I had the amazing privilege of
getting advance preview tickets to see the Disney-Pixar movie Brave!
I’ve been dying to see the movie ever since I saw the trailer in
February, so I pounced on these tickets when I had the opportunity. I can
happily report that the months of anticipation and the hour and a half wait on
line was totally worth it!
Brave was seriously one of
the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in a while, and I go to the movies pretty
often. I’m not going to spoil the plot because I want everyone to go and see
this amazing film, but I can say that Brave is awesomely feminist and
girl-power. The main character, Merida,
is a Scottish princess who enjoys riding horses and shooting bows more than
wearing fancy dresses and attending state functions. Her mother, the prim and
proper Queen Elinor, can’t understand Merida’s
desires, which leads to friction between the two women. When the queen insists
that her daughter must be betrothed, Merida,
headstrong and resolute, is determined to change her fate. I won’t say how this
transformation occurs, but the result forces Merida and her mother to reconcile their
differences and work together.
I must say, I am really happy to
see that Disney-Pixar has finally gotten around to including a female main
character. In their previous twelve movies (yes - TWELVE movies), all of the
main characters were male, so it’s good to know that Merida is diversifying the pool a little bit.
I also hope it’s a sign that Disney-Pixar, which looks like it’ll be taking
over the animated movie industry, will be including more female protagonists in
future productions.
Another thing I really
appreciated about Brave is that it explores mother-daughter
relationships. Considering it’s rarely done on the silver screen at all (a mere
24% of characters in the typical mother age bracket, 40-64, are female), I’m
pretty impressed that Disney-Pixar did it. To be honest, I would’ve been happy
so long as Merida’s
mother stayed alive, since in most Disney movies, especially the ones involving
princesses, the mother’s dead and the stepmother’s evil. However, in Brave,
Queen Elinor is very much alive and well, so it’s really nice that she’s an
active part of the movie and not just a stock character standing next to the
king.
I think that Merida is an awesome role model for young
girls. I really like the fact that she’s depicted eating several times in the
movie, because I know that a lot of girls feel awkward about eating in front of
guys. (Okay, I was one of those girls too. It’s amazing what going to an
all-girls high school will cure you of.) I also love how Merida’s not afraid to change her own
destiny. She shows girls that they can control their own lives and don’t have
to give in to what anybody else wants, whether it’s their parents or a partner
or whoever.
All in all, Brave is
awesomely feminist. With a protagonist as feminist as Merida and a plot that flat-out empowers
girls, how could it not be? I stamp Brave with the Feminist Seal of Approval
and encourage you all to see this amazing film! It comes out June 22. I
certainly hope that headstrong Merida
ends up as beloved a Disney princess as Cinderella.
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