Cinderella didn't do shit. Yes, when we women first heard her story at a young, impressionable age, we were wooed by her martyr complex and how her sacrificing led to the kind of perfect, harmonious marriage one finds in 1950's printed TV dinner ads. But now in this generation, Cinderella just doesn't cut it. When you compare her to recent cartoon heroines, she lacks the spunk and charisma that appeals to today's female demographic. I mean, lets look at the facts here: Cinderella cried over prom night until her rich, spooky relative waved a wand and provided a designer gown and limo service for her; Mulan got shot down by a gangster and still managed to save China.
Question: Who would make it as a Spice Girl?
I'm no feminist, but I'm liking the direction that Disney is taking. The progress is slow, but it's taken a slight turn away from our cut and dry "Gee, I'm female, I can't do shit for myself" phase of cartoon movies. There've been a couple of times where the Donna Summer in me sprung up from my chair at the theatres and started singing She Works Hard For the Money. And they have worked hard for their drawn-in currency. Pocahontas is a good example of that. What I digged about Pochahontas was how she stood up for her own people and rejected a man's offer to take her to a foreign land. That rejection alone showed that Pochahontas was Disney's "Jenny from the block" -- keepin' it real with that street cred business. Tupac would've been proud.
From here on out, Disney movies will only get better. I can feel it. Female protagonists will no longer be the burden of the movie, but rather the savior, the refresher. I can see a movie being made about a poor, single mother who rises to the highest position in queendom and helps the needy get out of poverty. Or maybe they'll write a story about a risky astronaut who risks her life for the welfare of others and saves the galaxy. Or even better, they should make a movie about a cutthroat entrepreneur who rises to fame using her homemaking advice-- selling off magazines, books, and home designer products for KMart. All goes well for her and her mighty empire until the evil known as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission catches her committing corporate fraud and sends her to five months of home confinement.
Oh, wait a minute. That story's been done already .
Comments (11)
Disney has done the "strong female breaks stereotypes and gone against her familys wishes" for like...the last 10 movies.
Pocahontas, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, heck, even the girl in Hercules was a rebel.
I think it was noticed in this episode of animaniacs.
I miss real, old school animation...Pixar is awesome though.
A Disney movie about Martha Stewart, that would be so hilarious ^-^
Yes I agree that Disney should portray women in a more empowering light. Women are independent, imperfect, and have much more dimensions than what society gives them credit for. I saw Enchanted recently and to me it does a good job challenging some of the stereotypes in these movies. Damsels in distress who think that they need prince charming to be complete. Patrick Dempsey played not only a divorce lawyer (fittingly) but he played a character that had realistic views about love and it sharply contrasted that of Giselle's (Amy Adams) character. Because of the contrast, I think it made for a much more interesting story that adults can relate their personal experiences too.
Its nice to know you almost felt the need to belt out Donna Summer's classic song ;)
Robert was the "damsel in distress" in Enchanted, if anything!
I agree that women should be portrayed as strong and not helpleess, but even independent women want a good relationship. Gotta have that romance component.
I'm gonna have to go and see a movie or two before I can comment. I lost my inner child in a bottle of vodka...
@theblackspiderman - Pixar is pretty cool. But by the time I'm fifty, I'm expecting future technology to invent a way for us to interact with cartoons. I refuse to kick the bucket until I get a chance to punch that Jafar guy from Aladdin.
@etherealgoddess - Yeah. After the Donna Summers song, I was moving onto Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" but by then management at the movie theaters had knocked me down with the popcorn machine.
@bryantomato - I haven't seen Enchanted! I thought it was going to be a movie about two stereotypical white people in love, but apparently it's just about white people. I am now intrigued.
@utlawgirl - This is true. When it comes to love in cartoon movies, keep it simple: Person A likes Person B. Person B grows to like Person A. Person A and Person B get married on a ship. Parent has to explain where babies come from to kid. End scene.
That's pretty much all kids can handle. If there was a scene from "Beauty and the Beast" where Belle wrote in her diary about her love for Beast but her complicated feelings over bestiality, I think this would've complicated a lot of children in America.
@thinfriendxxo - That's okay. I'm pretty sure 90% of Americans lost their inner child after filing taxes for the first time.
@bryantomato - Yeah he was. That was kinda strange to see, especially in that final scene with Giselle and that evil bitch Susan Sarandon was playing.
@tinahawt - you have to watch it! it was such an enjoyable movie, really!
@etherealgoddess - "who's the damsel in distress now?! bwahahahahaha!!!"
Yea! Women Power!
In my version of Cinderella, she brandishes a flamethrower and torches anyone in her way, and makes her own dress out of the dried flesh of her enemies.
@Meis760 - Or you could cheer the environmental friendly, "Yea! Solar powered women power!"
@PandaMusings - I think that's pretty much the biography of Hilary Clinton.