#so that being a big thing in anthropology is not the best combo

[ifeelfreewithoutmyshoes]

There is so clearly a reason I’m studying history

[simptasia]

the science squad + 13, 20 (heh) & 22 :)

thank you! i wanted somebody to send me them. and lets just assume, this means dan, char & miles unless said otherwise (sad violin for frank and naomi) because they’re the ones, i like, care about

Grudges and vendettas

every moment i find of daniel being bitter about his upbringing gives me life. like, yes, he loves his mum but he’s perfectly aware she’s terrible

miles’ longing for a father in his youth eventually got replaced with huge resentment for him not being there, so there was a time when miles straight up hated his dad that he never met. and when he did meet him, those feelings were still in play (layered over his sad feelings)

char just gets annoyed, she’s got no grudges. in limbo, dan thinks char’s gonna blame him for her death, because he always did blame himself but of course she doesn’t, it wasn’t his fault. she’s not even mad about the hydrogen bomb thing (she fucking laughs), char’s just happy they have time together now and they’ve been given a second chance

but i digress

~

What-ifs/Alternate Timelines

whats that “heh” for, you expectin’ something, lisa? :}

man, you could sum up my sci trio shipping as “WHAT IF THEY KISSED AND BANGED AND LIVED TOGETHER AND ALSO OWNED PETS TOGETHER?” tho it’s not exactly an AU since i put all this in the limboverse. but it is all a bunch a what ifs. what if these people all had a closer relationship. expanding on what if daniel faraday was allowed to be happy gosh damn it. what if LOST had a concept of polyamory. etc

my No Incident AU affects everybody but i have it focus on dan, char and miles. specifically, miles n char are still in dharma, and dan is an other. because i’m loving that concept. this AU is, a lot because i’m very into details so i’ll probs make a post about it but that is about the gist of it

the science team…. but they’re the ghostbusters (i don’t think i need to say but they’re filling these roles but with their personalities: miles = peter, dan = egon, char = ray and frank = winston. and yes. they look 80s)

i also got this lost high school au which i kinda like and in that the science team = the science club. miles is just there for easy credit

~

People who’ve influenced them greatly

daniel: 

[insert really great scientists and classical musicians here]. i’m mostly thinking isaac newton and frederic chopin. dan is a physicist (as in that’s his field, he’s clearly an expert on other sciences too) so i’m assuming newton is considered the champ of that field? (personally i think he was an asshole but that’s neither here nor there. he was important)

and that music piece associated with dan’s story - fantaisie-impromptu in c-sharp minor - is a chopin song. so i like to think chopin is his fave classical composer. also that song is a great pick because not only is it notoriously hard to do (i notice we only see daniel play the slower, easier parts for the sake of the child actor and jeremy) but if you listen to that piece, which i did, it’s the music version of daniel faraday

also. his mother. especially his mother. holy fucko did she drill her philosophies into daniel. he just wanted her to be proud of him :( …well, FUCK YOU, MOM, WE’RE THE VARIABLES

also desmond kinda changed his life. like having proof (or daniel’s idea of proof) of time travel walk up to him one day would be like, huge. and it’s clear to me that daniel loves how wrong and special desmond is. and i hc that dan’s short but meaningful afternoon with des in 1996 was dan’s bi awakening. so in just an hour and half, des had a big impact

charlotte

[insert influential cultural anthropologist(s) here] i know very little about cultural anthropology so this def applies here even more so 

her mother also, char said she only became an anthropologist because she wanted to find the island and that was because her mum was so cage-y and secretive about the existence and events of the island (repeatedly telling char it doesn’t exist and she imagined it!!) so it seems like char’s mum had a huge influence on her life and psyche 

(wow there’s something dan & char have in common. nerd scientists with emotionally abusive mums and are secretly island babies)

daniel’s convo with bb char was kind of a Big Deal on char’s psyche too

miles:

his mum also but, combo breaker, i imagine her as an actual good mum (besides the refusing to give any info on miles’ father but like, i get it) who was just doing her best. and i imagine her death hit miles really hard. most of my headcanons regarding miles cynicism and emotional walls and issues with love all hinge on the idea that his mum’s death fucked him up

yeah, his powers and missing dad are also a huge part of why miles is the way he is, but i imagine his mum (his Ma) and her death is a part of it too

i hc that miles is a ghostbuster fan and that peter is his fave ghostbuster, because that’s the most obvious thing in the world. i like to think that miles sense of humour, his attitude, his sense of snark is influenced by peter venkman (and bill murray characters in general) because he seems like the kinda guy who’d like peter the best. and also he’s got that whole “i hide the fact that i care about stuff behind snark and one-liners” schtick

miles’ friendships with hurley and sawyer made him a better person. and i like to think his post-finale friendships with richard, kate & claire will continue that (miles isn’t good at opening up. he needs random people to cling to him first)

[and-little-things-in-between]

1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,14,15,17,20,21,23,24,25,30,31,32,33,34,36,37,41,43,45,46,48,49,51,52,54,55,56,57,58,60,61. I literally just realized what the bottom text said just now. I'm too lazy to pick two plus it's super late and i want sleep right about now so either you pick two, or answer this ridiculous amount of questions (why so manyyy) and in return I'll do the same. lol good luck

oh mah GAW, dude xD Ok, here we GO

1. Are you good at apologizing? Depends. If I know I was the one who was wrong, yeah, I can apologize pretty easily, but if I really think I’m right or am just feeling really prideful, I’m horrible at apologizing. It’s never just “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” I always have to remind them of my good points lol 2. Do you prefer your looks or personality? Neither? Personality, if I have to pick. I like to think I can be a pleasant person to be around. 4. What are you most confident about yourself? My hair lol 5. Name a few songs that reminds you of someone, and who it remind you of. Ooohhh goodness. Anything Fall Out Boy-related = Susanne all the way. Also Panic! at the Disco, specifically the “Fever” album. FOB’s “American Beauty/American Psycho” album reminds me of a few of my friends. That stupid “Do You Like Waffles” song always reminds me of my brother. 6. What is your favourite colour combination? Uuuuuhhhhhh I never really thought about it lol I like burgundy with other shades of red and some shades of pink? I’m crocheting a bomb-looking blanket right now that’s like a combo of sea and space-inspired colors.7. Define your “aesthetic”. Nonexistent? I’ve never consciously thought about it. I guess like shades of blue and flowers and word art and flannels? Idk, man, I just go for whatever I’m feeling.10. What are some of your biggest pet peeves? People who don’t use their blinkers. People who are rude. People who don’t smile when you make eye-contact. People who cut me off in traffic. People who hover in traffic. People who make fun of other people for things they can’t control. Just people doing sucky things, tbh. 11. What’s something that automatically turns you off of other people? Conceit. Cockiness. Arrogance. REALLY strong personalities, like those people who are SUPER opinionated about EVERYTHING and try to turn EVERYONE to their side about EVERYTHING and try to control other people and every aspect of their lives. Also people who try to be grammar police, regardless of their knowledge level. 12. What song always makes you sad/emotional? “The Little Girl” by John Michael Montgomery. ugh. RIP me. 14. How are you with moving on? Absolutely horrible. I’m emotionally spent, currently, because of that exact issue lol15. What’s a philosophy you agree with, but fail to live by? Oh so many. Forgive and forget is a big one.17. What’s something positive happening in your life right now? I have friends again? Like, now that my mental health isn’t in a pit, I’m actually able to connect and have meaningful relationships with other people again, and that’s really cool. 20. Are you a good person? Nah, not inherently, anyway. Goodness is a choice that I can’t stick to on my own; I’m too selfish for that. Phil. 4:13, friends.21. How could you become a better person? Following Christ closely and being more selfless. 23. Have you ever been in love? If so, with how many people? Naaahh I’ve never been close enough with anyone to “be in love.” I love people, like a lot and really deeply, but not romantically.24. Do you believe in love at first sight? I believe in annoying at first sight ;) But seriously, it depends on what “love at first sight” means, really. I think two people can click really well the first time they interact, but I don’t think you really love a person until you really know them. 25. Which social science interests you more; psychology (how the mind effects a person), sociology (how society affects a people) or anthropology (learning about culture)? Why? PSYCHOLOGY ALL THE WAY, though the other two are close. I just. The brain is SO freaking cool, and I’m always interesting to learn why the heck mine acts the way it does lol There’s so much to learn, and it’s all so complex and just fascinating. Human nature is fascinating.30. How do you usually get people to be interested in terms of romantic relationships? And platonic relationships? Romantic: I don’t lol #foreveralone Platonic: Humor, 10000000%31. What’s your favourite song to sing a long to? Ooooooooohhh depends on what my voice is doing lol but usually anything from “Prince of Egypt” or “Part the Waters/I Need Thee” by Selah32. What’s some “embarrassing” music you listen to? Every once in a blue moon, I’ll throwback to Big Time Rush lol33. What are you most snobby/pretentious about? So much, honestly lol I can’t think of any one thing off  the top of my head….My writing, maybe?34. How do you express sad emotions? And happy emotions? Tears and babbling. Also tears and babbling.36. How do you feel about phone calls? Depends on who it’s with. Doctor? Nope. Dentist? Nope. School? Absolutely not. Friend? Yes, let’s talk forEVER. 37. How do you feel about texting? Fine? I prefer phone or video calls, tbh, because I like to be able to hear your tone of voice/read your body language41. What’s something you love that you never do anymore? Why don’t you do it? Play piano. I’m not patient enough to practice anymore. 43. If there were no limits; who and what would you be? Everything. (idek man lol)45. Describe your fashion sense. The clearance racks  and Target and Kohl’s,  and thrift stores46. Do you have stage fright? Oh absolutely. It’s gotten a lot better because #teacherintraining, and I literally had to stand in front of 30 17-year-olds every day for 6 weeks. Also, I lead worship in a small class at church, so I’m better than I used to be, but I still get pretty bad stage fright. My hands shake really bad any time I talk in front of people, even in a casual class setting. 48. Are you more of an open or closed person? Closed if I don’t know you. More open if I do, but still generally pretty closed.49. What’s the worst thing that ever happened to you? And the best? Probably the depressed periods in my life when I felt really far from God and the people I care about. The best is salvation via Jesus Christ, aka the reason I made it through those dog days. 51. What are your top three places you’d like to travel and why? UUuuuhhhhh tbh I’ve never flown or anything, and travelling has always seemed like a weird, out of reach concept for me. Ummmmmmmmm I guess Italy, Spain, and England? Because there’d be a lot of cool stuff to see? lol52. What’s something you thought would be really scary/bad, but was actually fine when it happened/you did it? SO MANY THINGSSS umm probably riding roller coasters in Disney World. It was still petrifying, and I couldn’t stand up after because I was so scared, but like it wasn’t AS bad as I thought hahaha 54. Can you sleep facing someone? Yup55. Do you ever get in slumps? If so; how often, and how long do they usually last for? Um absolutely. I depends, anywhere from a day to weeks. 56. Do you like being alone? Yeah, but if I’m alone for too long, I get really depressed.57. Are you social? Selectively58. How do you feel about parties? Mmmm depends on what kind lol I prefer the “social gathering” type parties. No dancing or alcohol for this chick. 60. What question(s) do you love to ask people? Anything that gives me insight into who they are, be it spiritual stuff or just about how their day has (really) been. 61. What question(s) do you love being asked? Same kind of stuff, anything that leads to good conversations and stories. 

I DID IT WOO

[ais-n]

Hi ais! I've just finished re-reading icos and I once again feel so sad that it's over again. Do you have any nook recommendations or books that you like?

Aww thank you for reading ICoS the first time, let alone rereading it! That’s sweet of you

I could have sworn at some point I compiled a list (which I was going to link only because I have the worst memory and forget things I love whenever I try to list it all) but I can’t find anything! What the hey.

So, I made a list below the cut :D I broke it up between M/M, nonfiction, fiction, YA, and anime/manga. You should know ahead of time that I tend to read mostly manga or nonfiction, and/or I tend to gravitate toward “darker” stories or stories that deal with a lot of nuance and complexity. I don’t tend to gravitate toward stories that are really black and white (but idk about the ones I mentioned from when I was a preteen/teen because it’s been so long since I read them).

That may tell you if you might like any of these or not :) I wrote a little about the book by most of the names to give you a bit more of an idea.

Hopefully at least one of these looks interesting to you :) Let me know if you need links on something if you can’t find it, or if you want a bit more of an explanation on anything. Some (honestly, most) of these books I haven’t read in forever but others I periodically reread just because I

BOOKS BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS BELOW

**M/M:**

All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic - m/m, super awesomesauce series, it’s my fave in general. First book free, second 2 books 99 cents each. Nora was having some issues with the first book not being on the site with the rest so I put it on my site until she’s got that figured out, so people can still read the series. Get the first book here: http://aisylum.com/tfc/ and then I link the other books on there.

Raised by Wolves series by W.A. Hoffman - m/m, this one is a very different series and style of storytelling. I personally adore this series but it’s also the sort of thing some people may not be into for various reasons. But for me, I read the series all the way through and instantly started over and reread it all again. First book is Brethren.

**NONFICTION:**

anything by Simon Singh but especially The Code Book and Big Bang - these are nonfiction books and if that makes you go “UGH NO WAY” then know that Simon writes nonfiction like fiction so they’re really great and easy reads, plus you get lots of great info. Also, The Code Book is what I used as research for Jeffrey’s knowledge base + the whole thing with the message in Evenfall and the OTP comment. (If you’re like “Hey yeah what WAS all that about?” I answered it here.) (Also also, if you saw Imitation Game, then you should know that the Code Book covers at least part of the same history as that movie)

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (follows the story of one of my favorite humans, Paul Farmer who founded/co-founded Partners in Health which is one of my favorite charities) also Tracy writes other books that look intriguing to me but I haven’t read yet.

Erik Larson - Devil in the White City, Thunderstruck, and other books by him – he, like Simon, writes nonfiction in a way that reads very easily like fiction. I like the way he interweaves various stories of various people into one book. Devil in the White City might be my favorite of his that I’ve read? Mostly because it combines architecture + America’s first serial killer + the 1893 Chicago World Fair and all of these things make me go YES PLX

Troublemaker by Leah Remini and Rebecca Paley - this is about scientology; I listened on audiobook–it was interesting and informative

Also, I listened to Dan and Phil’s first book (The Amazing Book is Not on Fire) on audiobook and that was also entertaining–although if you have no idea who tf Dan and Phil are, that may be less entertaining to you lol

Death’s Acre, or Beyond the Body Farm, by William Bass and Jon Jefferson - so, Bill Bass is super interesting, tl;dr is he’s a frontrunner in forensic anthropology, these books are about a farm people donate their bodies to where they decompose in various states to help forensic anthropologists learn more on decomposition which then helps in murder trials and elsewhere. If you’re into forensic anthropology, check out Bill Bass

Dismembered by Susan Mustafa and Sue Israel - this is true crime about a serial killer in Louisiana. It is, therefore, quite graphic and you should heed the title as quite accurate representation of what you will be reading about in the book. But if serial killers or true crime intrigue you, I really liked this book and have been on the lookout by more from these ladies. I thought it was written well and told the story well.

**FICTION:**

books by Jefferson Bass - there’s a whole series called the Body Farm series or something. Jefferson Bass is the combo if the two people for Death’s Acre, except that pseudonym is for their fiction series based on scientific reality/facts. It’s a pretty interesting series from what I recall but I never finished it. But if you like forensic anthropology and want to read a sort of murder mystery/detective type of series written by an actual acclaimed forensic anthropologist with all the science being legit, this is your series

Tony Foster series by Tanya Huff (starts with Smoke and Shadows) - ok so, Tanya Huff was SUPER nice the one time I messaged her. I like her a lot as a person. I will say that this series is not the actual best writing you will ever read–BUT Tony Foster is such a freaking great narrator that I love the series. Also, Tony’s a gay male which is always cool to have as a lead, especially in a sort of fantasy like this :)

Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman – honestly, just about anything you pick up by Neil Gaiman will be good. I’d have to reread all the books to say which is my favorite but I do recall liking Good Omens a lot, which he cowrote with Terry Pratchett. But Sandman is what got me into graphic novels, eventually manga (because I was used to reading GNs by then) and Neil Gaiman as a whole. I fucking love Sandman and will forever recommend it, but it’s a GN so it may not translate well to nook? idk

Speaking of Terry Pratchett, if you like stories that are easy to read and oftentimes have a fair amount of humor infused into them, I recommend him and probably any of his books but my particular recommendation would be Mort as well as the Sam Vines books. I think the first time we see Sam Vines is in the Guards! Guards! book.

Otherland series by Tad Williams - ok in all honesty, I never finished the series (got partially through 3rd of 4 books) and it’s been probably 20 years since I read them, so maybe my opinion would be different now. But Otherland was such an interesting sci-fi ish series which I honestly think is probably going to end up being somewhat realistic to our future. Basically, VR is a thing and people choose to live there instead of in reality sometimes, and now people are dying IRL because their bodies are wasting away and a diverse group of people from around the world get together in the virtual world to try to figure out what’s happening and how to stop it, but they don’t realize the politics and danger involved. Why didn’t I finish reading, you wonder? It’s because I read this series when I was a teenager when it first came out, and I think when I read reading the 3rd book the 4th hadn’t even been written yet. Anyway I was suuuuuper engrossed in the series–so much that when a certain thing happens related to my favorite character in the series, I was too emotionally affected by it I set the book aside to take a moment to reset my emotions before continuing, and then I just…. never continued…. ^^;; I got too distracted by other series but I always plan to finish it. Also side note, Tad Williams is a super nice author who actually wrote back to little teen me(!), taking my email seriously and encouraging me to write. Also side side note, Tad Williams wrote a bunch of books and I recall liking all of his fantasy series I read too but I don’t think I’ve read all his stuff.

Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling - first book: Bone Doll’s Twin. It’s been a while since I read this (as is the case for pretty much everything on this whole list) but I remember thinking this was a really interesting trilogy with a rather unique story, especially for the time this was written. If you ever read Lynn’s other book series (Nightrunner, m/m) then know that the Tamir Triad is set in the past of the Nightrunner world, by I don’t remember 500 years or something– also it’s written TOTALLY different than Nightrunner. The two styles are like night and day; if you don’t like the Nightrunner style, totally give Tamir a chance. If you do like Nightrunner, I still think you should read the Tamir books because I think they’re better, even though I did like Nightrunner in the beginning :)

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. This book is the inspiration for the wildly popular musical Wicked (which I also recommend you see because it’s omggggg

**YA:**

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - for the most part, I quite like this series. It’s a very easy to read YA series that re-imagines the Disney Princess/fairy tale female leads into a sort of cyberpunk Earth with space adventure future. Most of the females in this series are pretty strong female characters, leading their own stories, having agency, not being overpowered by the male characters like in their Disney or fairy tale versions. It has kind of a Sailor Moon vibe in some aspects, mostly because Marissa’s a total nerd who loves Sailor Moon lol

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - this is actually part of a series but tbh I liked Six of Crows more than the other book. Basically this book is a heist novel with young adult MCs. It’s a freaking BEAUTIFUL hardcover btw, like black edged paper and cool illustrations on the chapter pages and omgggggggg so this is one I recommend you buy in print if you like it, rather than just getting the ebook. It has an MC (Kaz Brekker) who I swear to god is like if early Evenfall Boyd and Hsin had a baby lol

Books by Sherryl Jordan - it’s been approximately forever since I read any of these books so maybe my opinion would change if I read them now, but back in the day I loved the fuck out of Sherryl’s books when I found them as a preteen/teen. I remember feeling like a lot of her female characters felt strong or at least I thought they were cool. The main one I remember liking back then is Winter of Fire. Mind you, Sherryl Jordan’s books are now really hard to find–turns out she’s a New Zealand author and a lot of the books went out of print at various times. But if you happen to run across one, you can check her out and see what you think. I mention her because her stories stuck in my head for 20 years.

Mage Heart (and the Chronicles of Dion Trilogy) by Jane Routley. Another one from forever ago–no idea what I would think of this if I read it today but I remember really liking it when I read it as a teenager, and the story has stuck in the back of my head since. I don’t remember a lot about the actual plot, just that I was inspired by the story/world.

Aaaaand that’s probably enough. You’re probably regretting asking XD

There are a couple of other books I remember from when I was really little but you probably don’t care about those lol The only one I’ll mention is Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede - that’s the first book in a YA series. I quite like Dealing with Dragons, but tbh I was really frustrated by the other books. You could read just the first if you wanted to check it out.

Lastly, if you like manga/anime at all, here are some other recs: fave anime/manga recs, plus here’s another good manga

[nievefergie]

Is Disney an Auteur Through Genre Theory?

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson says to Moana, “If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess”. Disney’s most recent iteration of the animated princess genre appeared in 2016 and featured a number of updates to what is often considered to be an outdated and/or old- fashioned storyline. Even though it departs from the formula by doing away with one of the major elements—the prince and the love story between the prince and the princess — the film nonetheless adheres to the central formula of the princess genre of wanting more than the sheltered life they live. This can be seen in every Disney princess movie where the protagonist sings about wanting something of a future they look forward to. At the same time, this film offers a convenient vantage point to ask a different question: who is the author of the film, and why does it matter? Is Disney as a brand the auteur of this film because they created the Disney genre, or are Ron Clements and John Musker the auteurs of this film inside of the Disney Princess genre? This paper will explore Moana from these two particular theoretical perspectives in order to elucidate that Ron Clements and John Musker are the auteurs of Moana due to the fact that they created the highly intertwined Disney Princess genre.

In 1951, the French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma published an article by André Bazin called, ‘On the Politique des Auteurs’. Bazin argued that in cinema, the author of the film was the director and they are the singular creative force guiding the film through stylistic motifs and thematic preoccupations. Bazin referred to it as auteurism, and the theory took off all over the world. Auteurism remains a preferred theory of film authorship due to the value of originality in Hollywood and the entertainment industry. American film critics like Andrew Sarris argue that auteurism is made up of three parts: technique, personal style, and interior meaning. British film scholars argue that auteurism is more structural, with the director achieving high-quality work through anthropology and literary studies and their principle of methods (Chris). Most popularly known, auteurism is the simple theory that the director of a film is the mastermind behind the creative piece as its true author.

Though, in a time where cinema was being spoken about as original and how to tell apart true masters and authors during the French New Wave, nowadays the argument has little bearings. A large part of filmmaking is collaboration and all of the various jobs and hours going into it. There are writers, producers, directors, executives, actors, set designers, etc., that all contribute to the final product. It might almost seem expeditious to label one of these artists as an individual visionary. This opens up the debate for the auteur theory to enter the idea of the corporate author. Thomas Schatz developed the concept of the model from Bazin’s remark about Hollywood individuals being less interested in the system of cinema as a whole. Schatz argues that even from early Hollywood, certain studios were easily distinguishable from the other studios. You knew if you were watching an MGM film or a Warner Brothers film — they each had their own distinct brands as an effect of the overseeing producers. Each studio used synergistic mechanisms of industrialized production to create their own brand (Chris). This begs the question — in terms of big studio movies, who is the true author? The directors or the studio producing the film?

John Lasseter once noted in his forward to The Walt Disney Film Archives: The Animated Movies 1921-1968, that, ‘‘people sometimes describe something as ‘Disney’ as if it were a single look and style, when in truth the look of the studio’s work was continuously evolving. Films were influenced by new artists joining the studio or coming into their own, new technologies being developed, and new styles arising in the culture of the day” (Mason, 3). From as early as 1921, audience members could tell the difference between something like an MGM film and a Disney film. Even as directors and technology changed, the brand was still aware of its market. Walt Disney wanted to make films for everyone, for both children and adults in the same medium. It would be highly unusual to see an ‘adult’ movie under the Disney brand. Their family-friendly brand is without competition as noted by Joel Best and Kathleen S. Lowney, who claim, “‘Disney’s rivals have clear moral reputations, [...] in contrast, the name Disney has become closely linked in the public mind with decent, family-oriented entertainment” (Mason, 4). With a set brand in mind, Walt Disney created the Walt Disney Company, and in that, he became an auteur of the work he was distributing. When he passed away, the company became the auteur of Walt Disney’s work.

When Moana was announced by the Walt Disney Company in 2014 and slated to premiere late 2016, it was marketed to be the next Disney Princess movie. It was to be directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who had just previously directed The Princess and the Frog in 2009. The two directors joined the Walt Disney Company over 40 years ago while they were in their twenties, being trained by one of the original Nine Old Men. Throughout their time at Disney, the two together have directed seven films: The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Moana (2016). It stands to reason that their directing of The Little Mermaid is what resurrected Disney’s feature animation business and began what fans and historians refer to as ‘The Disney Renaissance’. After The Little Mermaid’s success, Disney green-lighted Musker and Clements’s next project — a comedy called Aladdin. Aladdin was to also feature a princess, and prince, their love story, a faithful and lovable sidekick, and an evil villain (Miller). Even though Disney already had three successful princess movies before the Disney Renaissance during the Golden and Silver Ages in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959), Disney had not done another fairy tale since. It seemed as if Musker and Clements had created a new form of Disney Princess, and their Disney Princess was modernized for this time period’s new genres.

John Musker and Ron Clements’s Disney Princesses stood different than the princesses of before. Not only were they bringing in a substantial amount of money through things like tickets, but also through merchandise and consumerism. Little girls wanted to be these princesses. These new princesses inspired them to be strong. After the success of four Disney Princess films in the Disney Renaissance, The Disney Princess line was created in 2001 as an advertising and marketing campaign to encourage children to identify with the characters so they would buy associated products by contributing to a new ‘girlhood’ (England et al.). Disney had officially taken the work that John Musker and Ron Clements achieved through Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, and made it more than just individual markets under Disney Animation’s properties, but into a whole brand of itself, the genre, under ‘the Disney Princess’.

The term ‘genre’ is French for type or kind, but when used to describe works of literature, films, or television programs, genre theory implies that these works of art can be categorized into a class of related works. Film and television genre categories are very limited and culturally specific. Rather than using the genre ‘comedy’, the specific genre like ‘screwball comedy’ and ‘romantic comedy’ are used to measure comic forms of mass media. Due to the industrialization of mass media, the genre became a way to standardize similarity and differences in the production of a product (Feurer). Audience members know that if they go into a film labeled as a romantic comedy, they know to expect tropes such as a heterosexual romance, a quirky best friend, enemies turned to lovers, and the ultimate happy ending.

Because critics argued that these genre films lacked originality, they decided they weren’t art or original because they were not authored works. Auteur theory attempted to take back the artistic merit in films from the Hollywood assembly line of studios and celebrate individual artists as the author of the films rather than following the categories already produced. Yet Jane Feuer, a film theorist, argues against the auteur theory destroying genre by stating,

However, it was discovered that certain authors expressed themselves most fully within a particular genre—John Ford in the western or Vincente Minnelli in the musical. In some sense, then, genre provided a field in which the force of individual creativity could play itself out. Some viewed the genre as a constraint on complete originality and self- expression, but others, following a more classical or mimetic theory of art, felt that these constraints were in fact productive to the creative expression of the author (Feuer, 107).

Thus, even though auteur theory evolved from the need to distinguish itself from what they considered was a lack of originality, they only further introduced genre and genre theory into the romantic bias of auteur criticism.

Audiences know what a Disney princess is. They know she wears a dress, her family is important to her, she always has a ‘want’ and she’s going to have a song where she declares it, and she has a love interest. The first Disney Princess movie to drift away from this was the Pixar film, Brave (2012). For the first time, there is no love interest. The movie is about familial bonds rather than the love between a man and a woman. But this movie, although under Disney, is still Pixar. This means that it is a weird combo of the Disney Princess genre and the Pixar genre that Disney bought. This set the standards for the new Disney Princess genre — rules can be broken. Which is where Moana comes in. Moana is a princess of an island called Motunui who wishes to see the world, or more specifically, the sea. She desires to explore and goes on a quest to save her island and family. Along the way, she does meet a man, but he is not her love interest. The demigod Maui remains a friend and guide along the whole film, never breaking or abusing the barrier between that romantic and mentor relationship.

So then, one may question: is Moana really a Disney Princess movie? Does it fit inside the genre that the Walt Disney Company created? And in turn, does it fit inside of the genre that Ron Clements and John Musker helped solidify during the Disney Renaissance? And finally, does that mean the Walt Disney Company are the auteurs of Moana, or does that mean Ron Clements and John Musker are? John Musker and Ron Clements changed Disney Princesses forever in 1989. They made the Disney Princess genre typically a musical fairytale, with a song about wanting something. In Moana, the song is called ‘How Far I’ll Go’ and is written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The song describes the need to be out in the sea and how she plans to do that. Similarly to other Disney Princess ‘ I want’ songs like ‘Almost There’ and ‘Part of Your World’ from Clements and Musker’s The Princess and the Frog and The Little Mermaid respectively, the main protagonist sings about what she wants. These songs are clear indications of what the princess desires. The characters from Clement and Musker’s Disney Princess movies always sing these songs, and Moana adheres to this model they’ve created. Moana also fits inside the Disney Princess genre of having an animal best friend and sidekick. Jasmine has Raja, Ariel has Flounder, and Moana has Pua and Hei-Hei. Once again, Moana adheres to the Disney Princess genre. So even though Moana is newly different without having a prince or a love story, the base of the personality of the princess is still there and she still holds the crown, so she is a princess.

With Moana being apart of the Disney Princess genre, one could argue the Walt Disney Company is the auteur of the hit 2016 movie. Yet more important to make the distinction of who the auteur is, we have to look back at who created the genre inside of the company. The modern Disney Princess genre created during the Disney Renaissance was formed from Ron Clements and John Musker, therefore, they must be the auteurs of Moana, simply because they are the auteurs of the genre. Both genre theory and auteur theory give the audience expectations about what they are about to see. Going into a Disney film, you can expect family-friendly content with good morals. When going into a Ron Clements and John Musker Disney film, you know you’re going to get a classic modern Disney film. The audience knows this because Ron Clements and John Musker were hired by the brand that Walt Disney Company created to design a new and better genre for their animated fairytale adaptations, and that made the Disney Princess genre that Moana falls into. They created the genre, so they are the auteurs.


Bibliography

Kackman, Michael, and Mary Celeste Kearney. The Craft of Criticism: Critical Media Studies in Practice. Routledge, 2018.

Mittell, Jason. “A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory.” Cinema Journal, vol. 40, no. 3, 2001, pp. 3–24.

Brookey, Robert Alan, and Robert Westerfelhaus. “The Digital Auteur: Branding Identity on the Monsters, Inc. DVD.” Western Journal of Communication, vol. 69, no. 2, Apr. 2005, pp. 109–128. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10570310500076734.

Íris Alda Ísleifsdóttir 1988. From Snow White to Tangled: Gender and Genre Fiction in Disney’s “Princess” Animations. 2013.

Mason, James Robert. Disney Film Genres and Adult Audiences : A Tale of Renegotiated Relationships. 2017.

England, Dawn Elizabeth, Lara Descartes, and Melissa A. Collier-Meek. "Gender role portrayal and the Disney princesses." Sex roles 64.7-8 (2011): 555-567.

Miller, Bruce. “Disney's Ron Clements Still Looks to Do More, Post-'Moana'.” Sioux City Journal, 12 Sept. 2018.