When I was a young girl my favorite disney movie was Beauty and the Beast. I must have been around five years old when I saw it for the first time and I was infatuated with what I thought the story line was. I five year old self understood the movie plot being about a smart, beautiful young woman rejecting the boy who wanted her only to then fall in love with a prince who would be her one true love. My parents, brother, and I would all sit down to watch this movie time and time again and when I was young, this is the plot I saw every time. As I 've grown up I have come to realize not all of what i thought was true. Of course, there are elements of what I thought that are true. Belle is obviously a smart, beautiful woman and she does fall …show more content…
She is being talked about by the townspeople as not acting as though a stereotypical pretty young girl should. And because she doesn 't conform to the stereotypes she is made to feel different and strange. The next example of sexism is in the character of Gaston. Gaston does conform to the stereotypical definiton of how a male should be. He is tall and very muscular and always has three girls following him, constantly swooning over him, only to objectify themselves. He also has stereotypical idea of the female he wants in his life. He tells Belle that her dreams are on the verge of becoming true and when she asks how he responds " Here, picture this: A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire, and my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. We 'll have six or seven." While this line is clearly sexist, five year old me did not pick up on this. I simply thought that Gaston was a self- obsessed person who did not really care for belle but at this point I didn 't understand sexism. You can also see Gaston 's sexist attitude towards Lefou. Lefou, unlike Gaston, does not conform to the stereotypical male characteristics. He is shorter, not muscular and does not have women falling for him left and right. He is seen much more as Gaston 's sidekick or little friend rather than a man in his own sense. It is hard to imagine Lefou being Gaston 's sidekick if he were of the same height and build as him. In the
Stanley is a good example of the stereotypical male. He is portrayed as the dominant husband of Stella. He is always trying to prove he is in charge. As well as being very simple, and wanting very few things. “Nothing belongs on a poker table but cards, chips and whiskey” (42). All he wants to do is play poker and drink with his friends. Stanley is an aggressive character, his dominance is shown through his
The story of the Beauty and the Beast is well known amongst all ages. Though the story they portray in the Disney version is much different than what they have portrayed it in France. La Belle et la Bête has been produced twice, once in 1946 and again in 2014. These two movies tell the same story but in very different ways. The perception of this story has changed between the different time periods.
“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.
Seger states that in fairy tales "an old woman, a dwarf, a witch, or a wizard helps the hero . . . The hero achieves the goal because of this help, and because the hero is receptive to what this person has to give" (173). Conversely, Beast is helped by the very damsel he imprisons. Belle is a normal woman, not a witch or a wizard; she has no special powers and is not old or dwarfish in any way. Also, Beast is extremely reluctant to accept any help from her. In the Disney version of the story, Belle tries to teach Beast how to control his temper and be more compassionate and loving. Beast is not receptive at all to this help throughout the story, but still manages to defeat the curse left on him by a self revelation. He decides after Belle's departure from his castle to learn to love and be kindhearted. Although her help may have had an impact on his transformation, it was the mere presence of her and his own self conscience that ultimately helped him conquer his relentless curse. This is quite different from what Seger illustrates in her hero myth theory.
From the beginning of the novel, it is clear that sexism is an issue. Bennie is the first character that we see a clear sexist approach from. “The Mother Superior leaned forward
Belle is extremely important to original story, and the movie. Maybe you are asking yourself why? Well, she is for surely one of the two main characters, the other being the beast whom she is supposed to fall in love with to make him become a man again. Especially in the original book version, it is more focused on Belle because they leave out the “evil sisters”. She still has bitter
Gender stereotypes as a whole in Macbeth are extremely prominent. One instance of male’s view of women in the play is Macbeth’s encounters with the three witches. Banquo states, "You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to interpret / That you are so" (I.2.45-47). The three witches were known to be female, contrasting from their male facial hair and characteristics. Although the instance may seem insignificant, the witches provide a clear example of the gender stereotypes pressed on all female characters in the tragedy, especially those of Lady Macbeth. Believed to be the most significant characteristic of the typical female, a woman is traditionally seen as inferior to man. This means that Lady Macbeth was seen as secondary to her husband, since she lacked masculinity. As she sees herself as unable to commit the murders necessary to gain the crown, she wishes for herself to possess specifically male characteristics to make her able to do so. In her soliloquy she cries "Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top full / Of direst cruelty" (I.5.38-41) meaning she wishes quite literally to no longer be female. Quite obviously, this request is unable to be fulfilled. Although Lady Macbeth may have very well been physically capable of committing a murder by her lonesome, the affinity of gender roles implies the task is impossible to be accomplished by a woman of any
There are various types of men in this film that are considered well known and conceited, divergent but captivating or are just avoided based on their appearance. Firstly, there is the stereotypical antagonist Gaston, seen as a symbol of perfection by everyone in town. Belle, who he pursues, for her to become “his little wife”, however, is not interested because of his conceited and assertive behavior. Gaston’s mindset is similar to most of the men in society who still value the thought of forcing themselves upon a woman even after rejection to change the mind of the women so they will not feel ineffectual. Then there is the beast who is considered similar to the typical male gender. He was once a young prince who had everything he desired yet he was unkind and selfish which any gender would be based on their
Women are expected to be submissive, feminine, tamed and invisible just like Pauline. The narrator considers herself invisible due to the nature of her social roles, thus conforming to cultural expectations. She spends half of her time doing house chores and the other half working and the meat store as a cleaner. “Her braids were thick like the tails of animals…half-tamed, but only half” (Erdrich, 1986). In contrast, Fleur is perceived as defiant.
The equality of men and women in the terms of social and political power is lacking because women are powerless without adequate appearance. The fear of feminism can be represented through Samira and Madam Morrible. Both of these characters are independent of men but their characteristically harsh and very unsettling with their independence. Madam Morrible works directly under the Wizard and she has the power in the book demonstrates a feministic form of independence and the work status.
LeFou who is a homosexual character lack of the traits of the hegemonic masculinity (Gaston). LeFou is not as handsome, strong, and muscular like Gaston. He is also sexually attracted to people of the same sex (Gaston). Over and above, LeFou’s attire also speaks his subordinated masculinity. Below is the outfit comparison between LeFou and the other man (fellow villager) that highlights his homosexual
Fiona, starting out as a beautiful princess and turning into an ogre herself, gives the same example of gender representation as Shrek. One very interesting thing about her character in addition to her perfect behavior as a princess and expecting Prince Charming to rescue her, which represents her feminine character as typical, is her masculine characteristics that are much unexpected, such as burping and fighting like men when she gets attacked by Robin Hood and his men in the first movie. Also, the way in which she is scared that that Shrek would not like her as an ogre, is something that is unusual, however, shows some feminine aspects of society, such as being afraid for not being accepted or liked based on appearance. Her support towards Shrek in the second movie when she rather walks away and cry by herself, also underlines her femininity, through the scene of her Feminine speech where she is trying to encourage the good relationship between Shrek and her family, inviting everyone into conversation. Hence, her character displays the idea of a shift from masculine to feminine characteristics which clearly demonstrates that sometimes gender characteristics might shift according to personalities, and people should not really stereotype gender because it is relative to the individual. As far as
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
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
In the new popular culture version of Beauty and the Beast, we see how Belle, played by Emma Watson, is a young feminist woman. Belle has always been a bright, beautiful and independent young woman. Despite all her fears, she makes friends with the castle's enchanted staff and recognizes the kind heart and soul of the true prince that hides on the inside of the beast. The empowered Disney princess, Belle, is interested in learning and reading and lacks interest in marriage. Her passion for books has made her want to teach other girls to have the same passion and skills. In the film, she attempts to teach a young girl in town to read and lecture by the older male schoolmaster not to do that. The filmmaker makes it clear that Belle’s mind is