When one thinks of a witch, who could fit the mould for Mistress of all evil? Many could bring to mind the image of Maleficent. While this may be true for the 1959 movie Sleeping Beauty, this can not be said for the 2014 adaptation Maleficent. In the film Maleficent,it is through Maleficent’s actions that she helps the audience to deconstruct some female stereotypes most commonly shown in media; in particular around witches, and females in general, in the fairy tale genre. The stereotypes shown are, the witch that must be “caged” into the private space of the home in order to survive or be at risk of prosecution, the powerful woman that must be “saved from herself” or suffer the consequences of power and the maternal woman who is unable to
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Firstly, she is not seen as a tyrant but rather ‘the concept of witch, Maleficent shows a new view and perception about witch, that the witch is not always evil”(Irawati, 2) She is seen as protector, wanting the best for her people. While still living in a separate space from society it is not seen as foreboding as in the previous film. The Moors are seen as a connection to nature, a magical forest full of creatures with trees and flora covering the area. While this still gives the impression of traditional stereotypes of women being more in tune with nature, it is the fight against the human world that makes the difference. From the start of the film, Maleficent defies the norms of their society; the king of the human world forbids anyone from going into the Moors as he believes it to be unnatural and will corrupt those who could be powerful into overruling him. One boy tries to go into the Moors and steal from them, Maleficent catches him but rather than punishing him and making him suffer (as a tyrant would) she decides to teach him about the Moors and the people he hurts by making that decision. This defiance of the standard punishment system shows her as a ruler who is caring for not only her people but for the humans as well. It is this nurturing maternal side of maleficent is seen throughout the rest of the film. With the two versions of Maleficent covered it is now onto the main event, taking a look into the three stereotypes that are deconstructed and remade into a more positive version for the outcome of a villain turned
Firstly, she is not seen as a tyrant but rather ‘the concept of witch, Maleficent shows a new view and perception about witch, that the witch is not always evil”(Irawati, 2) She is seen as protector, wanting the best for her people. While still living in a separate space from society it is not seen as foreboding as in the previous film. The Moors are seen as a connection to nature, a magical forest full of creatures with trees and flora covering the area. While this still gives the impression of traditional stereotypes of women being more in tune with nature, it is the fight against the human world that makes the difference. From the start of the film, Maleficent defies the norms of their society; the king of the human world forbids anyone from going into the Moors as he believes it to be unnatural and will corrupt those who could be powerful into overruling him. One boy tries to go into the Moors and steal from them, Maleficent catches him but rather than punishing him and making him suffer (as a tyrant would) she decides to teach him about the Moors and the people he hurts by making that decision. This defiance of the standard punishment system shows her as a ruler who is caring for not only her people but for the humans as well. It is this nurturing maternal side of maleficent is seen throughout the rest of the film. With the two versions of Maleficent covered it is now onto the main event, taking a look into the three stereotypes that are deconstructed and remade into a more positive version for the outcome of a villain turned