Essay on Feminism and Chauvinism in Beauty And The Beast

One of the main controversies discussed in this video is the way that Disney portrays women

Walt Disney over the years has impacted the lives of millions of children with his animated films. His Disney movies have evolved in the last years and have moved from the traditional damsel in distress theme. Specifically, the classic movie Cinderella gives the wrong idea about what it is to be a woman for young girls. The movie portrays a young woman facing emotional, mental, and physical abuse by her evil stepmother and later falls in love with a charming prince. However, if viewers take a closer look, Disney’s anti feminist message is firmly emphasized. The story of Cinderella is sexist due to it’s lesson to girls that beauty and submission will award them a rich bachelor. This is seen through Cinderella’s submissive behavior, Prince

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.

He ripped her from her family, would yell at her if she chooses not to entertain her and would manipulate her into thinking that he can’t live without her. “We have examples like Beauty and The Beast, where the argument was that this a strong and powerful woman, and why is she so strong and powerful? Because she’s reading a book… Well then reality is just pseudo feminism because ultimately in Beauty and The Beast she marries a batterer.”4 This movie is teaching our young girls that if a man treats you this way its ok, you can love someone even though they do not treat you the right way. Disney makes the woman seem sexy and seductive, like the princesses Ariel. Ariel is gorgeous with a curvy body, long hair and a voice to match.4 this makes our girls think about is this will look when they are older and if you look like Ursula who’s big and isn’t the ideal “beautiful” woman.5 Makes it seem as if that you happen to look like this you do not have the possibility of becoming a

In today’s world, men and women are perceived equally by the society. In the past, authority and control define men while women are given the characteristic of helplessness. Men are able to get hold of high positions while women usually are subservient to them. In movies, we would usually see women portray roles that are degrading due to the stereotypical notions they associate with this gender group. Moulin Rouge, a movie set during the 1900s narrates the story of a courtesan woman, Satine, as she undergoes hardships to earn money, experiences love but unfortunately, due to her irrational choices, faces tragic consequences at the end. Satine is a symbol of how women are being treated by the society during the era before post-feminism,

“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.

Disney’s movie Beauty and the Beast, tells the story of a young village girl, Belle, who is taken as prisoner in the Beast’s enchanted castle. Despite her fear and loneliness, she finds comfort with the Beast and his friends, and is able to look past his hideous appearance and see his kind heart which she ultimately falls in love with. Scattered throughout the movie are many different character, situational, and symbolic archetypes. In this essay, we will explore and analyze the different archetypes that are displayed through the characters, their settings, and conflicts.

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

The portrayal of women, gender roles and stereotypes in Disney films has long been a controversial topic. Disney’s 1959 animated film, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and Robert Stromberg’s 2014 live action remake, ‘Maleficent’, each provide a different take of Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale, ‘La Belle au bois Dormant’ (‘The Sleeping Beauty’). The comparison of Aurora, one of the main characters from both films, brings into light the stark contrast in portrayals of gender roles as well as physical ideals and stereotypes in women. Emphasis or lack thereof on physical characteristics and gender representation from both texts challenge and reflect ideals and stereotypes that are impactful to the audience.

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.

Lyon”. Carter retells the well-known fairytale “Beauty and the Beast,” but her version is far from “classic.” It is a tale of self-discovery and rejection of female objectification. In the beginning of Carter’s retelling of the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” Beauty is seen as a penniless, helpless girl, whom the rich, powerful and world-weary Beast forces to live in his house. When her father uses her as payment for his debt to the Beast she becomes an object. However, she rapidly becomes the more active, experienced, and adventurous character. Throughout the story, Beauty proves herself to be more than just a traditional fairy tale heroine, but in the beginning, she conforms to the paradigm. Just like many of Carter’s heroines, she must start within to be able to then break free from the restrictions and assumptions of patriarchal society. In the words of da Silva, “The daughter is conscious of her annihilation in the patriarchal society but she doesn’t have autonomy to overcome it.” Even though Beauty finds enjoyment in reading fairy tales while living with the Beast, it is as though despite living in a modern world with telephones and cars, Beauty wants to believe in the conventional “happily ever after.” By comparing Beauty to the immaculate snow upon which she gazes Carter emphasizes Beauty’s femininity, innocence, and virginity. By associating Beauty

     The classic opener for any fairy tale, which is no different in the case of Beauty and the Beast. Fairy tales were meant to teach our children life lessons that society, at the time, deems important to learn. They teach us the difference between right and wrong, black and white, good and bad, light and dark, and beautiful and ugly. There are many different variations and names to Beauty and the Beast. This famous fable has been passed down and integrated into our culture time and time again, each time adding different lessons that were thought to be important in that day and age. What has changed over the years? How have the fairy tales of Beauty and the Beast affected

The version of Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne- Marie LePrince De Beaumont tells a compelling story of a young women making sacrifices for her family, and finding love through these sacrifices. Beauty and the Beast is a fairytale meant to educate young children on the importance of family, and that life is full of making sacrifices; while also teaching children to appreciate what is on the inside, and not just on the outside. The protagonist of the tale is Beauty. Beauty is a caring, family- oriented, strong, loyal girl whom everyone in the town adores. She kept to herself, but would do anything for anyone, especially her father. With many opportunities to get married, Beauty stayed loyal to her father, until she realized she was in love with Beast. When the family lot their fortune men still proposed to Beauty, even though she did not have money. Beauty politely turned them down; “She told them that she could not bring herself to abandon her poor father in his distress and that she would go with him to the country in order to comfort him and help him with his work.” (32)