Visual Identifiers as a means for conformity

In terms of storytelling, each medium lends a different aspect to the story that another other mediums would leave up to the imagination. In film, the most notable part of a story brought to light (literally?) are the individual visual representations of different environments and/or characters. While the ability to visually represent something serves as an opportunity to impart really impressive special effects, unfortunately it also detracts from an individual's ability to relate their own life to the myth.
Consider basically all Disney movies. Until recently, none had featured a racial minority or a female as a protagonist. There was a very cut and clean formula for each the role that each character could serve: the Damsel in distress who is pure of heart but in a poor situation, the Prince Charming who is heroic in character and conveniently handsome, and the evil character responsible for the Damsel's predicament who's almost always hideous in appearance. This subconsciously implies certain roles for minorities or females that can be stifling, making it hard for other groups to buy into the image.
Certainly these roles aren't always so clearly defined, yet even the physical appearances play a distancing role in the relation of the myth. In Disney movies, most Hollywood movies in fact, the protagonists are always spectacularly good looking, almost a caricature of ideal traits. The nature of this leads to cognitive dissonance for all the average looking people out there, as it can subconsciously send the message that being good at heart and good looking must go hand in hand. While the meaning and morals of the story stay the same, this distancing of the characters from the receiver of the story makes it harder to receive those morals.
While the morals of the story relayed in any film may stay the same as the original myth, and are as open for interpretation as any other story, the visual nature of film forces people to associate a certain image with the story which can inhibit the act of taking that story to heart.