Charming, really?

I’ve always found it interesting that people believe the Disney princesses to be weak women who need to be rescued by their respective princes. The greatest example of this is the very first princess Disney came up with: she didn’t even ask for it, yet Cinderella became the ‘American Dream’ of being swept up by a prince and having a happily ever after. Be that as it may, people tend to forget that Cinderella just wanted to go to the ball – she never wanted to be with the prince. While we’re on the topic, let’s talk about the prince for a second. First off, the prince’s name is never actually revealed in the movie, rather he is addressed by his title. This is so shockingly different to the way that Cinderella is addressed: she was always covered in cinder from cleaning the house, so Ella was brutally nicknamed Cinderella by her so-called ‘family’. The contrast between the way they are addressed alludes to the power each holds. The prince is of noble standing and is revered for his position so keeping his name hidden is a way of signifying that higher status. For Ella, as a commoner and orphan, her name has little meaning in the grand scheme of things (because why would the most charming bachelor in the kingdom want to marry a scullery maid?) so she is instead addressed by a nickname. This also adds to the belief that Ella was fragile, little girl in need of protection because of the constant abuse she faced from her stepmother and stepsisters, which is funny to me since, in the movie, she wakes up to the singing of her bird friends. Singing birds don’t usually scream damsel in distress. Speaking about fragile things, let’s not forget the famous glass slipper. I mean, what better way is there to talk about feminine grace than to show off a beautiful girl in a blue ballgown and heels she can run in, only to have her lose one of them. If it was me, I would have thrown away both of the shoes because glass slippers don’t really emulate comfort. The creators clearly put a lot of thought into showing how Ella was fragile and that the prince (who found the similarly fragile slipper) would be the one to rescue her. However, I have to be honest and say that this was one of my favorite parts of the movie, not because of the whole ‘I’m running away from a man because when the clock strikes twelve my carriage will turn into a pumpkin’ situation but because it was a nice contrast to see the man chase after the girl for once.

Signing off for now,

Reality Sucks