[Commlist] New book: Disney Princesses and Tween Identity: The Franchise in Illiberal Hungary

New monograph, /Disney Princesses and Tween Identity: The Franchise in 
Illiberal Hungary/.

*_Description:_*

Since the creation of the franchise in 2000, Disney Princesses have 
become a ‘phenomenon’ receiving international attention, admiration as 
well as criticism from both consumers and scholars. Although audience 
research has seen growing recognition recently, the investigation of 
audiences in Central and Eastern Europe and those of Disney animated 
features is greatly neglected by academics. Within the framework of 
audience research and by employing Disney Princess animations as the 
object of study, Anna Zsubori’s book examines the verbal and visual 
identity constructions of tweens in illiberal Hungary.

Through Hungarian tweens’ ambivalent and sometimes even contradictory 
ideas of identity, this research reveals the heterogeneity of both the 
‘Princess Phenomenon’, by highlighting that its local negotiation is 
profoundly impacted by cultural and societal characteristics, and of the 
diverse audiences, who are multifarious in their understandings that 
often incorporate antithetical and dynamic discourses. Combining 
textual, thematic and semiotic, analyses of the conversations, tweens’ 
drawings and building blocks, and broader contextual examinations of the 
sessions with Hungarian children, this book offers original 
contributions on both theoretical and methodological levels. Its 
findings demonstrate the novelty of this project, and its relevance to 
audience, communication, cultural, feminist media, film and tweenhood 
studies, and sociology.

*_Praise:_*

“In this absorbing and thought-provoking text, Zsubori deftly explores 
the complex position that Disney Princesses inhabit within the lives of 
Central and Eastern European tweens. Exploring the inbetweenness of age, 
geography, and culture, this book offers a nuanced reading of Hungarian 
tweens as intelligent and critical viewers of Disney media, drawing on 
rich empirical data to give voice to this under-researched group. 
Through its interdisciplinary approach Zsubori contributes to our 
understanding of the limits of Western theories in non-Western contexts, 
and what it means to do gender-specific field work in an anti-gender 
environment.”

/— Victoria Cann, University of East Anglia

/

“The Walt Disney Company is one of the oldest and most complex global 
entertainment empires today, engaging with and influencing our lives in 
various ways regardless of age, race, gender, or geographical location. 
This book provides a powerful lens inviting the reader to look at Disney 
not only at the global, macro level, but also the micro-level: in our 
daily lives, around the family dinner table, in the classroom setting 
and elsewhere. While the focus is on the Disney Princess phenomenon, and 
tweens negotiating self-representation and identity in the small Central 
European nation of Hungary, the insights and conclusions are, in many 
ways, rather universal, often surprising and paradoxical. The reader 
will not only see the Disney Princess Franchise but the Disney Company 
from a more nuanced and informed perspective after reading this 
influential and well-researched book.”

/— Katalin Lustyik, Ithaca College/

“What unfolds when a Princess from the West claims her throne in Eastern 
and Central Europe? Is she a colonial ruler or a feminist icon? Anna 
Zsubori's insightful book explores the interpretation of Disney 
Princesses by Hungarian tweens, examining reception of their gender 
roles and racial identities within the context of Hungary's increasingly 
patriarchal, racially intolerant, and illiberal society. This 
exploration delves into the "in-betweenness" of Hungarian tweens, a 
concept that captures not just their transitional age but also Hungary's 
delicate balance between East and West.”

/— Irena Reifová, Charles University/

*_About the Author:_*

Anna Zsubori is a media sociologist and film studies scholar, presently 
a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Loughborough University. She 
specialises in conducting audience research with marginalised and 
vulnerable participants in Central and Eastern Europe. Her research 
explores the heterogeneity of Hungarian tween audiences through the 
participants’ ambivalent and sometimes even contradictory ideas about 
their identity, while her latest project, funded by the British Academy, 
examines social media usage among Hungarian LGBTQ+ citizens. Dr 
Zsubori’s articles have been published in prestigious journals such as 
the /European Journal of Cultural Studies/, /Feminist Media Studies/, 
/Journal of Children and Media /and /Studies in Eastern European Cinema/.

*_Module Reading Lists:_*

Please do consider requesting a copy of /Disney Princesses and Tween 
Identity: The Franchise in Illiberal Hungary /for your university 
library. It should be relevant to reading lists for various gender, 
media and film modules/studies, including:

  * Audiences, Users and Producers
  * Children, Culture and Cinema
  * Culture and Media
  * Cultural Studies
  * Disney Studies
  * Feminist Approaches to Media Analysis
  * Feminist Media Studies
  * Film Studies
  * Gender and Representation
  * Gender, Identity and Media
  * Global Audiences
  * Media Audiences
  * Media, Identity and Diversity
  * Popular Media
  * Researching the Audience
  * Society and Representation
  * Texts and Audiences
  * Tweenhood Studies
  * Youth Culture and the Media

*_Availability:_*

/Disney Princesses and Tween Identity: The Franchise in Illiberal 
Hungary/ is now from Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield) for £92 
(Hardcover) and £38 (Ebook). For more information, please visit: 
_https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793647115/Disney-Princesses-and-Tween-Identity-The-Franchise-in-Illiberal-Hungary 
<https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793647115/Disney-Princesses-and-Tween-Identity-The-Franchise-in-Illiberal-Hungary>_

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