After watching the new movie Snow
White and the Huntsman, I realized that the princess movies have a very
conflicting message. This new movie was a completely different story then the
Disney version made in 1937. For those who haven’t seen the original, Snow
White sings to animals, meets seven dwarves in the forest after she had been
chased through, by the huntsman who had to bring her heart to the queen to
prove he had killed her. The queen eventually finds her, dressed as an old
lady. The old lady gives her an apple that puts Snow White in a coma, and is
only woken when Prince Charming kisses her, and they live happily ever after.
The new version, without giving too much away, portrays Snow
White a strong young woman who fights to save her kingdom, and even the evil
queen has a back story that highlights her strength. This totally clashes with
the original story, and even more widely the other Disney princesses. And even wider than that, the dolls our little
girls play with, Barbie’s, Brats, etc.
I loved these movies when I was
little, to me they were stories of girls who got lost or chased away, and were
saved by Prince Charming and they lived happily ever after. Unfortunately I grew
up and my views about life have changed, some more than others. But now there
is this new, perhaps better, way to inspire young girls.
Now if you have ever taken a
sociology class with Jennifer Jacobs, or if you have any super feminist
friends,not that there is anything wrong with that, you know as well as I that certain people think that Disney is evil,
and gives us a negative perception of what women should look like and how they
should act. An article about this very topic is discussed in The New York Times book review, Is Pink Necessary?, the author of the article talks about Peggy Orenstein, the author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, goes into great detail about the damage the Disney princesses are doing, and the huge profits they gain by doing it. Also saying "...the princess phase, at least in its current hyper-feminine and highly commercial form, is anything but natural..." This article was written in early 2011. Have things really changed that much in such a short amount of time? All of the claims about the princesses seem true, to some extent, but there seems to be a new
trend in our movies that might be more positive.
New versions of princesses, like
Princess Merida the main character in Disney Pixar’s Brave, are starting to change the "classical" princess persona. In an opinion article from Moviefone, Is Princess Merida of 'Brave' Disney's Best Female Role Model? (OPINION) it talks about this very comparison between Merida and the rest of the princesses Disney pops out. And it seems the new Snow White followed suit, and both
are paving the way for more women in movies to kick ass and take names and not
rely on men to be extraordinary. And
maybe this new generation of princesses will change the concept of what is beautiful.
But for now that remains the same.
But regardless of that changes that
should be made, or if they ever will, this idea of a strong independent princesses,
completely clashes with a long history of damsel in distress. But somehow I think
it works. I mean it seems to reflect real life more accurately, because there
isn’t just one way to be, you can be any of those things that these princesses
embody. So yeah, depending on your beliefs and values you were raised with, one
of those attributes could be totally wrong and taboo, but for someone else they
could fit perfectly. Nothing is either black or white, there are so many
variations of grey, and it is important to remember that. -zombiegirl
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