I bet when I mention the female characters of older stories you may picture a misogynistic portrayal of a helpless woman so dependent on a male. Unfortunately, there are such characters in my beloved Chronicles of Narnia, such as Jill Pole in The Silver Chair who is confined to a chair during the scene with the serpent while the men do all the work. (Which is sort of funny because Lewis was so capable of making Lucy a strong character, yet he fell back into a man of his time with Pole. Hmmm... interesting). At any rate, my point is this: The classic female character had a lot more weight than we may realize.
Why would the adorable Phillip with the singing voice that makes you m-e-l-t go fight a DRAGON?! Sure, he had to save the kingdom but he also had to save the stunning, long-blond-haired, tiny-waisted Aurora.
Why would Mr. Moseley on Downtown Abbey take it upon himself to stand up to the evil under butler, Thomas? Because there was a WOMAN there watching the whole thing whom he wanted to "help" and impress.
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| Elizabeth Taylor. And corsets. Corsets are a beautiful thing. My goodness does she even eat?!?! |
Notice any connection?
Please don't be annoyed with me, wanting to throw some "Women have Brains! Women have brawn!" in my face. Newsflash-- I'm a woman too, and I have no problem with a man finding me so beautiful he finds the strength to do anything in the world. Each woman has something to use: for some, it's their minds; for others, it's their hair; and for some, it's the Eliabeth Taylor as Cleopatra figure many of us (myself very much included) dream of. Hey, let's face it-- guys can be easily persuaded. I am all for the strong female character, and I think it's good for a female character to be balanced.
People have gone out of their way to make strong female characters, and that's fantastic! But please, when writing, don't forget that we are women, and sometimes a meow does more damage than a roar ;)
I appreciate that you also see the value in classic female Disney characters as well. I've always said that just because these characters are as strong and feisty doesn't mean they aren't strong characters. Many of the classic Disney girls were strong--they had strong hearts and loved their people and were hard workers. Just like in life, not all females are Mulans or Belles. Some are Auroras and Snow Whites. However, I don't think women, fictional or real, should rely on their looks to get what they want. I think that people, regardless of gender, use their looks to get things they want but I believe that that shouldn't be a person's number 1 strategy when they want something. There's no problem with going to Home Depot in heels, but why not just ask for help? I think that confidence and being able to take care of yourself and be true to yourself and not put up an act is more beautiful than any amount of flirting or primping. However, this is just my opinion, just like this post is your's :) Very interesting post, and I do believe that strength looks different on different people, and even though a woman may look 'helpless', who knows? She might have more control over her situation than you think
ReplyDeleteThere’s no doubt that female characters have been noted to show “vulnerability” and “helplessness” in many old films- including the classic princess movies that I myself love. However, just as you said in your last line, sometimes just looks alone can allow a woman to rule the world. If we look at the most recent princesses, there is a complete change of character from “vulnerable” to “unstoppable.” From the hardworking Tiana in “The Princess and The Frog” to Merida from “Brave” Disney has recently been rewriting their princess to show just how powerful women can be. Personally, I like these new princesses because I believe that they inspire young girls to take charge and chase their dreams and not just to wait for them. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic princesses, but I also like how Disney and other major movie producers are giving the woman a new “look.” Great post!
ReplyDeleteSophie your posts are always my favorite! I actually wrote a similar post to this in my recent blog post as well. I agree that these beautiful characters need to get more credit than they are bargained for. Although it may seem that they are dependent on their man and are not intelligent enough to do anything for themselves, a little extra help (especially from a handsome fellow) has never hurt anyone. We live in a world where men do things to impress women and vice versa. That's just the way it is. In results, these movies portray an environment that is somewhat like reality. I feel that women have just as much as a right to be powerful and successful as a man, but sweeping a girl off her feet will only create more happiness between everyone. When it comes to our classic princesses, we need to stop looking at what they are not capable of and look at what they can bring to the table instead.
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