International Journal of Literature and Arts

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The Subversion of Identity from Princesses to Queens - A Cultural Study on Feminism in Maleficent

Received: 27 February 2020    Accepted: 10 March 2020    Published: 08 April 2020
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Abstract

Disney films have long been known as adapting classic fairy tales or legends from all over the world and creating distinctive princess images, among which, the development of different princess images manifests relative values in corresponding periods. Maleficent is adapted from the animated film Sleeping Beauty with similar story arrangements on the continuation of Sleeping Beauty as the main line. With the witch Maleficent as the narrative subject, the film subverts the traditional image of the witch under the patriarchal discourse, especially with respect to the subversion of the characters and themes. The deconstruction and reconstruction of the characters of different genders based on feminism shows the marginalization of male characters and the centralization of the female characters. The film is also characterized by postmodernism, reflecting the clinginess of the theme to the feminist values the US intends to convey. The subversion of characters and themes in the film is the product of the current social environment, which not only captures the spirit of the age, but also conforms to the psychological expectations of the audience in the new era. The paper first gives a general introduction and then provides a relevant literature review on feminism as well as postmodernism, and the development of feminism displayed in Disney princess films in different periods. Next, the paper analyzes the film Maleficent based on its progress from previous films, the centralization and marginalization of characters and the subversion of the theme, describing women's resistance to patriarchy and the subversion of identity. Last, the paper draws a conclusion and comments on the values of feminism delivered from Disney films.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14
Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 3, May 2020)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Humanity and Science: China’s Intercultural Communication with the Outside World in the New Era

Page(s) 127-133
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Disney Princess, Feminism, Subversion, Deconstruction and Reconstruction, Postmodernism

References
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Author Information
  • School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

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    Jialiang Chen. (2020). The Subversion of Identity from Princesses to Queens - A Cultural Study on Feminism in Maleficent. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(3), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14

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    Jialiang Chen. The Subversion of Identity from Princesses to Queens - A Cultural Study on Feminism in Maleficent. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(3), 127-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14

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    Jialiang Chen. The Subversion of Identity from Princesses to Queens - A Cultural Study on Feminism in Maleficent. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(3):127-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14,
      author = {Jialiang Chen},
      title = {The Subversion of Identity from Princesses to Queens - A Cultural Study on Feminism in Maleficent},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {127-133},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200803.14},
      abstract = {Disney films have long been known as adapting classic fairy tales or legends from all over the world and creating distinctive princess images, among which, the development of different princess images manifests relative values in corresponding periods. Maleficent is adapted from the animated film Sleeping Beauty with similar story arrangements on the continuation of Sleeping Beauty as the main line. With the witch Maleficent as the narrative subject, the film subverts the traditional image of the witch under the patriarchal discourse, especially with respect to the subversion of the characters and themes. The deconstruction and reconstruction of the characters of different genders based on feminism shows the marginalization of male characters and the centralization of the female characters. The film is also characterized by postmodernism, reflecting the clinginess of the theme to the feminist values the US intends to convey. The subversion of characters and themes in the film is the product of the current social environment, which not only captures the spirit of the age, but also conforms to the psychological expectations of the audience in the new era. The paper first gives a general introduction and then provides a relevant literature review on feminism as well as postmodernism, and the development of feminism displayed in Disney princess films in different periods. Next, the paper analyzes the film Maleficent based on its progress from previous films, the centralization and marginalization of characters and the subversion of the theme, describing women's resistance to patriarchy and the subversion of identity. Last, the paper draws a conclusion and comments on the values of feminism delivered from Disney films.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AU  - Jialiang Chen
    Y1  - 2020/04/08
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    AB  - Disney films have long been known as adapting classic fairy tales or legends from all over the world and creating distinctive princess images, among which, the development of different princess images manifests relative values in corresponding periods. Maleficent is adapted from the animated film Sleeping Beauty with similar story arrangements on the continuation of Sleeping Beauty as the main line. With the witch Maleficent as the narrative subject, the film subverts the traditional image of the witch under the patriarchal discourse, especially with respect to the subversion of the characters and themes. The deconstruction and reconstruction of the characters of different genders based on feminism shows the marginalization of male characters and the centralization of the female characters. The film is also characterized by postmodernism, reflecting the clinginess of the theme to the feminist values the US intends to convey. The subversion of characters and themes in the film is the product of the current social environment, which not only captures the spirit of the age, but also conforms to the psychological expectations of the audience in the new era. The paper first gives a general introduction and then provides a relevant literature review on feminism as well as postmodernism, and the development of feminism displayed in Disney princess films in different periods. Next, the paper analyzes the film Maleficent based on its progress from previous films, the centralization and marginalization of characters and the subversion of the theme, describing women's resistance to patriarchy and the subversion of identity. Last, the paper draws a conclusion and comments on the values of feminism delivered from Disney films.
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