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Assumptions about Disney
Most of Disney's animated fairy-tale films are sanitized versions of their literary counterparts. However, Beauty and the Beast, besides the household object servants, is an exception; its themes of sexism and toxic masculinity are not present in the original story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.
Because Beauty and the Beast is a Disney movie, though, people might scorn when noticing its mature elements. However, others might find charm through its darkness. I believe it is essential to introduce kids to prevalent issues, including sexism, through fiction so they can grow up knowing predators are out there and, hence, prepare to fight. It improves rewatch value for adults as well.
Besides, some of Disney's most memorable scenes are dark; think Bambi's mother's death. Such dark scenes are famous for their emotional impact on viewers. Beauty and the Beast partly became a hit because of its strong emotional impact, largely coming from dark moments, at the time of release. Hence, even with Disney's "sanitized" films, the assumptions that they are "lighthearted" is not fully accurate.
The Beast's Punishment
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At the beginning of the film, an enchantress offers a rose to the young prince, who rejects it because of the woman's appearance. The enchantress then reminds the prince that "beauty is found within" and turns into the beautiful woman inside the ugly exterior. Since the prince disregards the enchantress's kind act and, instead, rejects her based on appearance, his core problem is his own sexist treatment of women.
The enchantress turns the prince into a beast and sets the rose as a timer for his curse, which will break only when he learns to love a woman, and she learns to love him in return. Near the end of the rose's life, a woman in a nearby village faced mistreatment for her own appearance.
Belle's Sexist Village
As Belle walks around the village reading a book, the townspeople mock her. Why? She prefers books to her provincial life. The villagers prefer handsome Gaston, even if he holds sexist ideas.
Gaston stops Belle on her way home to steal her book. He throws Belle's book in the mud and shames her intelligence, telling her that women shouldn't read or think. Since Gaston does all that without Belle's permission, he must really believe women shouldn't have opinions.
As Vera Sonja-Maas explains in The Cinderella Test, women have been silenced in many classic fairy tales due to patriarchal influences. In Charles Perrault's Cinderella, for example, Cinderella silently endures her abusive treatment from her stepfamily instead of speaking out against it. Gaston represents that patriarchal standard, attempting to silence Belle into serving and marrying him.
Belle's only friend is her single inventor father, who promises a new life once his invention wins first prize. When her father leaves, Belle must've believed she will be safe at home instead of risk running into Gaston in the village. Yet, it turns out she is wrong.
Home is Not Safe
Belle's father clearly has no understanding of how dangerous the village was; the next day, Gaston hosts a wedding next to Belle's house and shows up uninvited. He tells Belle about her dreams coming true (even though Belle already rejected him). Gaston also, multiple times, takes up her personal space and even rests his feet on Belle's table.
Such a scene would be romanticized during the 1950s; June Cleaver would most likely be okay with rubbing Ward's feet. However, Belle is clearly offended by Gaston's smelly feet as she holds her nose. Hence, Beauty and the Beast gives a gross portrayal of the "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyle, driven by masculine entitlement and offending women.
Belle tries to be nice under the influence of Gaston's treatment of her, but she rejects the proposal and sends him flying out the door (the strongest thing a Disney princess did at that point).
After doing so, Belle feeds the chickens and expresses her anger at Gaston in the stable. Putting on the handkerchief, Belle acts out the life she could've had if she married Gaston. Belle takes off her handkerchief to declare her disapproval of the lifestyle.
Belle then leaves home and sings about her desire to be treated as more than an object, a human with desires beyond the home where she was just abused. The home has traditionally been viewed as a safe place for women, but Gaston's abuse of Belle proves otherwise; Belle needs a safe haven beyond her home and village. Little does she know she is about to get all she wanted.
Women are People
After Belle offers to take her father's place at the Beast's castle (her only escape from her sexist village), the Beast becomes envious of her beauty. Hence, he gives her a room and attempts to invite her to dinner a few times. Belle's refusals frustrate him, but the Beast does not realize it is his fault; he has objectified and attempted to abuse her.
The Beast takes his first turn around when he saves Belle from the wolves. While Belle nurses him in return, she tells him to "control his temper." The Beast does so, allowing his attitude towards Belle to change.
The Beast falls in love with Belle's generosity and gives her a library to respond to her love of reading. At this instant, Belle grows fond of the Beast because he treated her, not as a beautiful object, but as a person with desires and dreams.
Castle of Freedom
After their ballroom dance, the Beast lets Belle go home to help her ailing father, even if it means never breaking his own curse.
Belle stands up for the Beast (and for her father) in front of the villagers by proving his existence and calling him "my friend." Gaston threatens Belle with another marriage request, but, after being treated fairly by the Beast, she responded with a bold "Never!" She even told him, "He's no monster, Gaston. You are!" That's because Gaston never learned to treat Belle like a human; the Beast has.
Belle succeeds at saving her father, but they get locked in their basement. Once Chip rescues them, Belle returns to the castle to save the Beast from his fight with Gaston. Since Belle has fallen in love with the Beast, which has resulted from his improved treatment of her, the curse is broken.
Resolving or Promoting Sexism?
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Some critics have argued that Beauty and the Beast promotes sexism because Belle got a domestic life instead of "adventure in the great wide somewhere" (read more here). A common piece of evidence regards Belle having Stockholm Syndrome because she is initially the Beast's prisoner. However, Belle never condones the Beast's imprisonment; she does not even fall in love with him until the film's end.
Other critiques regard Belle trying to change the Beast, promoting an "I can fix my beloved" attitude among young girls. Such beliefs have prevented women from leaving toxic relationships. Belle does not try to change the Beast; she does not even interact with him until after he started to change. Yet, girls in their early childhood years (under six) probably cannot distinguish between changing others and changing oneself. Hence, it appears to them that Belle is changing the Beast.
The problem, then, lies with the viewers; they need to be at an age when they can separate fantasy and reality (around six or seven). An opposing couple becoming lovers in the same castle is not a situation that translates to real life. While recognizing the film as pure fantasy, viewers can easily take positive messages away from the film.
Regarding the adventure, whether Belle's dreams are fulfilled depends on the definition. If adventure regards worldly travel, then no. However, if we define adventure as non-ordinary, then yes; the castle gives Belle a more exciting (and fair) life than her village. Besides, Belle describes her favorite book in the opening song as having "far off places, sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise." Thanks to the Beast's change of heart towards women, Belle gets it all.
Conclusion
After Belle faces abuse as an object of beauty, the Beast views Belle as a woman with a generous soul. Because of it, Belle leaves behind her provincial life for a more adventurous one, where she is treated, as she wanted, as a human with desires. As stated above, some might scorn sexism in a Disney movie; others even argue that the film promotes, rather than resolves, sexism. Yet, when kids are developmentally ready, they will understand the themes on a basic level. The themes only deepen for adults, making Beauty and the Beast one of Disney's most memorable and rewatchable animated films.
Works Cited:
Fanning, Jim and Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. The Disney Book: A Celebration of the Worlds of Disney. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2023, pg. 77.
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