Since the creation of the franchise in 2000, Disney Princesses have become a \u2018phenomenon\u2019 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\u2019s book examines the verbal and visual identity constructions of tweens in illiberal Hungary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Hungarian tweens\u2019 ambivalent and sometimes even contradictory ideas of identity, this research reveals the heterogeneity of both the \u2018Princess Phenomenon\u2019, 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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book has already been well-received by notable academics in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 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 in-betweenness 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 fieldwork in an anti-gender environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n