Disney's Belle

I really want to blog about the how Belle is portrayed in the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. In this movie, Belle is portrayed as being very intelligent. She loves to read. The first song in the movie says the following "Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar/I wonder if she's feeling well/With a dreamy, far-off look/And her nose stuck in a book/What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle." This song undermines Belle for intellectually challenging herself. She likes to read and is therefore weird. In this scene, Disney delivers the message against the intelligence of women. On the other hand, it is important to also take note that Belle is the heroine of the story. Little girls are supposed to want to be like Belle. From this perspective, the image of Belle as intelligent is a positive influence on little girls.

When Belle first meets the beast, he treats her abusively. He yells at her and sends her to bed without dinner. When Belle enters the West Wing, the Beast goes on a rampage, destroying things and causing Belle to run from fear into the cold, and snowy outdoors. The beast then saves Belle's life from a pack of wolves, and from this time on, their relationship becomes more friendly and loving. The message from this series of events tells little girls that if you put up with his abuse long enough, he will realize his wrong-doing and be loving towards you. This message is awful, especially since the overly-forgiving Belle is the one little girls are supposed to relate to. Disney movies are fun to watch, but they always contain a slew of gender messages.