Academic Essay by Erica Leal

Edited by Brandon Lo & Olivia Mondragon

Abstract: This piece discusses the ways in which the children’s films Peter Pan and Hook utilize the liminal and surreal space of Neverland as a platform for societal perspectives. Focusing on racial and gender representations, I wrote this piece to uncover how the movies pose damaging worldviews for children with inaccurate caricatures and stereotypes. 

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“Think of all the joy you’ll find when you leave the world behind” (Peter Pan, 1953)¹. The surrealist mentality pursues the importance of dreams in relation to the real world as the two are inevitably linked; for, dreams allow one to leave the world and its expectations behind. In this manner, the surrealist fantasy becomes important to the adaptations of James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, as it emerges in the form of the imaginary island of Neverland. Such adaptations include the Walt Disney Company’s animated children’s film, Peter Pan, from 1953 and later, Steven Spielberg’s live action film, Hook, from 1991. Peter Pan follows Peter and the Darling children through Neverland, where they encounter Native Americans, mermaids, and fairies within the imaginary space. However, the children progressively fall in line with the norms of society that Neverland mirrors; namely, societal ideals regarding race and gender. Similarly, in Hook, the film follows Peter Banning, Peter Pan turned adult, as he returns to Neverland to rescue his children from Captain Hook. His journey perpetuates the perspective of white male dominance that is present within society in a similar way to Peter Pan. Therefore, in both films, Neverland creates a bridge between reality and dreams that is true to surrealism, where the dream space mirrors the real world by providing a space for dominant societal ideas to spread. Ultimately, the children’s films utilize the imaginary space to enable society’s practices of racial and gender othering in a child-friendly narrative that is easily consumable for young audiences to normalize.

Engaging in the scholarly debate surrounding representations in Peter Pan, scholars such as Henry Giroux, Manisha Sharma, and others, analyze the racial and gender depictions of female and non-white characters, along with how these representations can be seen as attributing ‘otherness’ to these minority groups. Each scholar’s unique perspective presents differing positions on the impact behind such representations. In his work, Henry Giroux (2010), alongside Grace Pollock, asserts that Disney and children’s films should be more critically assessed, as they indoctrinate children with societal norms, especially surrounding perspectives of race and gender. He also considers that Disney’s animated films oversimplify world issues to make them easily digestible for children. Manisha Sharma extends Giroux’s argument in her work as she explores the identification crisis that such representations project onto child audiences. More specifically, Sharma (2016) argues that non-white cultures and ethnicities are presented as exotic as a means of othering them to less than human or separate from society. While I agree with the positions of Giroux and Sharma, the negative depictions of race and gender emphasize the societal othering that non-white people and women face, which I argue is furthered by the use of the surreal space; therefore, Neverland provides a platform for these stereotypes to be presented in an easily consumable manner in children’s films such as Peter Pan and Hook, shaping a child’s ideas of non-white and female minorities as other. 

In Peter Pan and Hook, racial and gender stereotypes are furthered via the intersection between dreams and reality that Neverland creates as a surreal and liminal space². Liminality operates in both films alongside the surrealist aspect of Neverland as the island exists on the boundary between reality and the imaginary dream space, where societal values and man-made hierarchies can be truly expressed. Therefore, the relationship between real and imaginary becomes problematic, specifically for the women and Native Americans of Neverland, whose roles become predetermined by the societal influences of the real world as they are exoticized³ and likened to ‘other.’ In turn, such visual rhetoric shapes child audiences’ perspective of the world by introducing and normalizing negative stereotypes, teaching children to attribute otherness to minority groups. As a result, both films perpetuate the concept of the white male savior; which idolizes the white man as one who saves, rescues, and/or leads people of color (Mauratonio, 2017)⁴. Thus, the films’ liminal and surreal space gives way to the emergence and reinforcement of racial and gender stereotypes that are deeply embedded within society. 

Audiences are introduced to the surreal and liminal space via the map of Neverland, which utilizes the appeal of dreams and adventure to present subhuman minority representations. The map welcomes audiences to explore the imaginary island, including its racial and gender representations that mirror the real world. In fact, film studies scholar Prajna Parasher notes that in both films, the map of Neverland references the various groups that live on the island, inviting  audiences to interact with the imaginary reality through representation. As an introduction to Neverland, the inclusion of Native Americans as “imaginary beings” portrays the non-white group as unable to stand alone (Parasher, 2013, p. 39). Furthermore, the use of a map equates the Natives and females of Neverland to groups to be dominated, much like one conquers lands on a map; in this way, the map becomes symbolic of white male dominance, as the minorities of Neverland are reduced to subhuman beings. This avenue of othering subtly attaches dehumanizing attributes to the inhabitants of Neverland in both films; yet, the Peter Pan narrative most directly applies them to people of color, while Hook primarily targets women.

The representation of people of color in Peter Pan distances them from traditional images of white society via exoticization and othering. Placing Indigenous people in Neverland as imaginary beings likens them to mythical beings, erasing the true identity of Native Americans as they are cemented as another imaginary aspect of Neverland. More so, the Natives are portrayed as childlike and savage in contrast to Peter Pan’s white savior persona, reflecting the real world stereotypes that society utilizes; in this way, the film presents a mockery of Indigenous culture by exaggerating every aspect of the Native American stereotype to create a new, savage identity of otherness. In “Disney and the Ethnic Other…,” Manisha Sharma, a cultural studies scholar, argues that the definition of otherness “[can be] understood in terms of being non-white or overtly foreign in appearance, accent, or behavior,” (Sharma, 2016, p. 102). Sharma’s definition of otherness appears in Peter Pan via the Native Americans’ red skin, broken English, and rowdy behavior during the Native American sequence of the film, as a means of presenting them as less than the white man. More so, the white savior trope emerges as Tiger Lily and the tribe are presented as dependent on Peter Pan, after Tiger Lily is kidnapped by Captain Hook. Tiger Lily is represented as an exotic damsel in distress, in need of the white man’s saving; in fact, the only time she speaks in the entire film is to call for Peter’s help (00:45:29-00:45:40). Once Peter saves Tiger Lily, he is honored with a chief’s headdress, as shown in the film still above. Honoring Peter Pan with a chief’s headdress follows the popular belief that “significant whites” were honored with a headdress to include them as part of the tribe (Parasher, 2013, p. 41). However, as noted by Parasher, the headdress has a different meaning depending on the culture it belongs to. Therefore, the headdress as a form of gratitude for Peter’s heroism becomes a further mockery of Indigenous culture. At the same time, this interaction presents Peter, the white protagonist, as the brave figure who brought safety to the helpless Native woman. Peter is thus thrust into a position of power, shown in the same stance of authority as the chief. Peter’s authoritative stance not only reinforces the film’s Native American reliance on Peter, but also Tiger Lily’s inferiority as a woman, as there is a noticeable gap between herself and the men, despite being the tribe’s princess. Such a scene, especially within a children’s film, elevates ideas of white society needing to save the ‘helpless’ natives. Ultimately, as shown through the interactions between the tribe and the white male, a racial hierarchy is presented, which places Native Americans as ‘other’ in contrast to the white man.  

More so, the Disney film includes a song called “What Makes the Red Man Red?” (00:50:12-00:52:22) to share the tribe’s origin story; yet, “What Makes the Red Man Red?” is filled with stereotypes that disregard Indigenous culture altogether and present them as ‘other.’ In fact, before the song begins, the audience is presented with an establishing shot of the Native camp, which is isolated from the rest of Neverland, sitting atop a hill. This shot encourages viewers to think of the Natives as separate from society, by associating the people with the isolated location of their home. Thus, as the song begins, the Natives become observed beings, in a somewhat ethnographic way, as they sing and dance, as shown in figure 3. Their dancing further disrupts the truth of true Indigenous culture as all the audience can see is the “red man,” rather than the importance of dancing in Indigenous culture⁵. More so, during the song, the white children ask the tribe why their skin tones are red and why they say “how” and “ugh.” The song thus embodies white society’s ideas of Native Americans via derogatory terms: women are called “squaws” and the tribe is referred to as “Injuns” or “red man.” In this manner, Disney’s representation of the tribe reduces Native identity and culture to stereotypes maintained by white society. Thus, the Native representation in Peter Pan provides children with white-washed perspective of Native Americans, perpetuating the erasure of Indigenous culture as a result of damaging stereotypes, such as those encouraged in the “What Makes the Red Man Red?” song.

While Natives are seen as ‘other’ or ‘red’ as a result of their savage representation, women are presented as ‘other’ via their exoticized femininity. As noted by scholar Eric Meyers (2014), each female character is molded into a specific gender role via a “brand of femininity” (p.105). However, each role presents them as a caretaker, love interest, or adventure; therefore, each woman loses a sense of agency as they become a stereotyped Hollywood female⁶.

Each brand of femininity categorizes the women into a different facet of male desire; yet Tinker Bell specifically, is defined by sexual femininity. In Peter Pan, she is in very small clothing, with an emphasis on her physical appearance. As shown in figure 7, Tinker Bell admires her body in a mirror; however, the focus is on her short dress and her exposed skin. In this way, Tinker Bell becomes exoticized via her sexualization. On the other hand, in Hook, Tinker Bell is initially less sexualized, portrayed as a boyish pixie, in a seemingly positive rendition of Tinker Bell. Yet, the narrative later reveals that she is in love with Peter; thus, the film’s progress in desexualizing her is discarded as she does not evolve past a love-struck female. More so, she chooses to transform her physical appearance to further appeal to Peter, taking her from a boyish appearance to an extremely feminine one, as she becomes the belle of the ball, dressed in a ball gown, as shown in figure 8. Therefore, Hook’s rendition of Tinker Bell, while initially promising, still reverts back to limiting her to an object of male desire: Spielberg’s Tinker Bell is driven by a need for male attention, making her femininity a product of desire. Thus, in both films, Tinker Bell’s fate is dictated by men as her body is sexualized to appeal to male audiences and her character is restricted to chasing after Peter’s love.

Addressing Wendy from Peter Pan and Moira from Hook, both are thrust into domestic roles, restricted to a position of maternal femininity. Wendy and Moira are forced to become and remain ‘mother’ in a space where the men advocate the idea of not growing up: in Peter Pan, Wendy is shown caring for the lost boys, and in Hook, Moira is shown as Peter’s caretaker. Such expedited maternal responsibility can be damaging to a child who is watching Wendy, as a child, become ‘Neverland’s mother’ and Moira, as an adult, mothering Peter, even as his wife. In a similar way, Tiger Lily reflects the traditional female trope of the damsel in distress as she is kidnapped by Captain Hook and saved by Peter Pan. Tiger Lily’s stereotypical female role becomes even more dehumanizing when taking into account that she, the Native American, not the other white women, was assigned the ‘in need of saving’ role. This assigned role, in relation to her being a Native woman, categorizes Tiger Lily as a helpless female and Native, which reintroduces Peter as the white male savior. Ultimately, the female characters of Neverland are presented as the weaker gender that is dependent on men, which isolates them from becoming anything more than their role of satisfying the needs of Peter Pan and the white male. 

As a part of the children’s film genre, Peter Pan and Hook bear the responsibility for the race and gender representations and values that they are demonstrating, and ultimately advocating, in their films. As noted above, the representation of non-white groups and females is heavily biased, normalizing the image of a society that holds the white male at the top of a racial and gender hierarchy, alienating others as less than. As discussed by scholars Henry Giroux and Grace Pollock (2010), Disney has inherited the role of “teaching machine” for young children as their films help to shape the development of ideas and opinions (p. 91). Such claims can also be attributed to Spielberg’s Hook as it reinvents the beloved children’s tale. However, these family films must be acknowledged as societal pedagogy⁷, as children’s perspectives are shaped based on what they see represented on the screen. While their stories are presented as apart from the real world, using the imaginary space of Neverland, the two films utilize and encourage real world values and norms. Thus by using Neverland to portray race and gender in such a negative light, where only the white man benefits, Disney and Spielberg’s films are pushing young audiences to frame minority groups as ‘other,’ erasing truth with negative stereotypes. In this way, the oversimplified worldview that children’s films present becomes normalized and easily consumed by children, whose perspectives are shaped by films such as Peter Pan and Hook.

While I argue that the racial and gender representations in Hook and Peter Pan perpetuate othering and teach children to do the same, others may argue that the films welcome positive learning experiences. Scholar Douglas Brode (2005) argues, “Disney does not laugh (or ask the audience to laugh) at the Indian in a film that glorifies the Anglo” (p. 25). Instead, Brode claims that the satire used in Peter Pan during the Native American sequence is not racially driven, but is directed towards the patriarchy, likening the Native American chief to Captain Hook, asserting that both are “equally pompous” (Brode, 2005, p. 25). Yet, whereas the Natives are portrayed as uncivilized, Captain Hook is credited as the pirate leader and takes a somewhat central role as the film’s main antagonist. More so, racial othering occurs beyond visual representation as the Darling siblings and Peter Pan, all white characters, repeatedly use racial slurs when referring to the Native Americans and mock the Indigenous culture while at the Native American camp. 

In a similar way, Brode argues that the portrayal of women reflects positive changes in society, rather than negative gender roles. For instance, he attributes the sexualization of Tinker Bell to changing public attitudes regarding sexual displays during the emergence of Playboy (p. 133). Yet, his argument falters as he notes that several Disney illustrators who worked on Peter Pan revealed that they were instructed to “put just enough clothes on [Tinker Bell] so [they wouldn’t] get busted” (Brode, 2005, p. 133). Thus, Tinker Bell’s intentional sexualization limits her to a role of sexual femininity. Brode also compares Hook to Peter Pan, claiming that Spielberg neglected the storyline of Peter Pan due to a need for “political correctness taken to its extreme” (p. 264). Yet, the exclusion of parts of the animated film marks the impact of Peter Pan on audiences, including Spielberg; while Spielberg’s narrative changes stray from Disney’s version, they allow a modern narrative to emerge. Despite Hook still incorporating some problematic scenes and characters, its partial departure from Disney’s narrative marks the attempt to move forward with better representations for young audiences.

Neverland invites viewers to “think of all the joy [they’ll] find when [they] leave the world behind,” yet the truth behind the surrealist fantasy of Neverland is one defined by ideas of white male dominance (Peter Pan, 1953)⁸. The imaginary space gives way to societal pressures and ultimately, mirrors the racial and gender stereotypes present in the real world as the white man is pushed to the top of the social hierarchy, even among children. By placing such ideas within a children’s film, Peter Pan and Hook are inevitably teaching their audiences to tolerate the deeply troubling representations that the films entertain. However, as of October of 2020, the Walt Disney Company released content advisories before 6 films, including Peter Pan, as a result of the “[inclusion of] negative depictions and/or the mistreatment of people or cultures,” as a way of redirecting their use of cultural mockery and stereotypes as a learning moment for future audiences (Stories Matter). Disney acknowledging their racist films solidifies the notion that these stereotypes, such as the appropriation of the Native Americans in Peter Pan, are harmful to a child’s development of societal perspectives and cultural norms. However, the “Stories Matter” campaign also signals a hopeful future for film, by attempting to move forward with better representations for young audiences, rather than continuing to support negative stereotypes. While film companies, such as the Walt Disney Company, attempt to move forward, society must also acknowledge the damaging stereotypes that they have perpetuated, such as those in Peter Pan and Hook; for, such stereotypes ultimately elevated Peter Pan to the beloved character that he is today at the expense of minority groups that both films indoctrinate children to mock, degrade, and label as ‘other.’

Footnotes

1. A line from the song “You Can Fly!” from Disney’s Peter Pan.
2. To be liminal is to exist on a boundary or threshold between two states in a transitional manner (OED)
3. To exoticize someone or something is to treat or portray as unusual, often to imply romance, stereotypes, or to condescend (OED).
4. The idea of the white savior has also been linked to concepts such as the “noble savage,” presenting whites with a self-imposed moral responsibility to lead non-whites (Mauratonio)
5. For Indigenous groups, dance celebrations, known as powwows, incorporate ritual and spiritual practices into a group celebration of Native culture and community via dancing, music, and chanting (Native Hope, 2021). For more information on Native powwows, see https://blog.nativehope.org/the-tradition-of-the-powwow#post-share.
6. In the 1950s, the time when Peter Pan was released, women were defined by their sex appeal or as a domestic wife and mother. Linked to fears of the Cold War and unknown danger, taming women into gender roles became a dominant societal ideology as a way of taming any potential dangers or out of control threats (Freame).
7. Pedagogy is the art, method, or practice of teaching; a method of teaching based on theory (OED)
8. “Think of all the joy you’ll find when you leave the world behind” is a line from the song “You Can Fly!” from Disney’s Peter Pan, referenced in the introduction of this paper.

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