Feminist Disney

When we think of Disney Princesses, we usually conjure up the classic princesses who are delicate, pretty and obsessed with finding their prince, who usually comes in the shape of a man in the peak of physical fitness, toned up, with flowing hair and handsome features. Disney's latest venture, Frozen, certainly stays true to the classic Walt Disney Princess stories but has updated the story to reflect modern times.

For those that haven't seen this film, Frozen tells the story of two orphaned sisters, Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. Anna doesn't know that her sister has the magical powers of being able to create snow and ice from her hands; a power she struggles to control.  On the day of Elsa's coronation, her secret is revealed and she flees the kingdom of Arendelle, leaving it in a state of eternal winter. Anna sets out to bring her sister back, meeting a ice selling mountain man, Kristoff and talking snowman, Olaf.

At first glance, this is another classic love story between Anna and Kristoff.  Just as I thought the 

movie was about to steer in the very predictable direction of the-handsome-man-saves-helpless-princesses-territory, the movie completely turned around, much to my delight. This time, Disney have decided that the love between the two sisters should take precedence over any man, which is amazing. I am so glad that Disney decided to explore the territory of sisterly love for the first time.

 I have a sister myself so it was really easy to relate to Anna and Elsa's relationship and clear love for each other. Even better, the Scandinavian princesses are both very real characters; independent, strong-willed, capable, witty and smart. And what's more, they aren't apologetic for what they are, (Elsa learns this lesson in the duration of the film and comes into her own and embraces her powers as a part of who she is.) Anna remains true to who she is, and doesn't downplay her intelligence or quick witted humour for the sake of  the male protagonist of the film. These traits make the characters very relatable and remind girls that they should always remain true to themselves, and that there is more to life than waiting for your prince to sweep you off your feet.

Some say that Disney's classic movies give girls unrealistic expectations of men. It is true that male princes play a sizable role in the earlier Disney movies like Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid, but I don't think that's the main focus of Disney movies. Many people choose only to see the romantic aspect of the films, and focus their attention on the men, but we must not forget the female co-stars, as Frozen has reminded us.

In fact, if we scrutinized the Disney Princesses beyond complaining how thin and helplessly romantic they are, we would find ourselves surprised at the positive traits that the princesses teach young girls. Cinderella embodies hard work, hope and remaining true to yourself. Snow White represents purity, innocence and being loving and open minded. Belle is loyal and very intelligent. Jasmine is incredibly sharp witted and Ariel reminds girls that they should have their own mind, even when their opinions aren't popular.

Many are questioning whether Frozen is the first feminist Disney movie but, to me, Disney has never been anti-feminist in previous films. Disney films were made to prove to young girls that women can stand for something and be successful and that, should they find their Prince Charming, he is found through hard work, dedication, patience and persistence. What we really need to do what we watch these films, be it the classic era or the new, is not to complain that there are no real men like that but to take a closer look at the co-stars of these princes and learn from them. 

Disney on feminism

I don't know whether it had been made 100% clear in all of my previous posts but I'm sure it has shone through in some that I'm all for feminism, especially for both genders.

You may also know, or not know, that I am a massive Disney fan. Literally. It's a sickness.

And so, today I will attempt to bring these two entities together in a collision that will shortly make sense to those among you who are completely baffled to the point which I am trying to make.

So, let's begin. This morning as I logged into Facebook while wasting away any hopes of achieving my potential as always, I browsed the 'news feed' for any references I could use for a new blog post to mostly make myself seem wittier than I am, when I saw a 'new' Facebook group pop up, in an attempt to entice me to liking the page. I say that it was new but, of course, what I mean is that I'd never seen it before.

Firstly, for those of you who don't own a Facebook page, like my father who is undoubtedly reading this, a Facebook group serves three purposes on the social networking site. It;

1) Serves as an excuse to get people to do things.

For example - If 1000 people join this group, Joe Blogs will admit that he is gay.

2) Is the best way to get something done without having too much contact with the human world.

For example - If 1000 people join this group, my girlfriend has said that she will marry me.

3) Serves to point out the bloody obvious.

For example - Join this group if you breathe.

Basically, a Facebook group will show everyone what interests you have and such. I assume that this goes on to manifest into a mutual interest which, theoretically, would manifest into friendship but, so far, I've had no evidence to support that theory.

So anyway, today I came across the Facebook group 'Disney gave me unrealistic expectations of men.'

Admittedly not the same title but you get my drift...

Firstly, yes, of course it did. Disney is fictional.

Secondly, yes, of course it did! Not all men are princes, to start with, and not all men are willing to fight dragons, evil sea creatures, evil Queens, chase women half way across the world or send telegrams around all the houses in the immediate area to find you. These are the kind of men you want to ride off into the sunset with - the ones who you, according to the movies, will never encounter a single problem with. What real life man can compete with that? As much as it pains me to criticise Walter Disney, Disney films portray an unrealistic and glorified version of love. If love were as simple as it is made out to be in these films, then we would all have found our significant others by my age and the world would be wonderful and full of love and blah blah blah.

Thirdly, even if these men did actually exist in today's society, I can assure you that you would not actually consider dating them. We all know that no one is more of a model for a future knight in shining armour than a good, old fashioned Disney Prince, despite being unrealistic or not but, in today's society, they would probably not be contenders for women's hearts.

For example, Prince Charming from Cinderella. Arguably the original Disney Prince, whose romantic decision making skills rest largely on his foot fetish. In today's society - Freak.

Beast from Beauty and the Beast. He's scary and he submits the village beauty to Stockholm Syndrome straight away but, all that is forgiven the second he gives Belle a library. In today's society - Unrealistic.

'The Prince' from Snow White. A prince who apparently doesn't have a name who goes out in search of what has been described as the fairest girl in the kingdom so that he can kiss her to bring her out of a spell and marry her, even though they've never met before. In today's society -  Lookist, egotistical and vain. 

Aladdin from Aladdin (obviously). A thief who is politically opposed to wearing a shirt but a firm advocate of the tiny purple vest who steals the less personable Kim Kardashian from her palace late at night for a carpet ride. In today's society - Girl snatcher.

Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. A rich prince who can't tell the difference between an evil singing brunette and the ginger girl who saved him earlier in the film, and who is ready to marry a girl who has literally never spoken to him after at least 5 dates. In today's society - Untrustworthy and plain stupid.

I could go on but I'm sure you get my point. But this wasn't the only thing that bothered me about this group.

Mostly, this group got me asking myself one serious question. Are we all forgetting the co stars of these films? Admittedly, most of the Disney Princesses can be perceived as being a bit pathetic but they all stand for something, which we are encouraged to do by modern feminism.  Cinderella embodies hard work, hope and staying true to who you are. Belle stands for loyalty and intelligence. Snow White stands for being pure, innocent, loving and open minded. Jasmine stands for having sharp wit, despite being perceived as a bit of an air head and Ariel stands for freedom and sometimes stubbornness.  

The best Disney princess I can refer to on this point is Mulan who isn't officially a Princess but the Hero of China, which I'd prefer to have as a title any day. Mulan goes into battle so her father doesn't have to and, she risks her life for him by joining an army that had severe punishments for women pretending to be men. Honestly, out of all of the Disney Princesses, she had to be the best.

Mulan

Really, what I'm trying to say here is that I don't understand why girls these days are still spending their time and squandering their intelligence on waiting for a Prince who does not and cannot physically exist to come and sweep them off their feet, when they have such great role models to look up to. To me, it is evident that these Disney films were not made to give women unrealistic expectations of men, but were made to prove to women that they can stand for something and that, should they be lucky enough to find their Prince, he is found through hard work, dedication and persistence. What we really need to do when we watch these films is not moan about how no men in the real world are like that and fawn over fictional characters, but take a closer look at the co-stars of these 'perfect' men and learn from them.