Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

Preserving Identity, Empowering Children: Whale Rider, Spirited Away, Frozen, Alana Zautner

Global Honors Theses

The use of cultural studies methods such as textual analysis through diagnostic critique, to interpret and understand media culture and the political and social meanings and messages contained in film and television, offers insights into how cultures around the world are evolving into the 21^st century. This paper looks at three films: Whale Rider, (New Zealand, 2002, directed by Niki Caro), Spirited Away, (Japan, 2001, directed by Hayao Miyasaki), and Frozen, (United States, 2013, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee), and analyzes representations of gender, culture, and identity, as well as the evolution, growth, and liberation of each …