In 2012, about 20 children's films were released to the public (not counting re-released 3D-counterparts or anything rated above PG). Of those 20, only 5 of those films had female protagonists, and 2 of those films were documentaries, so I'm going to ignore those. Leaving only 3 out of 20 films in 2012 with female protagonists. Of those female protagonists, only one of them is not royalty; and there is a problem with that.
 |
| The only non-princess of 2012! Hurray Arrietty! Hurray Miyazaki-san! |
Most films made for little girls feature a princess. Now, it is not uncommon for little girls to be interested in princesses. Some would say it's even natural. But what comes to mind when a person says 'princess'? Disney, for sure. Ball gowns, crowns, Prince Charming, magic perhaps? The thing about being a princess is, there are only two ways of becoming one. She is either born into royalty or she must marry a prince. Neither way is gained truly by her own means, but by the means of others.
The same can almost be said about a prince or a king, but patriarchy dictates that they are making decisions and the ones with power. This makes a prince fundamentally different than a princess. What is also quite different between the sexes is that young boys don't need to look up to princes because there is a very wide array of protagonists for them to choose from. Male protagonists can be cars, bugs, ogres, fish, pandas, rats, toys, robots, video game characters and even young boys just like themselves. That means quite a lot, to see someone who is ordinary just like yourself on the screen doing extraordinary things.
A princess is not ordinary at all. She is (whether it is mentioned or not) the most beautiful, has the best clothes, the best place to live, all the best parts of life; and most little girls don't have that. In fact, being a princess, as it is depicted in modern day media, is very much so an escapist fantasy.
 |
| Considering that Rapunzel was being used for her hair, perhaps Disney should have mass marketed her short brown hair, as a symbol of her freedom... but then we couldn't brush her hair! |
And yet, with this in mind, I would still call myself a pro-princess kind of gal. There are more facets to a princess than what we have been shown. I draw my optimism from Frances Brunett's novel, A Little Princess. It's worth noting that the protagonist, Sara Crewe, isn't really a princess; but she does come from a well-off family, is a smart, kind and handsome little girl. She is so idolized by her peers that they call her a princess. But Sara is also very self analyzing. She knows that the others see her as special, but she wonders if she would indeed be a 'princess' if she didn't have it so good. If she wasn't rich would she really be so generous?
Sara's life turns very dark when her father dies, leaving her bankrupt and employed by the cruel headmistress of her former school to pay off her debt. Sara spends the rest of the book playing pretend to cope with her reality. She believes that she really is a princess and that she must find it within herself to be kind and carry herself with integrity even if she doesn't have any material wealth to show for it. She ends up escaping the headmistress' clutches because of the friendships she forges with the people around her.
Pixar's film Brave, which came out in 2012, actually does a decent job with making a positive princess film, although I wish they would have come up with a conflict other than marriage to jump-start her inner transformation. Merida is athletic and clearly loves her family, but she is rash and doesn't really want the responsibility a being a princess. When her mother, the queen, forces Merida to do something she doesn't want to Merida places the peace of the kingdom in jeopardy to avoid it.
 |
| “The mother-daughter relationship is not often explored in this way, certainly not where the mother becomes massively powerful and also utterly helpless.” -Emma Thompson on her character Queen Elinor from “Brave.” |
Although Merida's journey starts with her avoiding responsibility, her actions put her mother in danger and she soon realizes that her kingdom will fall into turmoil if she doesn't own up to her mistakes and put the needs of others in front of her own, everything will be for naught. There are some plot issues in the film that I would like to change for pacing, but overall the film does a great job dealing with what it really means to be a princess; being a source of strength for others when they cannot be for themselves. And thank goodness Pixar didn't sneak a love story subplot in there!
There should most definitely be more female protagonists in the media we consume for young girls and young boys. Boys can relate and connect to female protagonists just as well as girls do with male protagonists. We need to start having female protagonists as anyone; cars, bugs, ogres, fish, pandas, rats, toys, robots, video game characters and even young girls doing extraordinary things! And yes! We can also have princesses! We need to have princesses who care about things other than finding their true love! Why not true friendship? Or protecting her people! If we want to empower young girls we can help by empowering those they look up to!
NEXT: Javy Gwaltney guarantees that he will never win an Academy Award when he calls out the WASPy old dudes behind the Oscars for their years of shameless pandering. Reader, beware!
I do think it's a good point that the people who make movies for kids seem to be beyond the point of comprehending that a "normal" girl facing intimidating circumstances but rising to the occasion is just as effective as the same being done with a boy, which is pretty standard fare for movies. Also a good point is that boys CAN relate to female protagonists just as girls can relate to male protagonists. It also might not be a bad idea for boys to understand that not all their counterparts are princesses in disguise. As a little girl, I loved princesses. Cinderella was my favorite because I thought I was just like her: blond, underappreciated, convinced my stuffed animals talked to me, toiling away in obscurity. Problem was, no one was coming to rescue me, nothing magical was going to happen to suddenly make my life better. It would be nice if these stories are going to continue to use princesses if every once in a while they would pull themselves out of the shit heaped upon them and simply move on with their lives.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what she said. And I resent the idea in Hollywood that in order for boys to watch a movie or a TV show, it has to have a boy as its protagonist. My favorite cartoon in the world is the Legend of Korra, which boasts a righteous, ass-kicking girl as its eponymous heroine.
ReplyDelete