Annoyed with Alice
Mar. 22nd, 2010 12:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
archaesophiliaI've been thinking about the new Alice in Wonderland movie. Which, before I go on, I have to say that I liked. Well, parts of it.
But something has been bothering me; in the beginning, there is this whole message about not doing what is expected of you (IE- marrying the lord with digestive issues) and being true to yourself. Great. Fantastic. If I had fallen asleep for the entire wonderland sequence, and just woken up to see Alice telling every one to take their expectations and shove them where the sun doesn't shine, I would have been deeply gratified.
I didn't fall asleep. Instead, I saw this whole wonderland sequence where Alice fights and LOSES against fate. That's right, a complete one eighty from the initial message. What? Who missed THAT contradiction?
I'm pretty darn sure that it is the result of Disney demanding some sort of silly message, because, gosh-oh-gee, we can't just say that Victorian options for girls sucked, and why can't Alice be a strong female character without being entirely modern?
I would argue that it takes great strength of character to endure corsets and maintain sass. There's nothing that could be done; realistically, a girl without a father should have taken what she could get, and even if it was a slightly boring lord, well, a lord is better than nothing. And a husband that could be bossed around was a girl's best weapon.
So, Disney, I appreciate the message (and I'm sure lots of little girls seeing the movie appreciated it, too) but it was entirely unnecessary.
But something has been bothering me; in the beginning, there is this whole message about not doing what is expected of you (IE- marrying the lord with digestive issues) and being true to yourself. Great. Fantastic. If I had fallen asleep for the entire wonderland sequence, and just woken up to see Alice telling every one to take their expectations and shove them where the sun doesn't shine, I would have been deeply gratified.
I didn't fall asleep. Instead, I saw this whole wonderland sequence where Alice fights and LOSES against fate. That's right, a complete one eighty from the initial message. What? Who missed THAT contradiction?
I'm pretty darn sure that it is the result of Disney demanding some sort of silly message, because, gosh-oh-gee, we can't just say that Victorian options for girls sucked, and why can't Alice be a strong female character without being entirely modern?
I would argue that it takes great strength of character to endure corsets and maintain sass. There's nothing that could be done; realistically, a girl without a father should have taken what she could get, and even if it was a slightly boring lord, well, a lord is better than nothing. And a husband that could be bossed around was a girl's best weapon.
So, Disney, I appreciate the message (and I'm sure lots of little girls seeing the movie appreciated it, too) but it was entirely unnecessary.