Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Is Disney Making A Man Out Of You - Exploring Trans And Non-Binary Representation In Disney, Mandy L. Colburn

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Disney movies are meant to create magic in the lives of young people, but is this really what they are accomplishing? Does leaving trans and nonbinary identities out of children’s media impact the way that children understand gender? This thesis seeks to explore and understand how power and privilege impact the desire for minority gender identities to be given space on a large scale media platform such as Disney. The Meaning Maintenance Model as well as Critical Race Theory are used to explain why minority identities could be overshadowed by identities held by the majority and thus how power and …

“Did I Step On Your Moment?”: The Objectification Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe’S Black Widow, Bryanna Martinez

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The objectification of the Marvel Cinematic Universe character Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow has been present through the films she has been in. She is merely a sex symbol and seen as just the pretty face, when she leads the Avengers by combat fighting, espionage tactics, and hacking into computers. By employing film theorist Laura Mulvey’s the Male Gaze Theory, Hugo Ingrasci’s theory of the antihero trope, Historian Barbara Hales’ Theory of the femme fatale in film noir, author Michael Manahan’s concepts of the antihero and societal implications, and Director Joey Soloway’s notion of the Female Gaze theory we are to examine …

The Stories We Tell Matter: Finding The Real Hero In American Pop Culture, Madisyn Dowdy

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Joseph Campbell in his historic work The Hero with a Thousand Faces, argues that the stories and myths a culture tells demonstrates the ideals, fears, and morals of that culture and the heroes they hold up are representations of the ideal human. Heroes are inherently personal role models and ideals, but the collective understanding of a hero is representative of a culture's ideals, fears, and morals.

So, what does it say when a culture's heroes are usually violent, traditionally attractive white men? And what does it mean when a culture rejects heroes with non-traditional values and traits, specifically traits coded …

Women In Ukiyo-E, Jade Meurer

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Kitagawa Utamaro’s Edo period prints (approx. 1770-1800) frequently feature prostitutes from Edo's officially licensed entertainment and pleasure ward. These prints were by no means portraits—instead, they were closer to advertisements for the pleasure district. Utamaro erased individuality from these women, placing them into stereotypical roles or personalities to appeal to potential customers of the ward. Utamaro glamorizes the life of courtesans for profit; and in this blatant objectification of women, the stories of these women are lost and glossed over. Who were these women, and what did their daily life actually look like? How does Utamaro betray this in his …