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Rewriting History: A Marxist Feminist
Look At Disney's Ducks See
Jane run. See Bill and Jane watch cartoons after school. See Bill and
Jane's perception of reality continue to be shaped by ideology. The arena
of children's entertainment in America is rife with ideological discourse,
supporting racial, gender, and class inequity, and our children are being
indoctrinated to perpetuate these aspects of our society. It is not,
however, my intention to address the audience interpretation and use of
text within the media of our culture nor the details of textual production
within the media domain, although I do acknowledge the importance of these
avenues in presenting a holistic analysis of the subject matter. The focus
of this study will be a Marxist-Feminist analysis of the cartoon DuckTales,
pinpointing the process that supports patriarchy and creates gender roles
within a capitalist society, specifically related to textual examples. First,
an introduction of the text: In 1989, Disney Corporation aired the cartoon
DuckTales based on the comic
strip created by Carl Barks in the 1950s. It was syndicated in timeslots
targeting school age children and was widely popular for several years.
The plot centers around a group of anthropomorphic creatures, mainly
ducks, who reside in a place appropriately named Duckburg. The primary
figures are Scrooge McDuck, an irascible, but loving tycoon who, after
modest beginnings in Scotland, worked his way to being the richest duck in
the world. Hewey, Dewey, and Lewey are his identical triplet nephews, left
in his care by their uncle and (Scrooge McDuck’s nephew), Donald. Also
residing in the McDuck mansion are Scrooge's employees, a butler, a nanny,
and Nanny’s grandaughter, Webbigail Vanderquack. There are several other
main characters, either employed by Scrooge or trying to steal his
fortune, who are seen regularly on the show. The plot, best described by
one reviewer as reminiscent of Indiana Jones, often features the wild
adventures of Scrooge and his supporters. These adventures, to gain wealth
or to preserve it, take Scrooge and friends into wild lands inhabited by
savage, primitive forces, often depicted as natives or elemental forces
such as volcanoes. Each episode ends with a conquering of these forces and
Scrooge's triumphant return to Duckburg, along with those who aid him. The
support of capitalism within this cartoon is evident in the character's
motivation and their relationships with each other. Scrooge is the primary
force in the show. The only characters who are not acting on his behalf
are those trying to steal his wealth, and these characters seem to live
alternately in the slums or in jail. They do not work and they occupy
their time scheming and stealing. The driving motivation behind every
character is that of procuring or preserving wealth, Scrooge being the
only one successful in this endeavor. Here we have the economic system
described as a small (in this case one) group owning the mode of
production, and the rest working to secure the wealth of that small group.
The motivation for both the owner and the workers is the surplus of funds;
however, the workers’ status never changes and the surplus goes to
increase the capital gains of the owner. Another
way this cartoon supports capitalist ideals is in the dependency of the
other characters upon Scrooge for their livelihood and home, which, it is
implied, they must earn by helping him to secure wealth. Examples of this
can be seen in many episodes in which Scrooge goes adventuring to gain
some lost treasure, enlists the boys for help, hires his trusty pilot,
Launchpad McQuack, and depends upon their intelligence and resourcefulness
to secure his object and return safely home. Scrooge is portrayed as a
benevolent tycoon who adopts orphan children. The character of Scrooge,
seen swimming in and polishing his wealth as a common pastime, makes no
attempt to disguise his enjoyment of his wealth, nor is there ever any
challenge to his rightful possession of it. The show presents a capitalist
system that is beneficial to everyone despite the immense wealth of a few
at the expense of the others through a utopian lens of sunny skies and
smiling, content peons. The
perspective of this cartoon encourages the viewer to consider greed and
inequity as necessary and harmless characteristics of a capitalist system
that is beneficial to everyone; especially if you are male. The three
boys, whom Nanny is ostensibly hired to care for, are primary forces in
solving problems and supporting Scrooge in his position of power. Their
reward for this position is a negation of their status as children. They
do not attend school, they are not subject to the authority of Nanny or
anyone but Scrooge himself, and they are allowed to participate in
activities on an equal level with adult companions. Because these
circumstances are considered valuable to children, they are used to
express the benefits of participating in capitalism and contributing to
the power and wealth of their uncle. However, while this contribution
benefits the boys directly, such is not the case concerning the
contributions of the female character, Nanny. Her status is not elevated,
she continues to remain "Nanny" rather than an individual,s and
the fact that she is content with the outcome of this situation suggests
that it is inherent in her nature to remain secondary to the male
characters and conveniently anonymous. Webbigail
Vanderquack is the granddaughter of Nanny and she is portrayed as a
younger, female version of the boys. She wears a pink dress, a pink bow,
and talks baby talk which distinguishes her character. She is also the
only character who is nurtured or treated as a child, and whose primary
attribute can be interpreted as cuteness. This character, in contrast with
the male triplets, lends valuable insight to the process by which gender
roles are created within a capitalist society. Martha Gimenez, Assistant
Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, explains,
"Occupational roles are the essence of male behavior while family
roles occupy an equally central place in female behavior. The female role
is thus essentially nuturant . . . while the male role is instrumental and
task oriented.” Webbie, as she is referred to in the show, spends her
time playing dolls and having tea parties, and is always trying to include
the boys in this activity. When she is a primary character in an episode,
she is troublesome, underfoot, and excluded, until some circumstance
causes her to come to the foreground and play a part in the rescue from
trouble. She invariably does this by bestowing love and affection on some
fierce beast and securing its loyalty, or by unwittingly charming a male
villain into undoing himself. This contribution falls entirely within the
female domain described in capitalist terms as the family unit of
production, or more appropriately reproduction, as described by Gimenez.
This is the woman’s role in capitalism: to provide the system with
workers (Gimenez). Thus, the traits emphasized as positive for female
characters within the show are mothering, affection, domestic activity,
and a humble and submissive need for protection. These traits are
exemplified in Webbie, who displays behavior such as playing with dolls
and being dependent on the adults as a child. The triplets, on the other
hand, fulfill the occupational roles or participate actively in the
securing of wealth. The male role in capitalism as described by Gimenez is
that of producer, and the triplets exhibit gender traits appropriate to
the male domain of production such as playing baseball, painting fences,
participating in adventures in a valuable way. They are not at all
dependent as children; rather, through ingenuity and skill they are able
to extricate Scrooge and company from various sticky situations. The
appropriate behaviors modeled by each gender can be seen in the episode
"Duck to the Future,” where the boys have set up a lemonade stand.
Webbie approaches, doll in hand, and asks if she can play. She is refused
and Scrooge approaches, ignoring Webbie, and gives the boys business
advice; he then pats Webbie on the head and refers to her as "Me
Darlin", which she responds favorably to. The importance of these
gender roles in a capitalist society can be seen in the separation of the
family from production in the work force. This is a key manifestation of
feminine oppression within capitalism, according to Gimenez. She states,
"While at the beginning of the process of capitalist development the
whole family was included in the ranks of the labor force, as the forces
of production developed and fewer workers were needed, children and women
were slowly phased out of the labor force.” This places women in a
position of inferior status in a society where value is determined by the
ability to secure scarce resources through labor. Gimenez goes on to
explain, "Wages are paid only to those who work in the public sector;
hence, household work remains outside the realm of economic activity and
household workers are separated not only from the means of production but
also from the means of exchange.” Gender
roles, as depicted in this cartoon, are essential to the separation of
family as a private unit of production, where women make their
contribution to industry, or the public unit of production. One of the
important points Gimenez brings up in her discussion is men and women are
required to enter both realms of production and reproduction, independent
of their free will; the stratification and differentiation of those realms
however, is determined by capitalism, as well as who goes where. This is
not to say that women do not enter the work force outside their home.
Rather, capitalist ideology perpetuates the view that women’s labor is
inferior, and the most valuable contribution she can make is in the
domestic expression of female gender roles. Very
few women are portrayed as central characters in the cartoon DuckTales,
leaving female viewers few choices with whom they can identify. One of the
more readily available options is the often-female villain. One who
regularly appears on the show is Magica DeSpell, given the same voice,
literally, as Natasha from the Rocky
and Bullwinkle show. She is a duck and she is an adult, so she plays
counterpart to Scrooge. Her motivation is to steal his "number one
dime." The dime is symbolic of Scrooge’s wealth and rise to power,
and it is implied that should Magica obtain it, he would be bereft and she
would take his place. This scenario actually takes place in the episode
"Duck to the Future", where Magica disguises herself as a
fortune-teller and sends Scrooge into the future so she can steal his dime
once he is gone. This she does and Scrooge finds himself in a future where
Magica occupies his supreme place of power and influence. It is a vision
of capitalism at its worst. Everything is mechanized and fast paced. All
are subject to the domination of Magica, who owns every facet of the city,
including the police department. The exorbitant prices and unfair
distribution of wealth ironically strike Scrooge as unethical and, taking
into consideration the highly unfavorable nature of this situation, he
proceeds to demand the return of his rightful property, on moral grounds.
He encounters his nephews, grown into cutthroat businessmen: ruthless and
cold corporate executives. He also runs into a female voiced security
robot and a “butch” secretary who block his path. This episode is
typical of the series’ portrayal of women who aspire to gain wealth or
power as villainous and destructive to society as a whole. Also
established here is the concept of right to power or wealth. Scrooge is
the rightful owner of power and wealth because he earned it and because
Magica is trying to steal it. If she were able to gain this position
through her own resources she would not be reduced to self admitted
treachery. She is not able to do this, it is implied, through inherent
lack of ability, and, when she assumes the position regardless, her
ineptitude is further revealed in the manifestation of capitalism as a
hellish plague inflicted upon the citizens of Duckburg. She exploits power
and dominates the weak without mercy. The only citizens loyal to her cause
are the robots she has created. This cause and effect scenario establishes
justification for gender roles that limit women’s access to power and
wealth within a capitalist society. Also it portrays women as lacking the
ability to achieve power and wealth independent of men, suggesting that if
they do succeed, they have done so at the expense of men. An example of
this attitude can be seen in our society after World War II when women
were expected to return to their homes in order to open up jobs for
returning soldiers (Gimenez). The
rightful owners had returned to claim their avenues to wealth and power
and those women remaining in the workforce were seen as stealing positions
rightfully belonging to men. This
cartoon, through its portrayal of male and female characters and the roles
they play in the adventures, creates situations where men are accessing
resources to institute and preserve capitalism for the good of all, and
women are a resource to be managed in that endeavor. In the episode
"The Curse of Castle McDuck," the triumph over hardship is
summarized with a scene in which Scrooge and his adversary have joined
together after their dispute over proprietorship of an ancient castle in
Scotland. The spiritual nature of the cite has significance to the druid
character and Scrooge’s interest lies in his heritage and claim to the
family castle, built by his great-great granduncle. The compromise occurs
in the decision to open the area to tourism; the boys are seen selling
t-shirts depicting the theme park. Not only is this scenario suggesting
that everyone gains from compromising and capitalizing, but also that the
initiators of the capitalization are men who are capable of accessing
resources to their advantage. The role of the female character, Webbie, in
this scenario is befriending animals, unwittingly aiding her uncle and the
boys, and getting lost. She is protected and exploited, alternately,
depending on the situation, as a resource to be utilized by Scrooge and
the boys. Within capitalism, women are given a passive role of
contribution, similar to a natural resource such as a forest, creating
patriarchy and maintaining inequality. Children
the world over are indoctrinated to step into these gender roles defined
within capitalism, through hegemonic representations found in cartoons
such as DuckTales.
Interestingly, the cartoon itself is almost entirely drawn from a comic
book strip created by Carl Barks in 1947 and was later incorporated by
Disney in 1967 (Markstein). The characters, as well as the episodes in
today’s DuckTales, are in most cases identical to those originally created
in an era where women barely had the right to vote, and where abortion was
illegal. Also, in that time period, the majority of women did not work
outside of the home; if they did they were paid considerably less than
their male coworkers and their avenues to higher education and success
were strictly limited. Disney was able to stylize a cartoon based on a
text created in a world very different from the one we live in now, with
little alteration and widely favorable results. If one thinks women have
"come a long way" they should look closely at the material being
introduced to our future generations and compare past with present in
order to reveal what is being faithfully perpetuated within American
society.
Works
Cited Gimenez,
Martha. 7 August 2001. “Marxism and Feminism.” 27 June 2003
<http://csf.colorado.edu/authors/Gimenez.Martha/marx.html>.
*Originally Pulblished in Frontier: A Journal of Women's Studies.
Vol 1, No Markstein,
Don. 13 June 2003. “Don Markstein’s Toonopedia: DuckTales.” 27 June
2003
<http://www.toonopedia.com/duktales.html>
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