I went to see Brave last night, but I didn't think the message was very brave at all. This, of course, is my own personal opinion, but I was sad to see that in order to empower girls and give them encouragement, Disney had to present us with clueless, silly male characters.
There is no hero in this movie, only a heroine. However, Disney not only gives us a purposefully absent prince or love interest (long gone are the days when a princess needs saving by a man), but they draw the men as violent, rash, stupid, silly, pompous males. The king, arguably the most normal man in the movie, is unable to publically speak without his queen prompting his words, and every clan leader and clan leader's son is a laughable joke until the main character princess comes in and rallies them all to enlightenment and proper decision making with her speech on unity, breaking tradition and forging your own path.
What I found particularly unbrave about Brave was the moral of the story. I couldn't really find an admirable lesson. Perhaps there was a pale innuendo that pride leads to misunderstanding and trouble, plus reconciliation is necessary when we fight. Any trace of this was erased, though, by presenting us with a selfish princess (even admiting she is selfish) who decides her desires for her destiny are most important, even if she has to hurt others to get there. Sure, she ultimately has remorse for what she does to others, but all is excused at the end, and she ultimately still gets her desires, as if it were all worth it in the end.
My favorite Disney movies have had solid moral stories--Cars teaches us about not being prideful and relying on others, not judging a book by its cover (Mater and Sally), and that oftentimes fame and fortune are disappointing, superficial paths. Toy Story teaches us to be a loyal friend, to not let jealousy take hold, and to love each other for our own unique strengths--forgiving mistakes and working on weaknesses because we all have them. Up teaches us about empathy and the strength of love. Even in the recent Tangled, the characters may start out as flawed and self serving, but they realign their priorities for what is right and good.
Brave didn't teach me much. It is a miss to me. I don't understand why we have to belittle men to build women up. I don't know why bravery is equated with selfish drive and ambition to decide one's own fate. It seems cowardly to me to hurt others in order to achieve your dreams. Though Merida tries to correct her hurtful decisions, there is no compromise with others at any point in the movie, no hint of true, selfless sacrifice.
I'd rather have my children watch a movie about real heroes and heroines who sacrificed for others and considered others better than themselves--even if they take a flawed journey to get there. That is what I consider brave.
Have you seen Brave? What were your thoughts?
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I totally get what your saying about the weak male characters. That was disheartening. But I thought this was the best story of repentance I have ever seen Disney do. Turning the mom into a bear forced Merida to face the damage of her own selfishness. Up to that point she didn't have a clue about how her actions affected other people. Then after spending the day with her mother as a bear where her mom's heart started to soften and understand Merida more (this made me think about how God draws us to repentance with loving kindness). From that point on they were unified in wanting to break the spell. Then the second realization hit Merida when she was peeking into the banquet hall and seeing all the men about to start war with eachother. She realized that her rebellion had not just put division between her and her mother but that their entire kingdom was about to go to war over her poor choices. This was the first time she was willing to sacrifice her own desires to uphold the peace in her land. It was the first time she realized how important her position was. How often do we rebel and throw a fit not realizing our importance, not realizing our position until its too late and the damage is done with the words that we say. In that moment every lesson that her mother had been trying to teach her about honor and grace hit home and she finally understood why. Just when she was ready to sacrifice and choose a husband her mother swooped in and gave her a better way. She learned to encourage and unify with her words instead of destroy. It reminded me of how often times when we surrender to the Lord our pride and selfishness he then turns around and grants us the desires of our own hearts. Afterall the desire was put there by him but we tried to acquire it by our own means. And then the final finale of deep repentance for me was at the end when she escaped from the castle, rode through the forest to save her mother. She had determined in her own heart to give up her very life to save her mom, to right the wrong. She put her own body in between the sword and her mom, fighting valiently for the chance to see this sin redeemed. She believed it could be redeemed. Her bravery showed that she believed in true redemption. And when she'd done everything she could think to do and still nothing happened, she cried. Reminded me of godly sorrow, her tears were real and pain was deep and some healings you can only get to with tears. Rock bottom, some might say, and that's when her break through came. Oh! And I could go on and on about the evil bear and how it represented what she would have become if she hadn't turned from her path of pride and selfishness. As you can tell I REALLY REALLY liked this movie, ha!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, Monica! I like how we can all get different points of view out of a movie. There definitely were points where Merida felt remorse, and I like your point about the evil bear and what we can all become when we do not repent and surrender to Christ. Ultimately, I think my main issue lies with what I didn't outright mention--A subtle attack on the idea of marriage (painted in the light of arranged marriage in the movie so it can be attacked), tradition (often paralleled with religion in society), and male leadership (the last one, not so subtle). I see fingerprints of liberal ideology faintly imprinted on the plot. Even the mom, who is the traditional example, seems to be "enlightened" that she is enslaved in her role and Merida's way is better. To be fair, Disney never clamied to be a Christian company, but the difference between the princess movies in the early years of Disney versus today so aptly reflects the relativsm and extreme feminism that saturates our society. I am glad you were able to bring up some viewpoints that could redeem the movie with a different point of view and lens. Thanks for joining in the discussion!
DeleteWell I am soo interested now to see it. We are going to the drive in tonight to watch it. Praying we are pleased.
ReplyDeleteIt is an entertaining movie, and I think most people will enjoy it! I think I am critical of the aspects which the kids won't even notice. Enjoy! A drive in sounds awesome--wish we had more of those around here!
DeleteI have not seen it but the trailers I have seen didn't appeal to me. I think we are going to pass on Brave. I did enjoy Tangled & Up though!
ReplyDeleteI had to read your review! I love the other aspects you bring up that I didn't, but in the end it's great to see I'm not alone in thinking it's anti-male. Kudos to you for expressing your opinion so well. I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Julie! It certainly is encouraging to know we aren't alone in our assessment! I look forward to your posts too!
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