Critical Analysis: Racialization and Gender in The Little Mermaid

This essay provides a critical analysis of the racialization of characters in Disney's The Little Mermaid. The essay explores the societal prejudices reflected in the film, focusing on gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and the portrayal of the characters' voices and appearances. It examines how the film perpetuates ethnicism and reinforces traditional norms. The analysis highlights the sacrifices made by female characters and the idealized beauty standards presented. The essay draws upon sociological concepts to deconstruct the film's messages, demonstrating how media can reflect and reinforce societal biases. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of recognizing these prejudices in cultural products like movies.

Racialization of the
Little Mermaid

Introduction
 There are different cultural norms and customs present in the society.
 Such customs make up the prejudices held by the individuals living within
such community.
 Such prejudices are concerning for the aspect of welfare of the society since it
prevents the harmonious amalgamation of the people (Azmi, Rashid and
Wahab 2018).

Importance of Disney films
•Disney movies are considered to be important in the sphere of
entertainment as they have the ability to impart important societal
norms through the animated world of movies (Itmeizeh and
Ma’ayeh 2017).
•However, Disney movies are often criticized because of their
delicate presentation of the female characters while the male
characters are shown in a relatively strong light.

•For instance, the initial Disney movies which were produced in
the twentieth century, talks about the secondary position accorded
to the women, the sacrifices they alone have to make for the
perceived happiness of the male figure and the delicate character
of the females (Joshi 2017).
•The female characters were in need of the help of the male
figures, as shown in the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and
Sleeping Beauty.

About the Little Mermaid
 A sixteen year old mermaid, by the name of Ariel, is not satisfied with
living under water.
 Her curiosity about the human world encouraged her to explore the land in
spite of the express forbiddance by her father since no communication is
allowed between the humans and the merpeople.
 However, as fate would have it, she fell in love with a prince named Eric
and did everything in her power to live with him (Hasanah and
Octaviyanti 2018).

Concept of racialization
 Anthropomorphism refers to the characterization of
the physical objects, animals and godly figures with
human attributed.
 In other words, they are represented as human
characters, having their ability to talk, think and
communicate.

 Racialization refers to the act of placing such objects,
animals and godly figures in a racial context which
allows for racial interpretation (Husain 2017).
 In the field of sociology, ethnicization or racialization
refers to the process of scribing certain racial and
ethnic identities within the individuals belonging to a
social group, which did not identify themselves as such
in the initial stages.

Deconstruction of the Disney
character
 Many kinds of prejudices can be noticed within the movie of the Little
Mermaid.
 The first prejudice is that of gender discrimination. In the movie, it was
the female character of the Little Mermaid who had to sacrifice her
inherent personality in order to be with the prince (Wiyayanti 2019).
 This gave the idea that in order to be with the person you want to be,
the women have to sacrifice their own happiness and leave their home.

 In the deconstruction process of the Little Mermaid, the
voice of the mermaid is of particular interest.
 The director gave the Little Mermaid a delicate and
soothing voice while the voice of the prince was deepened
and booming (Guolong and Tangjun 2019).
 This attributed a tantalizing character to the Little Mermaid
while the prince exhibited a strong and confident appeal.

 In the Little Mermaid, another form of racialization that can be
noticed is that Ariel had a ‘white’ skin tone, a flawing red hair and
adhered to the beauty standards of the society.
 This can be interpreted in the light of the prevailing racism in the
community (Zhang 2016).
 A ‘white’ ethnic individual is considered to be more beautiful, have
an appealing complexion and set the beauty standards of the society.
 The marriage of the Little Mermaid with Prince Eric shows that he
found her beautiful on account of her voice and face.