“Times they are a’changin’…”
And what fabulous times they are!
May I take a moment to rave about this character?
And the fact that this movie is selling tickets in record numbers?
I love it (and her)!
She is a feisty, independent, intelligent, free-spirited young woman who bravely stands up to tradition. Granted, she makes some poor choices (don’t we all?) but she learns from them and sets them right.
She has character, heart and skills. Mad skills!
I love that Pixar was cutting-edge enough to create such a character. There is no prince, no love story, no romance that wraps-up-neatly-in-a-box “…and they lived Happily Ever After” here.
To those who say “Yeah, but still they made her a princess”, I say there is nothing wrong with that.
The majority of little girls that I know (not all, of course) LOVE princesses, fairies, pixies & all things gooey & pink. Now at least the story is being re-told where this fair sister is blazing her own trail!
And the reviews I’ve seen of this movie are fantastic. Even my own sweet Springfield News-Leader did a write-up on it interviewing a professor from the sociology department at USC and the movie’s producer Katherine Sarafian.
I’m feelin’ smarter by the minute!
The story featured a photo of Princess Merida with a caption underneath her saying,“The new breed of big-screen damsel not only reflects the independence – and athleticism – of young women today, but also Hollywood’s increasing willingness to tell their stories.” Yeah!
“It is time for a new paradigm,” said Sarafian. “We’ve got an opportunity to make more characters that are relatable to modern girls.” Yes!
“It’s not enough for women in the 21st century just to sit around and wait and be pretty,” said Karen Sternheimer, professor of sociology at USC. “An empowered heroine encountering a challenge reflects the whole mythology of individualism. What’s new is the means of achieving success. It used to be through beauty or marriage only. That hasn’t gone away, but now it can also be through a skill or encountering a challenge that traditionally we’ve heard in stories about men.” Wow.
In developing Princess Merida’s story in “Brave” Pixar writers and artists thought more about character than gender, Sarafian said. They considered Merida’s motivations, her frustrations and what makes her brave. (Revolutionary concept, no?)
“The story is not about the circumstances surrounding her,” Sarafian said. “She makes the core decision that throws things off… and it’s not something else really saving her. Even though there is a little magic in the story, she is really the driving force.”
And she does it all in a dress.
“Merida is not trying to pass herself off as anything other than a girl,” the producer said. “She just wants to be her own person.”
There are comparisons made with “Mirror, Mirror” and “Snow White and the Huntsmen”. That these princesses share a desire to shape their own lives rather than rush into marriage, reflecting a real trend of women marrying later or not at all.
The articles even point out that there is still the issue of the wicked queen and wicked step-mother as the female nemeses. Yes, that has been on my mind for ages as well. But I’m certain in the long run that will fall away, too, as that dynamic between real-life females is starting to shift.
As long as you’re not watching reality shows or, really, TV in general.
But then that’s not real life anyway, is it?
