Western Representation and Cultural Sensitivity in Disney’s Moana

Abstract

This master’s thesis offers an analysis of Polynesian cultural representation in Disney’s Moana (2016) through theories and concepts such as imagology, Said’s theory of Orientalism, Hall’s concept of cultural representations and Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. It aims to understand the extent to which Moana (2016) offers a westernized construct of Polynesia and how the movie reflects Orientalist ideas in its visual and narrative construct, while also highlighting Disney’s effort in sensitively representing Polynesia. This is further done through the use of concepts such as exoticism and commodification. This study was done through a qualitative approach where the movie was closely analysed through its imagery and narrative choices. The results indicates that while the movie offers a westernized representation of Polynesia, it nonetheless offers a dual perspective wherein the collaboration of Disney with the Oceanic Story Trust shows the studio’s wish to be culturally sensitive. The imagery of the movie perpetuates an exoticized and romanticized representation of Polynesia while the narrative choice of the film highlights the Western dominance over non-Western storytelling styles. However, the study also highlights Disney’s progressive step forward compared to their past cultural representation in their movies such as Aladdin (1992) and Mulan (1998). This thesis contributes to the ongoing debate of cultural representation and its complexity when it comes to misrepresentation and cultural accuracy. It also highlights the important of media in cultural construct and how Western media construct their images of other cultures.