Belle And Cinderella Film Analysis

When I was a child, Disney Princesses like Belle and Cinderella were my idols. There was some kind of independence and strength found within the characters. However, in retrospect I cannot help but notice a male gaze that is ominous over both of these films. The female characters are presented in a way that fits the mold of stereotypes and in turn objectifies them as prizes to be won. Cinderella and Belle became no more than beautiful damsels in distress. Then instead of saving themselves, a machismo male comes to their rescue. Their identities and life became dependent on their male counterparts. In a world where women have constantly had to fight for human dignities and rights, it is not surprising that a certain objectification has been …show more content…
Laura Mulvaney, in her 1975 article Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, describes the male gaze as being driven by “ the unconscious of patriarchal society” which is demonstrated through the “sexual differences which controls images, erotic ways of looking and spectacle” (57 Mulvaney). Thus, within film there is a type of lens that magnifies the way the viewers see the female characters. In this spectrum women are seen in the same scope a heterosexaul male would glance at them. Then it boils down to how women see themselves and other women. Mulvaney argues that scopophilia via voyeurism motivates these gazes to exist (59-61 Mulvaney). One may find pleasure in looking at others and themselves. Thus, female viewers can be driven to the male gaze, because of narcissistic tendencies, or subconscious acceptance of social expectations. Also within this gaze, women become the, “place[s] of meaning, not maker[s] of meaning” (58 Mulvaney). These female characters become the center, or the balance, in the male dominated plot - but no more than that. They do not hold the creation of meaning, and they drive the plot to elevate the male characters, but not necessarily themselves. Instead they are aesthetics whom act as ‘fillers’ in the male driven plots. This can be seen in seen in a film like Rear Window (1954). Lisa Fremont, Grace Kelly, acts as a catalyst to the male …show more content…
This is because this character can be viewed as a common manic pixie dream girl. The MPDG is defined as “a female character who exists in her role exclusively for the development of the male” and she contains qualities that the viewer grasps to find redeemable/likable ( 1 Torie Rose Deghett). While some argue that Clementine defeats the manic pixie girl status quo, the film keeps Kate Winslet’s character from actually doing so. Instead the viewers are left with multiple scenes in which a male gaze is wholeheartedly present, and thus Clementine does not break the binary constraints of an ominous male counterpart. In fact, Clementine is the the definition of the MPDG, as her whole existence is to validate her male counterpart’s existence. The film leaves her trapped within the point of view of Joel, her ex-boyfriend, and so the viewer is only shown her life through his lens. The memory of her becomes almost equated to a coping mechanism for him, as he proceeds in attempting to save their relationship. Then the viewers are either given a romanticized Clementine, or a nasty slut-shamed Clementine. There seems to be no middle ground of reality, as to who Clementine truly is. To further the argument of the character’s degradation, Janice Loreck writes that within the male gaze a, “woman is visually positioned as an ‘object’ of heterosexual male desire. Her feelings, thoughts and her own sexual