To think the Beast is actually an abusive prick?

[twattymctwatterson]

Somehow managed to never see the cartoon version of Beauty and the Best. Watching it with my daughter now. So the Beast kidnapped Bele's dad, coerced her into staying with him, shouts, smashes furniture and is basically a prick. If Belle was posting in Relationships I'd be telling her to LTB

[Benedikte2]

Folk tales generally and those collected by the Grimms Bros were originally created for adults and retold for generations before they were written down. They originate from some some really bleak times in Europe so not surprising they are pretty dark. Over the past 150 years or so they have been bowdlerised for kids and some of the messages distorted. I feel that the more fantastical they are the less harm they will do and the more realistic they appear I've with RL actors, the more they are bound to affect children's thinking
BTW the wicked stepmothers in folk tales has affected the whole way people think of stepmothers per se. Unless you personally have a wonderful stepmother you will hold the stereotype without really thinking about it.

[BabychamSocialist]

1horatio

I wanted to be like Christine out of Cagney and Lacey, but so far I haven't joined the police with my best friend, a strong working mother.

My husband wanted to be Hannibal out of the A-Team but he hasn't gone on the run from the military and taken on jobs fighting evil people and shooting at them (but somehow managing to never hit or hurt them).

Most kids have heroes and they grow out of them eventually. Honestly, lads growing up have heroes like Batman or James Bond and they generally turn out fine.

A girl could do worse than having Belle as a hero, tbh.

[Andrewofgg]

Disney bores me

*This. Disney has the Sadim touch - turns everything to shit.

[Glossolalia]

ImFuckingSpartacus

No, not suggesting that at all.

I think it's a bit rich to call yourself a feminist and then appear in a film that has a very questionable storyline and not even acknowledge that.

[1horatio]

babycham


Definitely :)

I haven't become a witch either ;) (well, yet... obviously)

[ImFuckingSpartacus]

I think it's a bit rich to call yourself a feminist and then appear in a film that has a very questionable storyline and not even acknowledge that

And you're aware that she hasn't acknowledged that how.....?

And do you expect every woman in any film with a questionable storyline (which is frankly rather a lot of them, from a feminist perspective) to slate her own movies publicly?

[RebelRogue]

Shoutout yup. I loved it too. And it was the only movie dd would actually watch when little.

[AbernathysFringe]

Emma Watson is a terrible actress. Can't understand how anyone hired her post-HP.

[Glossolalia]

She defends it here :

[RebelRogue]

I haven't become a witch either ;)


Well I'm pretty pissed off that no matter how much i sing no woodland/house animals come and help me clean the house

[dementedma]

if your kids have even a modicum of intelligence, they will not grow up believing all they see in Disney films is real. Lions can talk and sing? Snowmen and reindeer can talk? Magic carpets can fly?
My daughters grew up watching Disney, as did sisters and I. We know Robin Hood wasn't a fox, that there isn't really a singing and dancing bear called Baloo and that pumpkin coaches and glass slippers are just part of the fantasy. My dds are intelligent, independent and feminist but it doesn't stop them enjoying a film - you know, fantasy?
if you are worried your dd will grow up wanting to marry a beast, you really need to look to your parenting skills, or lack of.

[Glossolalia]

I would expect her to not get involved in films like this.

[Quimby]

We all agreed that belle is a stuck up bitch though?

Spends her whole first song slagging off everyone on her provincial town while barging through them without looking where she was going.

[MrsGuyOfGisbo]

if your kids have even a modicum of intelligence, they will not grow up believing all they see in Disney films is real
this

[JDelanysCleanHorse]

In my mind Emma Watson was just doing her job. She turned up every day and did what she was paid to do.

You either pay to see the film or you don't. She will get paid never the less.

Me and my dd(8) enjoyed the film and plan on buying the DVD.

[midcenturymodern]

Personally I think people who think that they (and nobody else) is impacted at all by popular culture or advertising or fashion etc is kidding themselves. Lots of girls grow up absorbing these messages - some have very real difficulty in recognising abusive behaviour. Lots of boys grow up watching James Bond. Some men are rapey fuckers.

I absolutely love fairy tales. I love the twisted darkness of them, but I can see that presenting fundamentally abusive relationships in a positive light sends a horrible message. It was always meant to, of course, but we don't want out girls controlled and manipulated by stories any more.

It rather reminds me of ManWhoHasItAll "BOYS! Your gender DOESN'T mean you are inferior, regardless of what games, sci-fi, films, animations, comics & real life tell you."

[OutToGetYou]

Never seen it but aware of the story and saw the trailer last week, thought "wow, I really don't want to see that", just the trailer made me uncomfortable.

[missmodular2]

I think most fairy tales send out terrible messages to young girls. Look at the passiveness of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, etc etc. If I'd thought about it properly before having kids I would have been much, much more strict about challenging the bullshit that's peddled in them. My youngest is still into princess stories but now when we read them I make sure we challenge the assumptions at every turn and basically rip the piss out of them. They actually really enjoy doing that now, aged 8 and 10.

[ImFuckingSpartacus]

I would expect her to not get involved in films like this

Why? She's an actress, and its a kids fairy tale film.

[ShoutOutToMyEx]

if your kids have even a modicum of intelligence, they will not grow up believing all they see in Disney films is real. Lions can talk and sing? Snowmen and reindeer can talk? Magic carpets can fly?

I'm sure they won't believe it's literally real. But it's hard to avoid absorbing and internalising the values and messages, on some level.

[PuppyMonkey]

TBF to the Beast though he was just trying to break the spell by making someone fall in love with him, I don't think he was quite in his proper mind when he came up with his grand plan.

Nowadays he might have just tried internet dating and see what happened.

[ProudBadMum]

puppy He was just doing what we would all do in that situation

[Riversleep]

I haven't seen this yet but was looking forward to it. I thought she voluntarily went to the castle to rescue her father and ended up staying but was free to go. I do agree that Disney trying to justify these stories as 'modern' and 'feminist' when they are clearly nothing of the sort is part of the problem. I've not seen this, and I enjoyed the live action Cinderella but getting the actors to justify Ella as a powerful woman was ridiculous, when she is the weakest most passive character in fairytale history and continues to be so in the film. I hate the Princess and the Pea. My kids like it but always get a side order of lecturing whenever they make me read it!

[RebelRogue]

I'm sure they won't believe it's literally real. But it's hard to avoid absorbing and internalising the values and messages, on some level.


I see this argument a lot and drives me mad. People that can see the message,and worse the ones that internalise the message are not stupid,deluded people that believe in magic carpets,talking animals,witches and magical appearing ballgowns. I do know a few women that married beasts though. Some still wait for the "spell" to break off and their happily ever after.

[redexpat]

@Sophr2017 The Lion King is Hamlet.