Disney’s revamped motion picture of Beauty and the Best is not only stunning, but casts one of the leading feminists of today, Emma Watson. Of course, me being a hardcore fan of both Disney and Emma Watson and her political work, I was very interested to see how Disney was going to spin their classic tale of the beautiful Belle (literally — Belle means beauty) and the overbearing beast’s love story. Though the classic Disney princess tale is much more progressive from a feministic standpoint than that of others of its time, there is still much to criticize.
Even in the original film, Belle was much more dynamic than that of the other Disney princesses. For example, she loved to read, her intellect was highlighted, she showed disgust in the hyper-masculinity of Gaston, and she was courageous to save her father. She, overall, had a personality beyond a damsel in distress, and her personality only grows in the 2017 film. In the recent film, Belle not only loves to read but is seen trying to educate other young girls to do the same in the village. She also keenly invents a contraption to wash clothing. The new movie especially tries to shy away from the “love at first sight” narrative, and instead shows a strong headed Belle that vows she will escape when first taken as prisoner and one who composes a rope-like contraption to slide down from the palace window. Belle and the Beast’s relationship, therefore is slowly growing and dynamic, and we see the two of them learn to understand one another better, enjoy one another’s company over shared interests like reading, and lastly start to bond on a more romantic level.
However, while Disney has made subtly changes to progress this princess narrative in a less conservative, gender typical direction, we cannot overlook the fact that the main premise of the movie still remains the same — a young, beautiful girl falls in love with her capture. Sure, I believe in the cliches like “people make mistakes” and “forgive and forget,” however when someone goes to the extent of imprisoning first your father and then you, they have crossed a line that, in my opinion, cannot be forgiven. But, not only does Belle forgive, she grows to infatuate for the beast. Is sounds a bit ridiculous to even have to pose the question, “Should I give this guy another chance?” given her circumstance and yet, in the world of Disney, I guess it’s not. Now that is the epitimay of a fairytale — that someone who locks you and a loved one up is capable of change to an extent you can fall in love with your captor. In the real world, this kind of behavior is unacceptable and should not be romanticized.
Overall though, I would like to applaud Disney for its steps in a more feministic direction. They did tweak the story to create a more empowered princess protagonist, and I believe that is the most they could do to still maintain the integrity and heart of the film. Understandably, they cannot change the overarching plot of the story, which is where I can see the most red flags regarding gender roles, so I hesitantly deem this remake well executed. While it does send an incredibly poor message regarding healthy relationships, it also sends an extremely heartwarming and sincere message that inner beauty is the beauty that counts, and it is important to look past the surface of others to find it.
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