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The orphaned Tarzan is raised by the gorilla, Kala, in the African wilderness. When a European expedition enters the jungle, Tarzan finds himself encapsulated by Jane, recognizing that she is also human. He quickly falls in love with her and finds himself torn between embracing civilization or remaining in the jungle. This all becomes threatened by the hunter, Clayton, who wants to capture all the gorillas.

Shown from left to right: Terk (Tarzan's best friend), Jane's Father, Jane, Tarzan.

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The film takes place in the African wilderness so it can be assumed that the gorillas are very clearly representatives of native African inhabitants. Despite the gorillas living in the jungle and raising Tarzan as one of their own, Tarzan is still portrayed as far superior. He is depicted as smarter and stronger, a demonstration that the white man will always be better. In the photo below, we can see how Tarzan is able to hold back the gorilla leader who is evidently way bigger than him. Realistically this should not be possible, but the film portrays Tarzan, the white man, as a flawless character.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120855/goofs

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Building off of the idea that the gorillas are representative of the native African American tribes, the gorillas are overall portrayed as stupid. Throughout the movie the apes are portrayed as clumsy and seen below is an example where they were hitting themselves, completely unaware of what they were doing, for fun.

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Jane and her father, along with fellow Europeans come in to examine the gorillas and study them and their unique characters. They become particularly close with Tarzan and try to domesticate him so he can be more like them. This can be seen as a reference to the white man coming in to Africa and trying to tame the natives. Jane, her father, and Clayton do all they can to humanize Tarzan, eventually convincing him to leave for England with them to integrate him into a normal society.

Seen in the photo, Jane is trying to teach Tarzan, one of the natives, how to read and he is clearly struggling. How he is sitting is reflective of that of an animal and this can be translated into how the Europeans saw the African American people as creatures.

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Jane is Tarzan's love interest in the movie. She is beautiful, charming, intelligent, passionate, and essentially the key factor to Tarzan’s education about human life. However, she is depicted as clumsy and relies on Tarzan to save her from situations and romance affects her emotions and manner.

Upon arriving at the island, Jane is unable to walk through the bamboo alone. She is clumsy and portrayed as almost stupid.

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The one time Jane decides to venture off alone, she is chased by wild monkeys and is only saved when Tarzan comes and flies her away through the jungle. This scene works to paint Tarzan as a hero, and further depict his heroic nature. Jane’s helpless behavior iterate the idea that it is a bad thing for a woman to pursue things on her own and they always need protection. Jane evidently serves no purpose as a character in the film except to establish situations where Tarzan can reflect his superiority. She therefore serves as a tool, rather than an independent character.

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Jane throughout the film is portrayed as clumsy and unable to be on her own. When trying to get back to her father, she finds herself stuck holding herself up on a rock in the rain, trying not to fall. Once again, she is only saved with Tarzan's help, further reiterating his valor and masculinity. As one of the only true women in the film, Jane is consistently seen as incompetent and amateurish. The only things she is depicted as good at is loving Tarzan and being kind to the gorillas, things that are constantly emphasized in women.

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Discover & share this Rain GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

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When they first meet, Jane and Tarzan have an instant connection. However, their bonding is interrupted by a gunshot. In that moment Tarzan hangs from a vine to look for the danger and Jane is portrayed helplessly in the tree. What is striking about this image is the fact that Jane is left in the dark rain while Tarzan is drawn in the sunlight. This use of light emphasizes his status as a hero and Jane as being less significant. It is Jane, and her company, who generate the conflict and crisis in this plot and thus present Tarzan with an opportunity to be the hero.

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Jane shows moments of bravery and courage. For example, she throws herself at Clayton, a large man with a rifle, in an attempt to stop him from killing Tarzan, but she is unsurprisingly unsuccessful and thrown off to the side. Throughout the film she relies on Tarzan to save her from almost every situation, reiterating the idea that women require a male presence in order to be successful in any way.

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Emphasized femininity refers how women are compliant/subordinate to interests and desires of men.  It establishes the idea that the ultimate reason for a woman's survival is to provide man with sexual validation.

Source: "Examining Media Contestation of Masculinity and Head Trauma in the National Football League"

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Jane exhibits emphasized femininity in many ways. For example, she is always properly dressed, even when studying gorillas in a jungle and her body is the “ideal” female body with a slim waist, big breasts and butt. Her figure is an example of the classic "interests and desires" of men.

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Hegemonic masculinity refers to the practice that legitimizes men’s dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of the common male population and women.

Source: "Examining Media Contestation of Masculinity and Head Trauma in the National Football League"

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On the other hand, Tarzan exhibits macho masculinity. He has a fully muscular and lean body, and is portrayed as God-like. Furthermore, he is able to master a world he should not be able to control. For example, he easily withstands tremendous amounts of obstacles and the film legitimizes his dominant position in the society.

Here, he had killed a tiger who was the gorilla family's greatest enemy. Being able to fight a tiger and kill it, when the gorillas are unable to do so, reiterates his masculine persona.

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Terk, Tarzan’s best friend, is a female feisty tomboyish gorilla. Her ambiguous gender presentation is often seen as loud, assertive, and strong, which is something that viewers associate with the male gender. Because audiences are more accustomed to female characters being presented as helpless, like Jane, people end up conforming Terk to the gender binary that her character tries to avoid.

Source: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Terk

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Tarzan’s mother, Kala, is reduced to only her role as a mother. As seen in the film, the female gorillas are always doing the care taking while the leaders are male. Mothers are depicted as less important and despite being raised by Kala, Tarzan yearns male approval. Kala’s unconditional love and support for Tarzan does not satisfy him and it is only when Kerchak, the main gorilla leader calls him, “my son” that he feels validated.

In the video, Tarzan is clearly honored when Kerchak finally gifts him with the title of his son. That reinforces the importance of leadership and the male gender.