Utilizing Disney Films in the EFL Classroom: Enhancing Students’ Critical Literacy Skills with Animation

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate how English teachers can utilize Disney animation in the EFL classrooms to enhance critical literacy skills with a focus on gender and environmental issues. Pocahontas (1995) and Moana (2016) have been analyzed and compared through ecofeminist thoughts as these animation movies deal with nature at the forefront with two young women assigned the role of guarding it against destruction. Through content analysis, the two films are analyzed through the central themes of ecofeminism-criticism of male-centered thinking, women’s relationship to nature, and women’s role as nature caretakers. While both films criticize male-centered thinking and emphasize the two women’s role of advocating and protecting nature, Pocahontas’s leadership is limited by binary thinking whereas Moana grows into a leader where all elements are equal and integral. Based on the analysis, students can train their critical thinking skills to further read cultural texts critically. By incorporating eco-feminist thoughts in a critical reading of Disney’s films, students can analyze issues deconstructing dominant and dualist thinking. Disney’s abundant film-text sources can serve as valuable resources for enhancing students’ English critical literacy skills.