It is understood that the media shape our notions of love (Illuz, 1997). Therefore romantic messages in children’s films should be examined in order to determine whether unrealistic romantic ideals are being pushed toward young impressionable audiences. This paper will examine the romantic plotlines in the Disney musical film “Beauty and the Beast” using the feminist and post-modern critiques of love.
The film begins with a fairytale prologue in which a prince is cursed for his selfishness by an enchantress. The prince will retain the form of a beast until he can learn to love another, if he fails to do so by his twenty first birthday he will remain a beast forever. In a nearby village, a young female protagonist expresses dissatisfaction with her “provincial life”. Belle is considered strange by the other villagers as she reads books and longs for adventure in place of traditional domesticity. She rejects the advances of Gaston, the most eligible bachelor in town. Her father loses his way and ends up imprisoned by the beast. Belle offers to sacrifice her freedom and takes his place. The Beast is course and rude but eventually thaws, recognizing this may be his only chance to break the enchantment. The Beast and Belle fall in love but a crisis in the village causes Belle to leave and protect her father. Gaston realizes that Belle is in love with
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The postmodern critique is characterized by a crisis of meaning in which reality is replaced with societal conventions and media representations of the ideals of capitalism. It was found that respondent most memorable romantic affairs where framed as “love at first sight” however, they maintained that realist love was developed over time and through increasing mutual knowledge (Illouz,
In the beginning Belle, a book lover who wanted life outside her regional village, views him as nothing more than a grotesque creature while he sees her as stubborn. However, the two soon realize that their original impressions of each other were completely wrong. Belle and Beast soon find each other falling in love despite stereotypes and
The 2006 British film “The Queen” depicts events that unfolded after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. In the film, the British Royal Family did not react the way the public expected them to. Due to their lack of grief that was publicly shown towards Princess Diana’s death, it resulted in their actions being heavily criticised by British media and the public. Newly elected Prime Minister, Tony Blair, had to step in to help the Royal Family deal with their bad relations to the public, with the help of Diana’s ex-husband, Prince Charles. From the in-depth movie analysis, this essay will be able to show that the media is able to influence the people and their stance towards certain topics by applying these media theories: agenda setting through gatekeeping, dramatization, and two-step flow of communication.
Going to the universities’ library earlier this month to rent three films, - 500 days of Summer, Annie Hall and High Fidelity- was the first step to my critical writing and analysing process. I spent some time at home, to watch these three completely different movies. Although there is one theme that captures the common motif in these three movies, the theme Romance. The standard model suggests that a film wherein the plot revolves around the love feelings and love between two protagonists can be defined as a romance film. It is a well-known fact that love makes people do strange things, Shakespeare himself even said: “Love makes blind”.
Despite Gaston being very charming to every other woman, Belle rejected Gaston when Gaston wanted to marry Belle. Belle did not go for the guy that everybody sought after unlike the Cinderella story where everybody wanted to be the Princes’. Later on after getting kidnapped by the Beast, Belle saw how amazing the Beast’s personality was and how hard he tried to be good. After realizing how great and kind the Beast was, Belle wanted to be with the beast. Therefore, in the Beauty and the Beast the girl does not always go for the rich person who can help them escape from poverty, they go for the person who seems like an amazing individual.
Ten years later, a young woman named Belle; a nonconformist bookworm, becomes bored with life in her village and begins to seek excitement. Because of her indifference to general social norms in addition to her nonconformist ideals; Belle, is often ridiculed by everyone except her father Maurice; an eccentric inventor. Another exception to this would be an arrogant, muscular hunter known as Gaston. Deeply infatuated with her beauty, Gaston openly expresses his intentions of marrying Belle. Despite his popularity with women in their village; Belle, often rejects his advances.
Lion, directed by Garth Davis, is a compelling interpretation of a remarkable true story of Saroo Brierley, lost as a child and reunited with his family 25 years later. Throughout Davis explores the unique circumstances under which Saroo is separated and reconnected with his family and his journey along the way. At some points of the film, I was confronted by how Saroo, a five-year-old boy, expertely navigates, with great instinct and genuine innocence, through an extended, yet life threatening ride. To put it in other words, Lion is a journey that grabs you entirely; whether you want it or not, and you are involved in each and every scene. I instantly fell in love with the connection and relationship between Saroo and his older brother
Film reviews are a big part of the movie world because that is what people look at to decide whether or not they want to see a movie or not. The film I picked to write about is A Cinderella Story directed by Mark Rosman and written by Leigh Dunlap. This movie made its debut in 2004. The setting of this film is in San Fernando Valley. In this film, there are a lot of people that make up the cast but I will just talk about the main characters.
The movie “The Princess and the Frog” is not your typical “boy saves girl” movie. Instead, this Disney movie presents us with a strong female lead who doesn’t need a man to achieve her goals. In many previous Disney movies, it is demonstrated that a girl needs a man in order to get her happily ever after. Without a prince, she is nothing. In “The Princess and the Frog” the gender roles are presented to us as equal, even reverse at times.
The 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, directed by Ang Lee and originally written by Jane Austen, has timeless elements in its composition. Starring Emma Thompson, also the screenwriter, and Kate Winslet as Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, the movie tells of two heroines and their struggle between balancing idealism and reality. As young, female adolescents of the 1800s, they are responsible for finding husbands that can support them financially; and following their father’s death and loss of money, this becomes even more emphasized. But, they come to struggle when having to choose between what their hearts crave, and what their minds know is best. Elinor’s ideal partner is the initially dull Edward Ferrars, who is discovered to be secretly engaged
From its onset with its first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Disney has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon today. But over the years, various parent groups, scholars and film critics have accused Disney for creating shallow, stereotypical princesses whose ultimate aim was to find her 'prince charming ' and live happily ever after. In her article, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” in the New York Times, Peggy Orenstein expresses her concern over the effect of princess figures like Cinderella on young girls ' perceptions of themselves and how they should behave (“What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”).
Beauty and the Beast The Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast,” is perceived as a classic love story. However, this belies the fact that Belle is held captive in the Beast’s castle, where he proceeds to manipulate every aspect of her imprisoned life. The Beast forbids Belle from entering certain parts of the castle and threatens to starve her if she does not join him for dinner dates. When Belle refuses to have evening meals with the Beast or follow his other commands, he explodes in anger.
INTRODUCTION “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.” -Chief Justice Earl Warren Separate But Equal, directed by George Stevens Jr, is an American made-for-television movie that is based on the landmark Brown v. Board of Directors case of the U.S. Supreme court which established that segregation of primary schools based on race, as dictated by the ‘Separate but Equal’ doctrine, was unconstitutional based on the reinterpretation of the 14th amendment and thus, put an end to state-sponsored segregation in the US. Aims and Objectives:
Throughout life we are told to express our individuality and swim against the stream of the general population to put emphasis on the characteristics that make us, in short, individuals. Cherishing what makes an individual special and different is what establishes roots in creativity and self expression, however there is a forced false sense of comradery in today’s society that takes the form of involvement with the masses; peer pressure forces many people to fall into the mold of an average character. The Academy award winning film, “The Incredibles” displays the themes of expressing one’s true self and special qualities, and in contrast repression by society to fit a basic mold. These themes are elaborated on through the development of the main characters and expressed further through the supporting roles and their dialogue and endeavors.
As feminism and gender equality are becoming more important to society, the way gender roles are depicted in literature and media are shifting to conform to society’s views. This usage of gender roles can be seen in two popular contemporary animated movies: Frozen and Spirited Away. Both of these films are geared for younger audiences and attempt to teach important life lessons, like friendship and growing up. Through closer examination of how each film portrays gender, however, Frozen appears to not be as egalitarian as many have come to believe. Comparing both films, Frozen is not very feminist as it continues to perpetuate traditional gender roles and fairytale tropes, such as love at first sight and damsels in distress, whereas Spirited
Also, the beast transforms into a prince and his servants into people they meet their family and live happily ever