First thing’s first: I definitely got sucked into the “magic”
of Disney, which I liked in a way. At parts, I felt myself being swayed by the
plot of the movie like a little kid would: I felt happy when Cinderella sang
and got angry when the stepmother did evil things. However, I also noticed that
whenever I felt that way, I stopped myself and subconsciously told myself, “No,
snap out of it, you’re supposed to be looking at this with an objective,
critical eye.” I think it’s curious how I thought that, and I wonder if our
critical discussions in class made me subconsciously critical of Disney.
But either way, just some points that I thought were funny
or ironic were the naming of the stepmother’s cat, Lucifer. That cat really is
somaething evil, so of course it is fitting that its name is Lucifer! Also, I
thought it was hilarious that when the Duke was chasing Cinderella as she ran
away, he called out “Come back! Mademoiselle! Señorita!” For one thing, the
fact that he felt the need to call her in two languages that aren’t English
makes me wonder where this film is supposed to be set. The other thing that
made me pause was the fact that the Duke said “señorita” in the most American accent
ever. If Disney is trying to be cultured, shouldn’t they at least try to make an
effort to say the non-English words correctly?
There were also some gender aspects that irked me. One was
the King. Everything that came out of his mouth was so patriarchal. To quote a
few, he required “every eligible maid” to attend the ball so his son could take
his pick. That assumes that women are just there for a male to take, like
purchasing something from the store. That makes me angry because women have
more worth than their usefulness to be a wife. Another quote from the King that
ruffled my feathers was when the Prince still hadn’t chosen a bride, the King
said “There must be one who would make a suitable mother!” This quote especially
infuriates me because it implies that all he thinks women are good for is to
have children and be housewives. But I guess Cinderella was made in the 1950s, so bearing that timeframe in
mind, this 21st century feminist of course doesn’t agree with the
way women were perceived in society back then.
Other characters also perpetuated society’s value of women. Prince
Charming only picked Cinderella from her looks. Throughout their whole
interaction, they never spoke to each other. Or if they did, it was so
superficial, the Prince didn’t even know Cinderella’s name. Also, I noticed
that when Cinderella arrived at the palace, there was a specific shot where all
the guards turned their heads to watch her walk by, staring at her beauty,
which subtly suggests their objectification of women. Even the animals
perpetuated traditional gender roles! When they were making Cinderella’s dress,
the female mice did the sewing while the male mice did the brunt work of
lifting the spools of thread.
I do like Cinderella’s portrayal as optimistic in the beginning
of the movie, but I also thought it was interesting that, although the narrator
in the beginning described Cinderella’s step sisters as vain, Cinderella’s
actions around her fairy godmother show that she is also fairly vain. All
throughout Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, Cinderella wanted her dress fixed so she could
look pretty. And once her tatters were transformed into a beautiful ball gown,
she was so fixated on her reflection in the fountain, she didn’t pay much
attention to what Fairy Godmother was saying.
Overall, upon watching Cinderella
with fresh eyes, I have concluded that it is a superficial movie, focused on
looks and unrealistic love expectations, that perpetuates the stereotypes of
women in the 1950s, the era the movie was made.
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