Moana: Disney's Shot at Feminism

 

Before I even start this post, I have a confession to make. I was not excited to do this assignment. I knew after reading the article, Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us by Linda Christensen I would never be able to blissfully watch Disney again. It is important to note that Christensen was not my wake-up call to the pervasive racism, sexism, fatphobia, homophobia, ect. in Disney, however until this point I had only lightly grappled with these truths. 

Moana was, and probably still is, one of my favorite Disney movies. For all of its MANY faults, it is still one of the first Disney movies that features a strong female lead of color where she stays human and is still unmarried at the end. But even this fact cannot save it from the blatant ableism and gender stereotypes. 

I would like to note there are many other faults with this movie however I want to specifically focus on two: HeiHei as the neurodivergent comic relief and Te Fiti/Te Ka as symbols for female fertility. 

While watching this movie with Christensen's framework in mind I was much more aware of the gross characterization of HeiHei the chicken as a neurodivergent character. From the beginning he is cast as the buffoon:  quirky, clumsy, stupid, and expendable. When we are introduced to HeiHei, his presumed owner says HeiHei "seems to lack a basic intelligence required for everything,"  as HeiHei eats a rock. From the start we are told he has low cognitive ability and this deficiency is exploited throughout the movie for laughs as he continuously falls off the boat or eats things he shouldn't. 

 HeiHei's characterization is deeply problematic and speaks to how Disney apparently values our neurodivergent community members. The second point I saw while watching Moana that had me so angry by the end  I was shaking was the story or Te Fiti and Te Ka as an allegory for a women's loss of fertility. 

Form the very start of the movie it is made very clear that Te Fiti's greatest gift is her ability to vive life (i.e. her fertility). She is beautiful, quiet, covered in green fertile land, and is cast as kind and caring. Te Ka, on the other hand, is crul, burning, angry and communicates through horrifying screeches. Not so surprisingly Te Ka is what is left if Te Fiti after her lifegiving abilities are stripped away. 

We only see women in media and in life as vessels for the next generation. Even in a movie about a women's empowerment we see gross misrepresentations of what a 'barren' woman is. 

My love for this movie has been shaken. Christensen and the note taking framework opened my eyes to problems I knew were there but I did not want to admit. Not even the peppy tunes could make me smile by the end. At the end of it all I feel I have some to one conclusion: Moana is a step forward, but it is not nearly enough.