“Frozen” was a movie whose catchy songs got stuck in heads, and whose impact transformed the narrative surrounding female characters in film. Upon its release in 2013, discussion quickly erupted around a queen who didn’t need a man to save her. Elsa exemplified feminine independence and strength – a far cry from the portrayal of female leads we’d previously seen in children’s movies and shows, where stories often hinged on a narrative in which men gave fulfillment or saved the day.
This concept is one I personally battled with for years, and it leaves me with an intriguing theory; the dialogue and storylines told in early 2000’s children’s films taught the message that young women are incomplete and unimportant without a romantic male interest in their lives. Leaving many girls with narrow views of their personalities, that their self worth relied on romantic relationships. Growing up told by the film industry that a woman’s value is tied to her connection with a man, it’s no wonder so many women nowadays feel “boy crazy”.
I spent years ironing out the wrinkles in my brain so that I didn’t rely on romantic aspects for my life to be positive. I thought back to every TV show I watched as a child – Jessie, Phineas and Ferb, Dog with a Blog, Good Luck Charlie, Etc. – all of their female leads had some sort of romantic interests whose presence was needed to further the plot along. Maybe it was the industry’s fault, I and other women felt this way. Maybe society told us we needed to.
This brings me to a poignant question: Why has the media so often perpetuated the idea that a woman’s worth is contingent upon a relationship? Isn’t that what “you can’t love anyone until you love yourself” is all about? It’s no new conversation that the media clearly has unrealistic expectations for women, and that because of this women experience mental health challenges. Yet the conversations tend to ignore the expectations set in the media for women while their brains are still developing – these are the things we need to be addressing and unpacking.
We need more female voices in the media, especially children’s films. Content creators need to focus on creating female leads that strive without male validation. Society needs to create a community that supports the female individual’s journey towards self love and independence, in all spaces both in the media and in person, again especially in children’s films. Only then will the media start changing its value on women – at the beginning instead of the middle where the issues have already been created.
The portrayal of women in film impacts how young girls view themselves. Making female leads rely on their romantic relationships for happiness teaches girls to do that themselves. Creating more movies like “Frozen” that not only show girls a different side, but also get people talking about strong female leads is how to change the society mindset of women. It’s crucial we start examining the way media and technology when we were kids have shaped our generation’s social psychology. The world is not the same. The way we think is not the same. The way we treat each other platonically or romantically stems from the relationships we saw on television growing up. It’s important no girl ever sits down again and feels less of herself for not being what she sees online, not just today scrolling on social media, but from the second her eyes are first flipped to a screen.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 