The more recent Princesses Jasmine, Belle, and Ariel
are better received by their modern audiences, but the feminists of their time
invariably notice very non-feminist qualities about them: for an affluent and
loved daughter, Princess Jasmine rejects responsibility and falls in love with
a guy who lies to her; Belle supposedly "craves adventure in that great,
wide somewhere" but still becomes somebody's "little wife" in
the end; Ariel “gives up her perfect life for a vagina and a man she doesn't
even know.” (quoted from Nostalgia Chick)
The latter years of the 1990s produced movies of
arguably lower quality but spawned significantly stronger female characters. In
the most recent Disney Princess lineup, these include Pocahontas and Mulan.
Even when you consider the nearly laughable quality of the movies they come
from, they are undoubtedly better role models than their predecessors. But they
receive significantly less exposure than their predecessors. Another legitimate
Princess, Kida from Atlantis: The Lost
Empire, is not even included in the lineup. What does this say about
contemporary media making an impact on today's little girls?
Let me just put on the record that I am not inclined
to call myself a feminist. I believe in the rights of women. However, the
values women hold at certain points in history are not the same as those we
have now. In the defense of the six central members of the Disney Princess
franchise, they just didn't have everything figured out yet.
I realize that the Disney Princess franchise is merely
a giant advertisement to encourage younger families to watch these classic
Disney movies that people have loved for generations. However, with the rise of
feminism in the 70s and overall cynicism as popularized by grunge and Daria in
the 90s that carried over to sarcastic Internet comedy in the 2000s, the Disney
Princess franchise became an appropriate target for Internet critics and
feminists. Disney Princesses are characterized as beautiful female leads in a
movie where the male hero is usually more complex characters than their
respective partners. Despite their distinctive and strong personalities,
notable Disney Princesses are ultimately the male hero’s prize for a conflict
effectively resolved with violence and celebrated with a kiss.
While this criticism is a legitimate concern as the
powerful influence of these movies can dangerously warp any child’s perception
of what love is before she can experience it, a lot of detractors forget that
classic Disney movies fall under the category of fantasy. It is entirely
wish-fulfillment to be beautiful and be desirable for nothing else. It is also
wish-fulfillment to meet a perfect match and never have to worry about
developing pet peeves over your partner’s idiosyncrasies. Quite frankly, I
think there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I don’t think the movies or the
company behind them should be made accountable for a child’s disjointed
perception about “true love.” The writers and animators behind these movies
were clearly making do with the time and resources they have based on the
attitudes and values that their milieu holds at the time these movies were
created. As a fiction writer myself, I think it’s not fair to, for example,
blame me for a child’s behavior later in life because my works featured
literary tropes that would not have the same outcomes in real life. Parents,
guardians, and more sensible peers are responsible in teaching children how to
distinguish fantasy from reality. As Alice
in Wonderland teaches us, fantasy does not belong in the realm of reality,
and vice-versa.
While I agree that even fantastic tales have to have
some measure of realism (i.e. believability), I believe it is unfair to demand
that fairy tales conform to the attitudes and values of its modern readers. I
believe that fairy tales, especially those as presented by the Walt Disney
Studios, were envisioned according to the attitudes and values of the
filmmakers and screenwriters at the time they were created. Therefore, I think
they have to be respected for what they eventually became.
Princess Aurora: Shallow Love Interest or Broken Bird?
Among all the Disney Princesses, Princess Aurora,
nicknamed Briar Rose by her fairy godmothers, get the strongest criticism for being
nothing more than a plot device rather than a proper protagonist who actively
influences the plot with her actions and decisions. In the process, the Three
Good Fairies become the actual heroines of Sleeping
Beauty, with Prince Philip as an effective avatar of St. George as he
battles Maleficent as the Dragon who guards the Princess at the tower.
It’s quite easy to criticize Princess Aurora for these
reasons. In addition, her most valuable assets are her Gift of Beauty and Gift
of Song, both bestowed upon her by two of the three fairies. The narrative
makes it seem that Briar Rose has absolutely no valuable character traits to
speak of. (My sisters and I theorize that the third fairy Merryweather was
going to give Aurora the Gift of Wisdom/Knowledge, but I digress.) However, as
the story flashes forward to Aurora’s sixteenth birthday, we find that she
turns out to be charming and cordial with a passionate streak worthy of any
girl her age.
I admit it is difficult to determine specific
personality traits with a few lines and one song, but based on the classic
structure of fairy tales, the character design can speak a lot about what the
character is like. Her beauty and blonde hair indicate a kind heart and
innocent nature. Her deep purple eyes (colored black when zoomed out) indicate
having rare qualities which, unfortunately, we never actually see up close. However,
we do see some of these qualities during her screen time.
In her first song, “I Wonder,” Briar Rose sings of her
desire to find true love. Critics love to call Aurora out for this, too,
because she seems like she is a shallow girl who cares of nothing but dating
someone. But let’s put this into perspective: Aurora has lived all sixteen
years of her life in a secluded cottage in a thick evergreen forest with no
social life except with three overprotective old ladies she isn’t even related
to. She is obviously lonely—perhaps even depressed. At one point, she laments,
“They never want me to meet anyone.” I don’t see anything wrong with a teenage
girl craving romantic attention from a boy. It’s not only normal; it’s healthy.
Like literally every other human being, fictional or otherwise, she has
self-preservation instincts that can be followed by finding a mate to,
potentially, have a family with.
However, having literally no prior experience with the
opposite sex, she wouldn’t have any idea what is proper or not. She was
understandably startled when Prince Philip showed up and turned her aria into a
duet. However, she was also as understandably naïve and hungry for social
contact that it takes only seconds for Prince Philip to attract her enough to
waltz with him at the riverside and later invite him to dinner that same night.
I know this isn’t something supposedly virtuous girls would do, but Aurora obviously
doesn’t know that.
Besides, the narrative has to move forward at this
point, so the filmmakers have to make do with the limited time they are allowed
to extend the movie. In fairness to the filmmakers, they constructed this
adaptation of Sleeping Beauty at the time when women were valued for their
beauty and homemaking skills more than anything. It was hardly anyone’s fault
that Aurora was the way she is; she and the filmmakers who came up with her
screen portrayal are all just products of their milieu.
Let us also not forget that when the fairies finally
tell her the truth about her past, she willingly but sadly accepts that she has
to return to her father’s kingdom and never see the handsome young man with the
red cloak again. I think this goes without saying that she is mature for her
age and realizes that some things are worth sacrificing.
Cinderella: Mindless Daydreamer or Enduring Martyr?
Cinderella has the story that everyone recognizes the
most: when a girl’s wealthy father marries a lady with two daughters of her
own, the stepmother reveals her wickedness when the father dies and promptly
turns the girl into a slave in her own home. This setup is an easy cause for
much angst; however, Cinderella, like Aurora before her, remains cheerful and kindhearted
as indicated by her blonde hair, blue eyes, and general beauty. Cinderella’s
attitude toward her situation is cause for both praise and criticism. On one
hand, she is a role model for not letting hardships get in the way of being the
best person she can be. On the other hand, she lets her stepmother and
stepsisters get away with abusing her and does nothing to better her situation,
like perhaps run away.
It is important to remember that until the women’s
rights movement beginning as recently as the 70s, women had very few career
options. Professions traditionally regarded as “feminine” like nursing or
teaching weren’t available to women in Cinderella’s time either because it
required extensive education, which weren’t intended for women either. Women in
Cinderella’s time were groomed to become wives and mothers and nothing more;
they were conditioned to behave accordingly. Having been born a daughter of an affluent
father and later brought up a slave to a wicked widowed stepmother, Cinderella
has literally nowhere to go. If Cinderella runs away, her only option is to
become a prostitute; she is obviously too proud and respectable for that kind
of humiliation.
Her fantastically gentle attitude is another thing.
Her mantra is: “Someday, my dreams will come true.” After several viewings of the movie, it occurs to me that this is more of wishful thinking than any real attainable goal. Knowing that she would rather stay in her father’s house where she has food, clothing, and shelter, Cinderella has no choice but to make the best out of her horrible situation. What dreams does Cinderella actually have, we never really know. After quite a few viewings, I determine that Cinderella may or may not have any actual dreams to speak of. She only tells herself those words to make her feel better; otherwise, she will not be able to function and end up displeasing her already cruel stepmother.
Her mantra is: “Someday, my dreams will come true.” After several viewings of the movie, it occurs to me that this is more of wishful thinking than any real attainable goal. Knowing that she would rather stay in her father’s house where she has food, clothing, and shelter, Cinderella has no choice but to make the best out of her horrible situation. What dreams does Cinderella actually have, we never really know. After quite a few viewings, I determine that Cinderella may or may not have any actual dreams to speak of. She only tells herself those words to make her feel better; otherwise, she will not be able to function and end up displeasing her already cruel stepmother.
Cinderella has the thankless job of attending to her stepmother
and stepsisters’ every need in addition in keeping their enormous house spick
and span. She does this all by herself, and each mistake leads to additional
housework as punishment. If it weren’t for her attitude, she would have snapped
a long time ago.
Considering this exceedingly horrible life, despite
Cinderella’s attitude, she is actually quite tired of it. No wonder she broke
down when her stepsisters ultimately prevented her from having exactly one
night to have a good time.
Her “falling in love” with the Prince is a tricky
issue to tackle. Is she starved for male affection like Aurora? Perhaps. Is it
daddy issues? Maybe. There is realistically no excuse to declare she “loves” the
Prince while they have only danced; and vice-versa. However, we can assume that
they are genuinely attracted to one another, and the Prince took the glass
slipper as an opportunity to get to know her. We are not given details of their
courtship nor the time between when Cinderella fitted the glass slipper and
when she married the Prince. However, the royal decree of fitting the glass
slipper to every eligible maiden who attended the ball involves taking the
perfect fit to be the Prince’s bride. I can forgive it because of time
restrictions. As I have said before: this is fantasy. It does not have to be
completely realistic.
Ariel: Just a Spoiled Teenager
Ariel’s character is as terrible as her voice is
wonderful. The fiery redhead seventh and youngest daughter of King Triton is
challenging to bring up. She is selfish and stubborn and her first appearance
in the movie involved her completely neglecting a very important royal event.
When her father aptly scolds her for this, she argues that “I am sixteen years
old! I’m not a child!” She must think it must be incredibly mature of her to
disregard the humiliation she just brought to her father and his Royal Court
Composer. She apparently cannot grasp the concept that, while humans are truly
fascinating creatures, they destroy as efficiently as they can create. Take
note that Prince Eric’s ship is destroyed in the storm because it carried
explosives, which are also invented by humans.
She develops a crush on Prince Eric and immediately
decides: “Daddy, I love him!”
I honestly cannot defend this one. However, I can
explain that the weakest point of any teenager’s personality is that they tend
to be egocentric. Every one of us who have gone through this phase has
experienced feeling that a scolding parent is a domineering authority figure
with no regard for your feelings; it is only when we’re older that we learn
that our parents are flawed human beings who are concerned for our well-being
and we cannot grasp this fact fully.
Ariel’s behavior makes sense. Given her age and
personality, she typically has poor capacity to see reason and instead acts on
her feelings. This is exactly the same reason teen pregnancy rates remain high
all over the world. How the team behind the movie presented this as raw, true
love baffles me.
Belle: Something More
If you ask anyone who is their favorite Disney
Princess, forward-thinking girls would choose Belle from Beauty and the Beast above everyone else. While she is the most
beautiful girl in her village, she doesn’t care much about this fact and
prefers reading. She knows that the people of her time disapprove of this
behavior, but she doesn’t care either. She puts greater value in knowledge and
wisdom than outer beauty, and it is something to admire. The courage she showed
when offering herself to take her father’s place in the Beast’s prison is even
more admirable.
However, critics of Beauty and the Beast are quick to point out that the main plot
involved a glorified example of Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is a
psychological phenomenon in which a kidnapping victim develops feelings of
compassion and protectiveness for her captors, going as far as defending him
from the people seeking to punish him for his cruelty. Stockholm syndrome can
develop when the kidnapper appeases his victim with token acts of kindness,
which the Beast does display toward the middle of the narrative.
While these are all valid observations, people who
claim Stockholm syndrome neglect a few important details in the narrative of Beauty and the Beast.
Belle is understandably scared and distrustful of the
Beast, considering what he did to her beloved father. The Beast, on the other
hand, has never been a nice guy entirely because he grew up incredibly spoiled
and apparently never taught how to be considerate of others’ feelings and
needs. However, when he effectively drove her away when he scared her off the
West Wing, the Beast develops remorse over what he did and promptly goes out to
rescue Belle from forest wolves. He didn’t do this to manipulate Belle to stay
with him; he did it because he knew what scaring her off was wrong and he was
sorry.
In a way, the Beast is nothing more than a spoiled
brat. He uses his temper to get his way. He scares people into doing his
bidding. He does exactly this when he scared Belle off the West Wing; but he
realizes he went too far and decided to make amends. While he still fell back
into his manipulative ways immediately afterwards when he growled at Belle
while she is trying to clean his wounds, Belle puts her foot down: “You should
learn to control your temper!”
This pivotal moment set the motion for personal conversion
in the Beast. “I want to do something for her,” he confides in Cogsworth and
Lumiere. As with his earlier rescuing of Belle from the wolves, the Beast’s
subsequent series of kind deeds for her are genuine acts of kindness that his
human heart is designed to make him do. In real life, when a kidnapper does the
same, he is likely manipulating his victim to prevent her from running away. A
kidnapper may also evoke sympathy from his victim, which the Beast clearly
doesn’t. He opens his library, takes her to walks, and reads books with her to
make her happy, not for his own benefit.
Belle, having always felt out of sync with everyone
where she came from, starts to feel more and more comfortable with the Beast
when he displays gentleness and kindness that the men in her village didn’t
quite show to her. Her love for books doesn’t repel him; he encourages it. He
didn’t open his library so she would throw herself in his arms; he did it
because he knows it makes her happy. In return, she respects him for it.
Stockholm syndrome victims tend to feel they owe their
attackers something in return for “being kind” to them. As with Christine Daaé
in The Phantom of the Opera, Christine is torn between leaving the Phantom
forever and staying with him as his only companion because she feels sorry for
him. Belle, on the other hand, is unafraid to admit to the Beast that she
misses her father; she is overjoyed when he finally frees her and displays no
hesitation in leaving.
This doesn’t quite seem like Stockholm syndrome to me.
Another issue that people discuss about Belle is that
she is a bit of a hypocrite. She rejects Gaston as a suitor, implying that she
isn’t interested in romantic attachments in the first place. Her angry huffing
following shortly after Gaston’s horrifying marriage proposal also implies
Belle is offended at the thought of being nothing more than somebody’s wife.
While this sends an empowering message to young girls, the happy ending in
which she becomes somebody’s “little wife” anyway makes it appear she didn’t
really accomplish her goal of “adventure in the great wide somewhere” and she’s
okay with that.
On the contrary, I think she already had her adventure
with everything that happened in the castle. She encountered the Beast and her
firmness compelled him to be gentle. She got to experience a world where magic
was real. In the process, she experienced the love of a man who respected her
as a person rather than the man who wanted her as a baby-making sex trophy.
Jasmine: "I am not a prize to be won!"
Princess Jasmine was raised by her single dad the
Sultan of Agrabah, who invites several suitors to the palace, so Jasmine could
be married by the time she is nineteen years old. “I just want you to be taken
care of,” the Sultan says sadly in the introductory sequence. Unfortunately for
the Sultan, Jasmine has a mind of her own. She rejects every suitor (and there
were many of them) and craves for the outside world. “I’ve never been outside
the palace walls. I don’t even have any real friends,” she says. This is all
very sad information, and I am absolutely not surprised that Jasmine tried to
run away.
She catches the eye of the street rat Aladdin, and the
feeling was mutual. When her plan was abruptly thwarted as it was already going
so well, the story officially begins. Aladdin spends the rest of the story
trying to win Jasmine’s heart, disguised as Prince Ali Ababwa. What follows is
a very familiar fairy tale narrative structure in which the male hero (Aladdin)
encounters a set of wacky and sometimes death-defying adventures with a help
from his [magical] friends to win the girl. At this point, Jasmine goes from
three-dimensional deuteragonist to one-dimensional prize trophy existing solely
for Aladdin to acquire—or does she?
I agree that Jasmine’s role was limited and her
roundness as a character was reduced to a few scenes, but I don’t think that
makes her a “poor role model.” Critics claim that her romance with Aladdin was
based on a great big lie. I disagree because Jasmine knew all along; in fact,
she was genuinely upset when Aladdin lets the truth slip because he took her
for a fool and she wasn’t. Jasmine can see through him and she loves him for
his effort in trying to win her heart. What was really happening was that she
was in love with him the whole time. She loved him for his kindness, his
intelligence, and his honesty. She valued the third one so much she had to
confront him for having to lie to her just to woo her. She knew he never had
to.
Mulan: The Most Rare and Beautiful of All
Mulan is set apart from previous Disney Princesses
with the fact that she isn’t actually a princess and that Mulan leads this epic
feature classic as an action heroine rather than a love interest of a more
complex male hero. Fa Mulan starts out as a teenage girl who fails the
matchmaker’s inspection because of her lack of poise and sophistication,
indicating she was meant for a non-traditional life path. Unlike Jasmine or
Bella, Mulan isn’t openly rebellious of the society that expects her only to be
some guy’s baby-making machine. In fact, she accepts the role, indicating that
she has the capacity for responsibility and self-sacrifice. These qualities
take full force when Mulan wears her father’s armor and sword and takes his
place in the army. The rest of the story revolves around Mulan using brains as
much as brawn to survive training and later the war. Mulan gains the respect of
her comrades so much that they were willing to protect her even after she was
revealed to be a woman. This successfully teaches girls that there are some
things more important than snagging a boyfriend. This includes earning a few
boy-friends who respect you as a person with integrity as much as a skillful
coworker.
But oh, what is this? Mulan falls in love with the
hunky Captain Li Shang? She invites him to dinner with her family in the end? What
happened to rejecting arranged marriage? Unacceptable!
The complaint about Mulan having a love interest is
shallow and minor, but it comes up with almost every Internet discussion about
Disney’s Mulan so I have to address
it. While fans of the movie generally do not agree with this claim, it is a
particularly strong one.
Many feminists seem to equate feminism with rejecting
all roles and stereotypes typically associated with women. These roles include
being one half of a heterosexual relationship, so feminists tend to gravitate
toward heroines who do not have a love interest—hence, the appeal of Merida and
Elsa from Brave and Frozen respectively (more of that in the next blog). I agree that it is refreshing
to see a heroine that is not bound to any love interest because it means she
can hold her own as a whole person. However, I don’t see anything wrong with
having a love interest per se.
In Mulan’s case, she has proven her worth to the
entire Chinese Empire; how can Shang not resist extending his affections for
the girl who has had a crush on him for some time now? Given Disney’s reward
system when it comes to happy endings, it only makes sense that Mulan gets her
guy on top of the respect and reverence of the entire nation.
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