http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/disney Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:39:15 -0400 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:39:15 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1842/the-illusion-of-empowerment-a-feminist-analysis-of-disneys-hercules By Kasandra J. DiSessa - Disney’s Hercules, which features both a strong male lead and a strong female lead, has the potential to appeal to, and therefore influence, a larger group of child viewers than the more gendered movies, such as the traditional Princess movies. Meg, the female lead, is often touted as a feminist character and praised for her independence from men. However, Meg still lacks agency and acts within the confines of traditional gender roles, thus reinforcing stereotypes about gender while seemingly subverting them. This essay includes a feminist media analysis of Hercules, focusing specifically... Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1842/the-illusion-of-empowerment-a-feminist-analysis-of-disneys-hercules http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1788/toxic-royalty-feminism-and-the-rhetoric-of-beauty-in-disney-princess-films By Stephanie X. Hu - At Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom, light cascades across the night sky before spiraling down through the stars. The castle that towers within the dark shines bright amongst the fireworks’ sparkling ceruleans and violets. Once the night show rises to a crescendo of color and song, the snaps of cameras coalesce with the symphony as spectators strive to capture the moment in time. Such a scene stands as a cherished childhood dream, cemented at the heart of the contemporary American identity. Since the birth of Walt Disney’s animation studio, countless children have become spellbound... Thu, 23 Jul 2020 02:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1788/toxic-royalty-feminism-and-the-rhetoric-of-beauty-in-disney-princess-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1701/the-feminine-threat-reconsidering-the-damsel-in-distress-in-early-disney-films By Hugo Ljungback - “Disney perpetuated a male myth through his fairy-tale films,” argues Jack Zipes (1995, p. 37). He writes that Walt Disney framed “women’s lives through a male discourse” in his films (p. 36), and that he reinforced “nineteenth-century patriarchal notions” and “benevolent attitudes toward women” (p. 37). This paper looks at Walt Disney Pictures films released in the 30-year period between 1937 and 1967, from the company’s first feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to The Jungle Book, the last film Walt Disney himself... Mon, 06 Nov 2017 09:52 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1701/the-feminine-threat-reconsidering-the-damsel-in-distress-in-early-disney-films http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1120/pottermania-capitalist-eye-candy-viewed-through-a-neo-marxist-lens By Tinatin Japaridze - “Beware: Capitalist-Consumerism poses a danger to our Socialist ideals,” the Soviet-propaganda papers such as Pravdaand Izvestyahad proclaimed since the harrowing days of the Cold War. But by the early 1990s, the evergreen motto of the USSR, “We have everything,” had been supplanted for a new post-communist mantra: “Everything can be bought for money.” The hard currency shops in the USSR that exclusively catered to foreign visitors had finally lifted the iron curtain for their own citizens. Arbat Irish House, one of Moscow’s first Western-style grocery... Fri, 11 Sep 2015 08:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1120/pottermania-capitalist-eye-candy-viewed-through-a-neo-marxist-lens