Bemoaning Bambi

Visual Communication of Trauma From Witnessing One of Disney’s Saddest Character Deaths

Bibliographic Data

ID13628267
AuthorsMarissa Lammon (0000-0002-1640-091X, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume92
Issue1
Pages103-116
Publication date2023-05-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00302228231177427
PMID37202213
OpenAlexW4377014159
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited24

Disney's collection of character deaths has been described by both consumers and academics as traumatic. Among the most often cited traumatic Disney deaths is that of Bambi's mother. Audiences engage in discussion online about the ways in which the film showcased a traumatic character death that left a lasting impression into adulthood, but the image referenced in these discussions offers more to researchers than mere words. Using a widely circulated audience-produced image of Bambi's mother's death, the following paper connects the symbolic elements within the image to larger cultural ideologies and assumptions about death and trauma. In doing so, it demonstrates how audiences communicate through visual medium the trauma of viewing animated death

Aesthetics · Art · Character (mathematics · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Visual arts · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology

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