Feminism in Film: The Little Mermaid

For my other Feminism in Film posts, go here.

Initial Thoughts
I love many of the songs from The Little Mermaid. They're great for sing alongs!

The Critique

It should be noted that Ariel is the first princess to dream about something other than a man. She sings about walking on land, not of finding true love. Go girl! But...the only reason she seeks an actual change is because she sees Eric and wants to be with him. Which is not so great. Also, Eric wasn't the one spying on Ariel. She spies on him! Definitely a change from the previous movies. However, I'm really tired of Disney couples becoming madly in love when they don't even know each other's names. This is so not realistic.

Ariel's relationship with her father is also worth noting. He is very restrictive on where she is allowed to go and what she is allowed to do. Symbol of the our repressive patriarchal society? Possibly. Ariel dreams of a different world and her father won't allow her to follow her dreams. That's some bad parenting right there.

Oh, look! Still no female friendships!

Ursula definitely falls under the category of Evil Demon Seductress, which is a common trope. While Ursula may not be traditionally sexy at first, she transforms herself into Vanessa. Vanessa then proceeds to manipulate and seduce Eric.

White washing. But a Jamaican crab? I also don't care for the stereotyped French chef. I mean, come on.

She is known for her singing voice, which is at least a skill. The previous princesses were only known for their beauty. But let's get right down to the biggest problem: Ariel trades her voice for legs. She gives up her right to speak. She is a woman who has been silenced. Ursula actually has lines that include "you have your looks, your pretty face, and don't underestimate the importance of body language", and that men "prefer for girls not to say a word...it's she who holds her tongue that gets the man". SO MANY PROBLEMS.  A woman should never have to change for a man.

Eric is the one who ultimately destroys Ursula. So once again, the princess doesn't save herself.

The Bechdel Test
*two named women? YES (Ariel, Ursula)
*who talk to each other? YES
*about something other than men? NO
Their only conversation takes place when they strike a bargain to turn Ariel into a human so she can get Eric. Ursula gives her some tips on how to get a man - mainly, don't talk.

Final Rating
Two and a Half Stars

Feminism in Film: Sleeping Beauty

For my other Feminism in Film posts, go here.

Initial Thoughts
I honestly could not remember anything about this movie. I wasn't really looking forward to watching it, either. But it was the next movie in our line-up, so off we went!

The Critique
The three fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, bestow gifts upon the baby princess- beauty ("hair of sunshine gold and lips red as the rose"), song, and true love's kiss will break the sleeping curse. The latter is a very practical gift and I like that a woman did what she could to save another woman. However I don't understand why beauty must be a qualification to be a princess. Why couldn't the fairies have made sure Aurora was intelligent? Or curious?

So why does Maleficent cast a curse on Aurora? Because she wasn't invited to a party and she was jealous of a baby's beauty. Seriously? Don't these high-powered women have anything better to concern themselves with? And why can't the women stop hating on other women?

The fairies take Aurora away to raise her, which I like. Three women working together to rise a child!

I think the pink/blue debate for Aurora's dress is great. Merryweather challenges traditional gender stereotypes!

Aurora is betrothed to a young Prince Phillip. Not a fan of betrothals! I know that in this movie they ultimately end up together, but why did they have to be forced together by their parents? Shouldn't their children be allowed to choose their spouse?

When do Aurora and Phillip meet (after their initial meeting when they were betrothed)? He spies her singing in the forest and goes up to her. He says they met "once upon a dream". CREEPY. STALKER. STRANGER DANGER.

COME ON PRINCESSES. GET IT TOGETHER.

Aurora knows absolutely nothing about Phillip! She won't even tell him her name! He asks when he can see her again, and she says "never"! NO MEANS NO.

Prince Phillip saves her. These princesses need to start learning how to save themselves.

Also, white washing. White washing everywhere.

The Bechdel Test
*two named women? YES (Aurora, Maleficent, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather)
*who talk to each other? YES 
*about something other than men? YES (fairies discuss how to save Aurora)
This is the first Disney princess movie with more than one "good" female character. It's refreshing to finally see a change! The fairies want to protect Aurora, and do everything in their power to keep her safe from harm. Ultimately, they fail. But to err is human.

Final Rating
Two Stars

Feminism in Film: Cinderella

For the rest of my Feminism in Film Posts, go here.

Initial Thoughts
The is my other sister's favorite movie! We're going through them all in order.

The Critique
Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella hate on Cinderella. Why? Because Cinderella is kind, sweet, classy, and beautiful. Lady Tremaine allows her daughters to sabotage Cinderella's dress and then locks her in the tower. There's some Queen/Snow White dynamics going on here. Granted, Lady Tremaine isn't as brutal as The Queen. But still. Cinderella is cast into non-existence because she is a good person.

However, I don't really understand why Anastasia and Drizella need to be unattractive physically. Over and over again, we are given examples of how unattractive their personalities are. So Cinderella is the only one who is allowed to be beautiful? Why can't these women be solely evaluated based on their character?

The only female friendship is between the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella. All the other women gang up on her. I really wish the princesses had friends who weren't animals. It's just not very practical.

Whitewashing, again. No people of color here!

In this movie, the prince actually gets to talk to Cinderella. Which is a vast improvement from Snow White's prince. But still. He wants to marry her after a few hours! Not exactly realistic.

Cinderella doesn't save herself. She relies on two male mice to retrieve the key to her locked tower bedroom. And then she is safe from her wicked stepmother by marrying the king.

The Bechdel Test
*two named women? YES (Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella)
*who talk to each other? YES
*about something other than men? YES (usually chores, also Cinderella's presence at the ball)
I don't really know why these women are so bitter towards the princesses.

Final Rating
Two Stars

The Women of the Oscar Nominations - Miss Representation

I recently became a Social Action Rep with Miss Representation! I will be blogging my thoughts on women in the media.

Source

Let's talk about the lack of female nominees at the Oscars.

Now, there are a handful nominated for producing in the Best Picture category: Stacey Sher (Django Unchained), Pilar Savone (Django Unchained), Debra Hayward (Les Misérables), Kathleen Kennedy (Lincoln), Donna Gigliotti (Silver Linings Playbook), Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison (Zero Dark Thirty). Five out of nine movies had one or more female producers.

For Animated Feature Film? There's only Brenda Chapman, for Brave.

For Cinematography? Zero.

For Directing? Zero.

For Original Score? Zero.

For Adapted Screenplay? Only Lucy Alibar, for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

For Original Screenplay? Zero.

Perhaps it would be easier to visualize this discrepancy in a graph, as the lovely people of Bitch Flicks have so kindly done for us: 

Source

Now, it's not like women are not out there in all of these careers. But time and again, the Academy chooses to nominate more men than women in arguably the more "technical" areas.

What will it take for more women to be nominated? I know that some will argue that it's not the Academy's fault. That the best and most talented contributors just happen to be male. So then who actually needs to deal with this problem?

I do think the Academy needs to nominate more women. But at the same time, movies need to utilize more women. If you don't hire a female director, she can never be nominated. If you don't hire a female  to do the visual effects, she can never be nominated.

I do hope the 2014 Oscar nominations fare better.

Further Reading
www.missrepresentation.org
http://www.btchflcks.com


The views and statements in this message do not necessarily reflect those of Miss Representation.org and their leadership.