One of my favorite children's books is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, its a twist on the traditional Cinderella story about a young girl named Ella who goes on an adventure to track down the fairy that gave her the dangerous gift of obedience. In the story Ella redefines the characteristics of a princess, she is smart, funny, brave, and strong willed. She takes things into her own hands and knows how to take care of herself. In class this semester we have constantly talked about how traditional literature stories featuring princesses and princes tend to reinforce stereotypes about girls being damsels in distress. I think this topic is definitely an issue that needs to be discussed because stereotypes can be harmful for children's view of society.
However, a few days ago I was on Yahoo and saw a link to a new trailer called "Brave". This is Disney's newest Pixar movie and is about a princess from Scotland named Princess Merida. The movie is about Princess Merida defying a traditional custom of her kingdom in order to make her own decisions and take control of her life. The movie trailer features Princess Merida riding on horses, using her archery skills, and climbing up mountains. I think this movie could be a great new representation of what the new modern day princess figure should look like. This movie can show young girls that being brave and strong is a desired trait and will help them in life. I'm excited to check out this new movie and see if it lives up to my expectations. Check out this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlcQqAKTmH8
I'm excited to see Brave as well. I love seeing a strong and independent heroine in movies, especially in movies targeted towards children.There has been a recent trend in Disney movies to promote the strong and independent woman with movies like Tangled and The Princess and the Frog, with the heroines setting out with a goal in mind to accomplish something, which they do and are able to save the prince in the end.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I am really excited about for Brave is that there is no apparent romance in the trailer. My hope is that this movie will be about a young woman becoming her own person, and not about an accidental romance which Tangled and The Princess and the Frog had.