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Breaking Stereotypes: A Multimodal Analysis of the Representation of the Female Lead in the Animation Movie Brave

The social, cultural and pedagogical influence of animated movies has been subject to academic scrutiny from multiple disciplines including sociology, media and discourse studies. Several research attempts have underlined the gender ideologies and portrayals (of female characters) in animated movies employing numerous analytical approaches, including content analysis and cultural critical approaches. However, none of these attempts have approached gender representations in animated movies from a multimodal perspective. Therefore, this study aims at revealing the underlying gender ideologies embedded in animated movies through examining the depiction of the female lead in one of the most popular Disney/Pixar animation movies, Brave (2012) applying a multimodal analysis of the linguistic and visual modes. Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness model has been utilized to analyze one linguistic feature, i.e., politeness, in relation to the representation of the female protagonist, Merida. Also, Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) social semiotic multimodal model for visual analysis has been applied to examine the visual rendering of Merida. Findings have revealed how the linguistic and visual modes integrate to construct the character of the female protagonist, breaking the stereotypical portrayal the obedient and passive princess in earlier animation movies, which in turn has significant implications in relation to animation viewers, producers and scholars.