Course Description

This course studies representations of changing gender conventions in the films Barbie (2023), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Moana (2016), Frozen (2013), and Mulan (1998). We will explore how and why the women protagonists perform sacrifice, protect their sisterhood, and support their families and communities. Moreover, why do the princesses’ films mostly pivot on a good vs evil binary, equating the women protagonists with an idea of good constructed by patriarchy? We will also study how Barbie and other films challenge the patriarchal glorification of women’s oppression and dismisses the admiration of damsels-in-distress. The course will evaluate how Barbie leaps “out of the box”, confronts reality, carves her identity, and almost shatters the patriarchal power Ken embodies. Broadly, we will discuss how do Mattel and Disney, two franchises behind the above films, complicate female agency, re-write the traditional patriarchal narratives, and reinscribe the norms of social justice. By the end of the course, the learners will be able to examine and critique the nuances of patriarchy, feminism, sexuality, gender inequality, identity, and masculinity as represented in the films.

Course Reviews

Reviews coming soon.