Psychologization of Machism and Romanticization of Gender Violence in Ralph Breaks the Internet Movie

Abstract

This article presents a discursive analysis of Ralph Breaks the Internet Movie in order to understand how gender violence appears in the plot. From the social constructionist perspective, we describe and analyze what we consider three central points of the narrative: when Vanellope meets Shank; when Vanellope meets other famous princesses; and when Ralph attacks Vanellope. Then, we analyse these points to identify different meanings of gender and gender relations, highlighting how they reiterate or challenge hegemonic discourses on gender issues. At the same time, we aim to show how these gender issues are silenced when we enter at the sphere of violence, building an individual and essentialist perspective on its practice, what we call psychologization of machism. In addition, we identified an appreciation of the excess of affection and this used as justification for violence, configuring what we call romanticization of gender-based violence. In this way, we problematize the potential of children's movies to present everyday situations that children experience and to propose solutions on how to deal with them, particularly in this case, with gender-based violence. We advocate that children's movies can be used as important discursive and performative resources for children to interact on an equal basis.