Little Mermaid: A Closer Look
The 1989 Little Mermaid is a legendary film in the Disney franchise. It marked a turning point, a pivot to the franchise we all know and love today. At the time, the film gained a lot of traction worldwide and is still one of the most successful Disney movies. This, however, does not exempt from criticism with regards to some of the themes and lessons presented in the film. As such, my main goal for this post is to address one of those shortcomings in the film and back up my stance with evidence drawn from the film and why I consider it somewhat harmful to its audiences.
My argument, therefore, is with the depiction of Gender roles in the film. Specifically, I would like to address how The Little Mermaid painted the role of the woman or girl in a relationship as persuasive, seductive and selfish. This sounds a little harsh but, stick around and hopefully, you will agree with my conclusion and criticism for the film.
When Ariel visits Ursula to make the bargain to become human, she is faced with a very hard decision. She is presented with an option to play it safe and not take a deal that she might “regret for the rest of her life” or throw all caution to the wind and become human for 3 days during which she is expected to woo the prince into falling in love with her. Addressing the first part of the deal, I tend to believe that Prince Eric is not the only man in the world fit for Ariel. The fact that she falls in love at first sight and is driven to break every rule or circumvent any physical barriers to meet Prince Eric resonates with me as being particularly impetuous, selfish and a little inconsiderate of the impact this particular decision might have on the family she was leaving behind among other things.
It is also clear that Ariel has to make Prince Eric fall in love with her in the time frame given by Ursula. This is a depiction of gender roles in the film and how it is the responsibility of the girl to “create the spark” in the man who will then pursue the girl. This is outdated with the current relationship dynamic having no distinct roles for either gender. Another aspect to consider is the idea that since Ariel is already in love with Prince Eric, she has to make him fall in love with her for her to be happy. This is a harmful way of painting love and one that many might misconstrue as seduction and paints the girl as selfish.
In another part of the film, we see Ariel trying to get Eric to kiss her to break the spell Ursula put on her. Even though this action is motivated by necessity, Eric is heavily persuaded into kissing Ariel, a person he knows very little of. Ariel’s animal friends help her convey the message to Eric to kiss her by using a song. Eric is shy at first, signifying that he was not completely ready for that and would have probably kissed her eventually, maybe after staying with her for a few more days, days Ariel did not have. As such, this need for seduction stems from the bargain which was set in motion because of Ariel’s raw emotion and anger.
Overall, the Little Mermaid is a great film but some of the lessons and themes present in the film are outdated can do more harm than good especially to the younger audiences.
I agree with your argument of the gender roles depicted by the film. The 3 day seduction deadline placed on Ariel and the way Ariel has to heavily persuade Eric into kissing her are very good evidence. However, I would argue that Eric was already in love with Ariel at first glance, so I'm not sure if the film depicts the responsibility of the girl to "create the spark". Had Eric not be waiting for the "girl" he was saved by, I think he would have made the first move on Ariel.
ReplyDeleteOooh, good points Robertson!
ReplyDeleteDo you think that having Ursula set the "3-day timeline" emphasizes the idea that it's not enough time to really fall in love? After all, she *is* the villain, so are we conditioned to see everything she sees as wrong? She also tells Ariel that actually conversing with someone doesn't matter -- just her looks and her pretty face. Which I *think* we can see is terrible advice?
I tend to agree with Louis that Eric already loved Ariel, too....He tells Max that he "can't get that voice out of [his] head," which is better than saying he can't get the pretty face out of his head.
Hey Robertson,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the portrayal of love in this movie is unrealistic and potentially harmful to the a younger audience, but here is a question for thought: where do we draw the line between realism and idealism? Should media only portray the real instead of ideal, or is there something valuable about portraying the ideal of love? Moreover, if the Little Mermaid isn't the portryal of a good ideal, then what is? (maybe the relationship in Frozen, perhaps?).