The biggest Disney princess fans gasped a unison sigh of shock and excitement after the official Beauty and the Beast trailer released earlier this week. I am not one to deny that Beauty and the Beast is by far one of my favorite movies; yes, I dressed up as Belle at least once in my Halloween career and yes, I do in fact know every word to Be our Guest, Something There, & more. But now, amidst a crazy changing world of politics, equal rights, feminism, and violence, it is clear that Beauty and the Beast, while telling a classic love story that children and adults have adored for over twenty years, promotes and conveys some poor messages towards women, relationships, and self-esteem issues.
When you think about it, the story actually endorses some highly inappropriate and sexist behaviors. To name a few:
1. Belle is considered a pariah in society because of her intelligence and love for learning, promoting the idea that being smart and having ideas will only lead to isolation from societal expectations.
2. Belle is able to change the Beast’s violence and anger, teaching young girls that they can in fact change men in abusive relationships.
3. Belle experiences Stockholm Syndrome, an intense and serious psychological phenomenon in which entrapped people fall in love with their abusive captors, but the happy ending of the story tells us that Stockholm Syndrome is nothing serious to worry about and can become true love.
4. Belle, whose name literally means beauty, is adored and idolized because of her good looks, whereas her intelligence is thwarted and frowned upon.
It’s sad how experience and time can change our perceptions of innocent and important moments of our childhood. The poor self-esteem and sexist messages are not only found in Beauty and the Beast, though. In Cinderella, young children are taught that you can find love if you have nice things. Ariel from The Little Mermaid learns that looks can lead to love, and having a voice and opinion is not always important for relationships. Jasmine and Aladdin are still able to find love even though the basis of the entire relationship is an elaborate lie by Aladdin. While one of the newest Disney Film’s Frozen ended with the main character Anna choosing her sister over a man, the movie was still criticized based upon its highly sexualized nature of the two women.
So what can Disney lovers do about classic films and stories that have some negative messages when analyzed more clearly? This is obviously a pessimistic view of Disney as a whole, and it’s not okay to say Disney Princesses are all doomed, voiceless, objectified women. Emma Watson, who will play Belle in the upcoming film, stated in a recent interview how she wanted answers for Belle’s background. In the new film, Belle has a career as an inventor, and Watson’s feminist perspective and insight has filled in some gaps from the 1991 film. While the poor messages can be found, Emma Watson proves we can emphasize to children the positivity behind the moving stories and show them how to become the best they can possibly be.
Instead of focusing on the negative, encourage the positive. Here are some of the best takeaways of the classic film:
1. Encourage young girls to crave knowledge and not be afraid to be different, just like Belle who reads and experiences life without others dragging her down.
2. Know that differences are okay. Chip is a cracked teacup, but that doesn’t make him worse than anyone else.
3. Never fear the unknown and instead take chances with love and life and knowledge. Even if you get hurt or make mistakes, those will only make you grow.
4. Family is important. Know they will always be there to pick you up at the lowest of times.
5. Appearances aren’t everything, and you can never judge someone before you get to know them.
It is a tale as old as time, but changes also come with time. Let’s follow Emma Watson’s lead and give voices to Disney Princesses in order to encourage positivity and happiness.