Hermione was – in my own personal opinion – a huge step forward for feminism in fiction. She was a young woman I can look up to! She was REAL! She wasn’t afraid to show weakness. And, even though she was ridiculously intelligent and never had any trouble with spells, charms and other things way beyond her years… she was NOT perfect. There were things she never could get a handle on and the series made no secret of it.
Ironically enough, Belle was a much more unrealistic female character. She was smarter than everyone. She figured things out that no one else saw. She outsmarted her father, the people in the village, the beloved war hero, and the beast. In fact, she stood up to the beast… when NO ONE ever had before. And, when all was said and done, SHE saved the day.
Personally, I feel that Emma Watson was absolutely, positively perfect in each role. She played them to a tee and as written. She couldn’t help that one was unrealistic… now could she?
I do think that she jumped at the role of Belle though, not because she really is a hopeless bookworm at heart (perish the thought) but because she felt that playing Belle was an excellent opportunity for her to help reinforce her feminist ideals in popular culture.
Do you agree?
Why or why not?
What are your thoughts on Belle… or Disney Princesses in general?
Feel free to answer in the comments below, but I hope you will also answer in the discussion thread over in the event page as well. HERE.
Your answers could be used in the upcoming workshop!
The above topic is part of my upcoming workshop at the Kentucky Writer’s Conference in April.
I hope you’ll join us at this FREE event.
Leading up to the event, I plan to post in the page about different topics of conversation–and I just might use some replies to those conversations in the actual workshop.
I hope you will check out the posts and join in the discussion as I continue to prep for the workshop in April.
©JCMorrows 2018
JC Morrows 