Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the differences and similarities in how female and male characters are portrayed using gendered behaviors in Western and Japanese film contexts. The two studios included are Walt Disney, as the Western film company, and Studio Ghibli, as the Japanese film company. Three films were selected from Disney, which include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Mulan (1998), and Frozen (2013). Studio Ghibli films include Castle in the Sky (1986), Princess Mononoke (1997), and When Marnie Was There (2014). Conducting a content analysis by using England’s coding book (2011), this study found that there was a cyclical pattern in how women were portrayed throughout the years. Female characters in both studios were portrayed first as feminine, then masculine in the 1990s, and back to being feminine in the 2010s. Male characters had a cookie-cutter depiction since they were often portrayed with traditionally masculine traits and were rarely shown to possess feminine traits. Villains were commonly shown to be depicted as masculine in both studios.

Advisor

Yavari, Mehri

Department

Communication Studies

Disciplines

Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication

Keywords

gender portrayal, gender performativity, masculinity, femininity, Walt Disney, Studio Ghibli, animation, gender, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mulan, Frozen, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, When Marnie Was There

Publication Date

2026

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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