Reflection: Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I was thrilled when I found out that Emma Watson was playing Belle in the live-action of Beauty and the Beast. I am a massive Harry Potter fan, and an even bigger Hermione Granger fan. However, in addition to her role as Hermione Granger, I also idolize Emma Watson for her work with UN Women and HeForShe. I think it means a lot that Disney chose a very spoken feminist to play the lead role in a movie with… questionable feminist messages, to say the least. In July of 2017, I had yet to see the live-action version, but was on a trip with extended family who owned the DVD. The only girl in their family was five years old at the time and is the literal definition of “tomboy” (a word that, for the record, I hate, but fits perfectly for this situation). She has two older brothers and really rebels against participating any “feminine” behaviors. She apparently loved this movie, though, and I really wanted to see it, so we sat down one night in Zion Park and played it on the rental house’s DVD player. She even sat on my lap - a sign of affection from her that can be pretty rare. I was touched, and excited to share the moment where I saw a new feminist remake of Beauty and the Beast with her.

I was not quite as pleased with the remake as I had hoped. However, I recognize that I am intensely critical of Disney films, and I do believe the movie is well done, at least in other aspects (music, character castings, costumes!!!, etc.). I also think that Disney (and Emma Watson) may have made about as many adjustments as possible without changing the integrity of the story. I do believe that there are a few things they could have cut out: Gaston’s line “Belle is the most beautiful girl in the village. That makes her the best,” as well as the trio of women who fawn over Gaston. I believe that removing these two aspects from the remake would not have made any significance difference to the story, while simultaneously improving messages about gender, even if they were intended to be satirical.

As I watched the movie again for the class, it was actually better than I remembered from last summer (rare for me, I know!). I think a lot of the strengths in this movie come from the fact that it is a much longer film, and the producers were able to really add significant pieces to the story, such as more background information regarding Belle, as well as an explanation for her mother’s absence. In this clip, Emma Watson talks about the benefits of explaining Belle’s intelligence in more detail, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Not only is she smart, but she is an engineer! I really appreciated that she did not simply just enjoy reading, but was also portrayed as someone who had a natural inclination toward STEM!! I also loved that, in this version, she tried to spread her passion to another young girl. That scene absolutely warmed my heart.

I think the most complex part of this film is, no surprise, the relationship between Belle and the Beast (Does the guy have a name?? Does anyone else find it weird that she’s in love with someone that she literally refers to as “beast?” Maybe I have just repeatedly been missing it?). Much of the discussion surrounding this relationship has historically been regarding Stockholm Syndrome. While I do think the relationship is problematic, I am not quite sure that I believe it is an accurate example of this syndrome. After reading this article and watching Emma Watson explain her take on the issue, I can see why many are hesitant to classify it in this way. Emma Watson and the new movie do go into more detail in the relationship that, I think, improves the fact that they eventually fall in love, but I do still think it is problematic. One of the things that bothered me the most is that, well after he starts to develop feelings of affection toward her, he still holds her hostage. It takes her father almost dying for him to finally decide to let her go. Prior to that, he is in love with her and still keeping her imprisoned. That is not love and I am not sure how Disney would be able to justify it in an acceptable way.

Overall, I am glad they produced the remake and added more to the story. Unfortunately, the most fundamental aspects of the story seem to be the most problematic, so I am not sure how much could have/should have been changed. That being said, there are more improvements Disney still could have made to improve the portrayal of gender roles. At least, now, young boys and girls have the phenomenal feminist role model that is Emma Watson to look up to in this widespread story.

Regardless, I think we can all agree that her straight face during all scenes with the beast is quite impressive.