Traditional gender roles and media Traditionally, girls are expected to be meek and submissive while boys can fight around the house and have the freedom of the opposite sex. is denied. This idea of ​​gender roles is born from the static expectations of old societal views. Even if the media turns away from it today, many films do not share the same feeling. Mr. Mom, an '80s film, depicts a wife and husband switching careers – one as a housewife, the other as a breadwinner – with the underlying goal of better understanding each other. However, even though both adults discover a new pride and comfort in their work, they eventually return to their old stations, implying that they are ultimately happier in their traditional roles. Similar to Mr. Mom, even though today's media likes to depict the reversal of these roles, many of these old opinions still prevail in films such as Mr. Mom, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Mulan. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Featuring Mr. Mom, animations such as Beauty and the Beast depict a disruption in society caused by a challenge to established gender roles. Mr. Mom depicts a role reversal in which Caroline, a housewife, begins working in advertising while her husband Jack, a former engineer, loses his job and stays home to care for their children. Caroline is belittled on her first day on the job by her superiors because she is a woman, and the rest of her work days are filled with sexual harassment from her boss, Ron. Other male executives clearly disrespect her and her intelligence, sometimes choosing not to listen to her due to her seemingly unhelpful ideas. On top of that, Ron continually tries to have his way with her even though he knows she is married and has children. Even when she presents herself as an educated and experienced woman in her field, her superiors expect her to be submissive, to know her place, and not to speak for herself when insulted. , and Ron feels entitled to it just because he is. a man, his superior and rich. Similarly, in the song "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast, as Belle walks through her village, the townspeople sing: "With a dreamy, distant look and our noses stuck in a book, what an enigma to the rest of us of us is Belle. .” Belle is educated, literate, and dreams of a more adventurous future, which is more than most women do at that time. The townspeople note that because she does not follow the trend of women her age, she is a "puzzle" to them, implying that she is confusing and difficult. Just being independent of the traditional gender role of an illiterate and submissive wife makes her strange in their eyes. Soon, even Gaston is singing, "Here in town, there's only her who's beautiful like me, so I plan to woo and marry Belle." » Gaston's pride and his right to marry Belle for her beauty shows that although his most admirable traits are his kindness and his wit, all he can think about is her looks. This reflects Mr. Mom in that Caroline's boss only cares about her looks and his own pleasure every time he makes a move with her rather than his genius in advertising or his brilliant personality. The fact that Gaston and Ron harass Belle and Caroline, respectively, for their appearance alone shows the audience that all that matters is a woman's appearance,not his intelligence or his personality. In The Little Mermaid, evidence of traditional gender roles lies in the song "Poor unhappy souls. Ursula, the wicked sea witch, makes a deal with the mermaid Ariel, who wants to live in a world above the sea, to give him her legs for three days, on the condition that she pays a high price: her voice As Ariel is famous for her beautiful voice and it is difficult to communicate without it, she is very disturbed by this offer. However, in response to her well-thought-out response, she is met with a compelling ultimatum delivered to her and the audience through a typical villain song. In "Poor Unfortunate Souls", Ursula sings: "Come on. [men are] not really impressed by conversation. Real gentlemen avoid it when they can! But they adore, swoon and flatter a withdrawn lady. It's the one who holds her tongue who gets a man! This song serves to remind Ariel of the concept of equivalent exchange in Ursula's conniving way: to get something, you must first give up something in return. However, the lyrics also remind the audience of what is traditionally expected of women: quiet and "closed". When Ursula says "she who holds her tongue finds a man", she means that men are only attracted to women who know how to keep quiet, which in this case is always the case . Ariel's acceptance of complete silence just to live in the human world and, more importantly, to be with Prince Eric only highlights the fact that to win over a man, a woman must be "closed" and willing to stay silent since the men are not “impressed”. with conversation. This message is repeated repeatedly throughout the film in the fact that when Ariel tries to seduce Eric through body language and persistence alone, Eric falls in love with her, and Ariel finds herself comfortable and comfortable. adapts to his lack of voice. He "worships and swoons and swoons," as Ursula puts it, over Ariel in her silence, which only perpetuates Ursula's argument that quiet women are what men want. Ariel never says a word to Eric during those three days, except at the very end, when the spell that gives him legs runs out, but even then, he has already fallen in love with her. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” introduces the concept of men feeling attracted to withdrawn women, and although Ariel eventually finds her voice and marries her prince, the fact that Eric falls speechlessly in love with herself speaks volumes about it. long on the underlying message of gender roles. Traditional gender roles around the world present marriage as the end goal for all women, including in the ancient Chinese context of Mulan. In Asian cultures in particular, there is a common belief that a son will always be more valuable than a daughter due to the fact that he carries on the family name and is able to work hard for the family. The only duty a girl has towards her family is to marry well, give birth to sons and take care of them. This is seen when Mulan, the Fa family's only child, is in a hurry to beautify herself and prepare for a matchmaking session that will match her with a potential husband in the song "Honor to Us All", in which the happy characters sing: "A girl can bring great honor to her family in one way: by finding a good marriage." . . We must all serve our Emperor. . . A man carrying arms, a girl carrying sons. The entire scene depicts several girls, including Mulan, preparing to meet the matchmaker. By singing “[we] must all serve our emperor,” he establishes the..