Jeffords Response

Susan Jeffords’ presents many interesting ideas about how Disney films portray masculinity. In my opinion, parts of her article were difficult to understand or stay engaged with. In the beginning of her article, she talked about Ronald Reagan and George Bush and that did not resinate with me. I understand what she was trying to bring forward outside factors aside form Disney, but I think her arguments would have been more powerful if she just got to the point sooner. I thought that her use of Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Kindergarten Cop was more effective. I like that this type of film  was compared to Disney films. I think her claim that, Kindergarten Cop sends the message that “tough, hard-driving, violent, and individualistic” men are not like that by choice, is very interesting. And I honestly think this is a valid claim. In our society, men are expected to be the tough ones. They should not be emotional, vulnerable, weak, or dependent. While women are sexualized and made to feel like they belong in the home (cooking, cleaning, and raising children), men are supposed to be hyper masculine and are made to feel like they belong in the work force (providing a stable life for his family). 

Jeffords then begins to talk about Beauty and the Beast. She compares the original versions of this fairy tale to the Disney film and outlines the main differences between them. The most important one being that the curse is altered. The curse is presented at the forefront of the film, making the Beast the main character of the story. One of the ideas that she presented that I found very interesting was that it is not the Beast responsibility to fix his own flaws but rather Belle’s responsibility. She says that it is not the Beast fault that he didn’t change before, it is the fault of the people that are around him. I find this a very prevalent issue in our society. We are all so quick to blame people around us that we fail to accept responsibility for our own actions. 

Overall I thought Jeffords’ piece was interesting and that she did present some relevant, backed up arguments. It just took a long time for me to get into the piece, personally. I liked that she looked at the masculinity side of Disney, since we have been discussing more of the feminine side of it so far.