Big O’l Rant

Ok I don’t usually use my blog to just straight up rant. But I am a bit steamed. No, actually I am pissed!

According to my husband, I analyze movies too seriously. He says that to him, a movie should be “just entertainment.” But isn’t what we find entertaining in a movie a statement on who we are as a people. After all, a story of any kind is a refection of the culture it comes from, right? It’s supposed to be appeal to the emotions and sensibilities of that particular audience? Not that this is my issue. I see his point. It’s just …well that was my little defense of why I have this rant to begin with since I am sure a few of you will agree with his sentiments. It was just a movie, but come on!

We took our daughter to see Disney's Enchanted. This is a movie I hadve wanted to see for a while now. The previews were adorable, and funny, and hey, Disney poking fun at the stereotypical, two dimensional Disney princess. How could that not be good? It worked in Shrek, right?

But here is the deal. In Shrek, Fiona was all kinds of awesome! She was tough and, even though she thought that she was supposed to be the typical princess in waiting, she already had a personality and a brain and talent. And because of that, she didn’t get the two dimensional prince, she got the guy who loved her FOR having a brain, and talents, and toughness and he was not the two dimensional prince she thought she was supposed to want. AND she learned that she did not have to be the scrawny little girly girl she had thought she was supposed to be. She learned to be proud of the part of herself she felt happiest and most comfortable with. Thank you DreamWorks!

Ok. I like Disney. At least, I always have. And I recognize that while, well let’s face it, they have made some seriously racist and sexist films (Dumbo, watch it now and I guarantee at least three times you will think “Oh my Gosh! How did they think THAT was ok?!?!?!?!?!?”).



But like the American culture it’s pleasing, Disney has evolved right? I mean, recognizing there can be heroes that are NOT white Europeans (Mulan, Pocahontas for instance). Mulan was a pretty tough chick, too!

I went to Enchanted expecting to laugh, and not be preached to. I am not saying it needed to be utltra-feminist at all. I don’t need movies to go all nuts about feminist issues anyway. And to tell you thr truth, I expect them to be taken for granted these days, to some degree anyway. SOOOoooooooo.... I expected the running joke in this Disney-princess-meets-real-people movie to actually be “hasn’t Disney been silly in it’s depiction of women?” I really, really, really, did!

I am just flabberghasted at what this movie did instead.



It did poke fun of the whole concept of the prince and the princess meeting, falling instantly in love, and then living happily ever after thing. It did even show the princess grabbing a sword at one point and running to the rescue of her beloved. So ok, these were slightly progressive plot points…I guess.

Now let me tell you why I am so pissed. I guess these are technically “spoilers” if you have not seen the movie and you intend to see it. But, unless you have never seen a movie in your whole life, you will figure out 20 minutes in to the thing how it’s going to end.

ANGER ISSUE #1:

The guy the princess meets when she falls in to New York city is about to get engaged to a woman he has been dating, and it’s indicated has had a pretty healthy and pleasant relationship with, for five years. His girlfriend is a smart, practical, and kind individual. She is also a professional of some sort. It’s not really clear what she does, but she seems to have a lot of responsibility at work.

He falls for the princess instead, after only a few days, because, well…as far as it is explained, the princess is pretty, helpless, needy (or at least in distress), and refreshingly naïve and stupid.



Yes, THESE are the traits that this guy is just smitten by and we as the audience are supposed to understand why! And be pleased that they found each other. Umn…why?



ANGER ISSUE #2:

The professional woman the New York fellow dumps, is very understanding and ok with this. Because, well, she can see the deep and profound love the two of them have developed over the course of like, 3 days! Wait a minute! Isn’t the concept of falling in love overnight through shallow and superficial interactions the very concept the movie was making fun of? W….T…..F?



ANGER USSUE #3:

Not that you didn’t see it coming a mile away, but the dumped lady, and the dumped two- dimensional prince find eachother, fall into eachother’s arms, and make the instant decision to go back to cartoon-land and get married.



Her cell phone rings at the cartoon wedding, but don’t worry, she smashes it on the ground. Dang straight…no more of that professional lady crap for her. She met a prince, and she is a princess now!

So basically, both of the women in this movie get their man. One does so by already being a helpless silly girl, and the other does it by becoming one.

ANGER ISSUE #4:

New York guy has a six year old daughter, to whom he brings a book at the start of the movie. He says, “ok I know it’s not that fairytale princess book you wanted…” and instead, it’s a book about smart and influential women, Marie Curie, Hillary Clinton, and so on.



There is a cute comic moment (errrrrrrrrrrrrrr) where he tries to defend his choice in books to his daughter by telling her about Marie Curie and then saying she dies of radiation. The daughter looks sad when she hears the fate of this woman was death. (Ha ha ha…see what happens when you strive to be smart rather than a princess?)


Ok, actually, I would say what a great father we are shown, to encourage his daughter to become a smart woman. That would be, IF his stated reason had been that he wanted to teach her that women can do and be anything and she should aspire to this.



BUT!!!!!!!



The book choice is later explained by the father. He says he just wants his daughter to be strong and not to believe in a those fairytales. (He found love once and it didn’t work out, so he didn’t want his daughter to believe in it and get crushed).

This resolves itself when he finds love again with the princess and the movie ends with his daughter in a princess dress designed by her new mommy princess. Umn…

The way the movie ended, it was like the father figured out that it was a mistake to force the subject of being a smart girl to his little girl. He should just let her be a princess.

Ok maybe the movie didn’t MEAN to say this, but HELLO? So the whole, “read about strong women” idea he had for his daughter was abandoned for a princess dress! And this was because now he knows love does exist?

I know the movie wanted to tell us to believe in the magic of true love instead of just making unions because they are logical and practical.. Ok, fine. I can get on board with that, but, but, but ...

NOTHING happened to suggest that you can be a strong, practical, and influential woman AND STILL find fairytale love.