Examples Of Feminism In Beauty And The Beast

Knowing this as we all do, Belle had always loved fairy tales. They made her feel special, like a princess – despite her own bad situation. You see, she lived in a huge mansion with long corridors, huge chandeliers, and butlers. This doesn’t sound bad, but what she saw of it on a typical day was the dark cellar and the wash room. She and her family were servants here, though treated more like slaves. The only time she was ever able to just be a child was when the household was out at the latest ball or party. Then Belle would sneak up into the library that was filled floor to ceiling with all kinds of books, and spend hours with the fairy tales. So, what was it that she discovered that dark day in the woods?

“We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us,” is a disturbing, yet unfortunately (occasionally) true line from “The Mob Song” in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. While it is sung by a group of fearful townspeople, this has been known to ring true in everyday life. Thankfully, the people behind Disney’s classic, Beauty and the Beast, tried to teach a generation this lesson through the protagonist, Belle. Through her caring nature, Belle drives the movie’s theme of not judging a book by its cover.

The Beauty and the Beast starts with a lively music in the castle which immediately set us into action. A castle full of expensive housewares and beautiful ladies wearing white gowns dancing to the music represent perfection. The ball is interrupted by a knock from an unexpected beggar who offered the insensitive prince a rose for shelter. The loud thunderclap and the way the chandelier lights were blown off by the wind intensified the scene. When he refuses, the beggar transformed into an enchantress and changed him into a hideous beast and his servants into housewares. The camera angle which showed the shadow figure of the prince turning to a beast was amazingly done. She casts a spell on the rose and it would only be broken if he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell. On the other hand, Belle starts the film in a small lively village which implies peacefulness and security. Belle is a simple, creative girl wanting to leave her monotonous village life to explore new things and go to an adventure. This came true when her horse Philippe went home anxiously without Maurice, her father. The way the horse neighed repeatedly implied that something is wrong. Belle, without hesitation, stormed off to the castle where her father was imprisoned and took his place as

These films have many characters that share characteristics along with the same role for their own films. First, there’s the Beast and Edward. They were the ones that everyone would look at and consider wicked; in reality people are just basing this off their looks. Even though the Beast started off being monstrous, Belle had changed him to be genuine to everyone. He hadn’t even done anything wrong when the villagers attacked. Gaston had only made them believe the Beast could do

Giroux argues that in Beauty and the Beast, Belle teaches young women that they are responsible for controlling a man’s anger and violence, and that any woman can change an abusive man into a Prince. However many children are going to be focused on the dancing, singing furniture rather than analyzing the message Giroux interprets; that Belle is just a prop used to solve the beast’s dilemma. The age of children that will be most influenced by Disney films, are at a level of thinking where they have not begun to recognize and understand the images that Giroux describes are embedded in the Disney films.

The first character to be discussed is Belle, in the original book. An author online even states “The original Beauty and the Beast Story is not what you expect” ( S. Paul). What is unique about Belle in the book is that she is the youngest of six children, which is never shown in the movie. Her father is not an inventor either, but is a very wealthy merchant who loses his fortune. The whole family in the original was forced to move to the country, where they had to live much more simple. Belle is a very special girl though, with very jealous older sisters of her beauty but also the fact that she is able to not be miserable in such a simple lifestyle.

Belle’s story of living with a beast is re-evaluated, claiming that she is not as sane as she was once perceived. When Belle enters the stage in a straight jacket and tied to a chair, there is a realization that she was dealing with a mental illness the whole time, something that is prevalent in our current society. In addition, her familiar radiant yellow ball gown was concealed by the straight jacket, blocking out her previous notion of nativity with the comprehension that it is not sensible to live and interact with a talking creature. The addition to Belle’s costume demonstrates

These roles of female characters are not only present in The Beauty and The Beast. Many other Disney films like Cinderella and Snow white exemplify the stereotypical

Referring back to fairytales like Beauty and the Beast film which involves the beast who magically got turned into a beast as a disciplining act because of his selfishness. Then a beautiful young women by the name of Belle, got imprisoned in the castle. The beast is very fond of Belle since he first laid eyes on her. During the movie Belle being the catalyst for the Beast’s need of wanting to change. But he distances himself from her because he has two mindsets. Which is a man and the other is a raging beast. The beast is going through trying to

“Beauty and The Beast” is a classic well known romantic Disney movie that depicts the gender role of men and women in society. The film is based upon a smart young female protagonist named Belle who is imprisoned by a self-centered young prince after he has been turned into a beast. They both learn to love each other in the end and throughout the film there are several examples shown portraying the roles of gender. In the film the main characters Gaston and the Beast portray themselves as rude, conceited and more important than the woman even though the main character Belle is a woman whom is considered odd, yet smart, and unrelated to most women in society.

In Angela Carter’s The Courtship of Mr.Lyon, feminist themes are portrayed through the use of symbolism. The symbols are portrayed through the plot reversal of the classic tale, The Beauty and the Beast. By portraying the beauty and the beast opposites, Carter breaks traditional gender roles typically associated with fairy tales. The Beast is fragile, vulnerable, and ultimately ends up being helpless. While Beauty proves herself to be strong willed, confident, and eventually, aware of the oppressive and objectifying society she lives in.

Beauty and the Beast is another film with questionable morals. Despite a sixty year time span between the two films, gender relations changed very little. Though the main characters come off as slightly more rounded, there are still some eerie instances that should be addressed. Belle is (yet again) a stunning young woman who is revered throughout for her

Belle was kind to the Beast, and then she found her prince. It took courage to look into the eyes of someone that took away everything and see the good.

Beauty’s role in beauty and the beast glorifies her as a sweet girl who can find light in any darkness. She prefers to move forward in life rather than sulk in misery. Being such a positive female character allows her to fall in love with a man who is not of the society standards of handsome, name Beast. She was more intent on focusing on what he had to offer as a person. Karen Rowe states in “Feminism and Fairy Tales” “such alluring fantasies gloss the heroine's inability to act self-assertively, total reliance on external rescues, willing bondage to father and prince, and her restriction to hearth and nursery” (Rowe). The heroine being beauty in this case, doesn't have opinions or rights because her character wasn't created to. Rowe believes that fairytales have paved the way for our expectations towards what women and men should be doing and what romance is. Rowe argues that “These "domestic fictions" reduce fairy tales to sentimental clichés, while they continue to glamorize a heroine's traditional yearning for romantic love which culminates in marriage” (Rowe). Beauty’s character found herself in these “sentimental cliches” with her

All over the world Feminism is a current topic of concern and there are very few advocates who are currently fighting for gender equality. In the media men and women are attempting to use their voices to fight for equal rights and get the message across to all generations. In this paper, I will be analyzing the movie Beauty and the Beast (2017) by drawing upon the feminist theory, which will demonstrate how the main female character, Belle challenges the modern-day system of inequality and the socially constructed gender roles. I will do so by examining why Emma Watson was chosen as the leading actress, how Belle is different than the other women in her town, the modifications from the original movie, and how Belle ultimately gets to decide her destiny. I will also consider why some people may view the film as anti-feminist, which will allow for me to understand a different perspective. It is my thesis that socially constructed gender identities are negatively presented in popular culture, however actors and actresses are attempting to use their influence to make an impact and move towards equality.