishes the perceptions of preadolescents in the domain of children’s media from those of adults, demarcating a significant silver lining for research ahead.