Disney Dynamos - Juxtaposition of Main Characters Demonstrates Leach Socioculturally

 Leach illustrated Levi-Strauss's main ideas about myth and underlying structures common across myth through the use of the shocking example drawn from the Christian Bible, comparing John the Baptist and Jesus. He meant to show that "myth stories do not occur as isolates but in sets: the message of the myth is made obliquely by repetitive, yet contrasted, references to the same moral injunction which is transgressed in different ways" (Leach 1972). The stories of John the Baptist and Jesus, which juxtaposed by Leach, exhibit an exchange of roles where both violate the mores of the societies in which they lived.

     While the Bible functions to  deliver mores and warnings to adults, Disney was the messenger of many of my social and moral lessons as a child. The Bible has been translated into numerous languages, and similarly, Disney movies get translated from English into a whole host of other languages, making these stories accessible and formative on almost every continent. Embedded within the plot structures of Disney stories are moral injunctions that quietly instruct children beneath the surface of a light-hearted tale with catchy music. The most general moral injunction of avoiding sin can be equated to the childish term of "being bad." Disney movies continually depict the triumph of good over bad, but in order to triumph, characters must transgress the moral set forth and resolve the situation by the movie's end. I specifically chose Disney movies based on fairytales, since fairytales are an evident form of myth.

     Some commonly seen moral injunctions within Disney's plots include the importance of independence and of beauty, the importance of family, and the importance of a good work ethic. Notice that transgressions of these moral injunctions would easily lead to numerous sins, including vanity, envy, and sloth, that children are instructed to avoid. Just as Leach realized examples were more illustrative of his point than theory, I am going to exemplify my point through the following Disney movies: Tangled, Frozen, and The Princess and the Frog.

     Tangled is framed around the moral injunction of the importance of independence and youth, which represents an underlying idea valued in certain cultures. Both Rapunzel and Rapunzel's "mother" (Gothel) transgress in their behaviors applicable to the moral injunction. Gothel exerts too much control and is too independent, as seen by her locking Rapunzel up and living outside of the kingdom in a lone tower, while Rapunzel completely lacks independence due to being imprisoned in the tower both physically and emotionally (by guilt trips that her mother pulls). Gothel keeps Rapunzel imprisoned because she is obsessed with maintaining her youth, while Rapunzel lies on the other end of that spectrum in a state of unawareness as to her youthful beauty. Once their roles change, they are able to fulfill the most embedded more/value where the good (Rapunzel) wins over bad influences (Gothel).

     Frozen is framed around the moral injunction of the importance of family, another concept emphasized to children that is applicable to even more cultures around the world. Both Elsa and Anna transgress in their treatment of family throughout the film, and the film only resolves when Elsa and Anna cease transgressing and accordingly become a family unit again. Elsa is too alienated because of her powers and so doesn't fit within her family. Thus she elects to leave her family and be alone. On the other hand, Anna is held too firmly within her family because of the parents' desire to protect her from Elsa's power, and she fits too well within her family because her family has been built around her. Thus, at first chance, she seeks out another family in the form of her hasty suitor, Hans. Each transgression pertaining to family presents its own dangers, because Elsa being alone puts the whole kingdom at risk of freezing, while Anna's desire to not be alone put the kingdom in the hands of the conniving Hans. Only once the sisters reunite and resolve their differences can the movie reach its conclusion.

     The Princess and the Frog constructs their plot around the moral injunction of a good work ethic, which appears to be valued in many cultures. The transgressors are Tiana and Prince Navene. Tiana works too hard, to the exclusion of fun and family, in the pursuit of fulfilling her dream of owning her own restaurant. As a result, she is also overly cautious. On the other hand, Prince Navene works too little, to the bankruptcy of his title, in the pursuit of jazz and musical fun. As a result, he is overly carefree. The cost of both lifestyles is depicted in the plot, and the moral injunction of having a balanced work ethic is illustrated by the conclusion of the movie when Tiana and Prince Navene positively influence each other to be a bit more carefree and hard-working respectively.

     After mobilizing Leach's work to reexamine something as familiar as Disney movies, I ultimately realized the limitations of his work and Levi-Strauss's. Because of Levi-Strauss's valuing of binary opposition, the construction of binaries was paramount in Leach's analysis of John the Baptist and Jesus. Culture does not always shape itself in the form of binaries, so just like Leach, I felt myself straining to find connection at times or slightly reinterpreting the story to suit a more elegant and clean explanation. Leach also notates the universalizing goal of Levi-Strauss's theories about myth where many things can be reduced to fit certain binaries. Such universalizing theories ignores diversity, and Leach's use of the Bible lends a preferential Western slant to his investigation of myth. 

Leach, Edmunc. "Structuralism in Social Anthropology [1972]." Readings for A History of Anthropological Theory. By Paul A. Erickson and Liam D. Murphy. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2013. 159-168. Print.