Lots to love

It's easy to be cynical about Christmas, but for me it's hard to maintain that necrotic attitude in the face of classic Christmas cartoons like the one below.

What do I love? Lots of stuff:

1.  Even just the music that accompanies the Buena Vista title page is comforting, welcoming.
2.  Chip and Dale don't cross the line into Alvin and the Chipmunks cloyingly squeaky voices.
3.  Nobody leaves any footprints in the snow (makes me appreciate how far animation has come).
4.  Combination of music and animation when Mickey cuts down the tree.
5.  The way Mickey cuts down the tree so that the bottom is a perfect point.
6.  The small visual joke from 2:22-2:25 [Chip (or Dale?) pokes his butt and says "Hey, wake up!" and-- SURPRISE-- actually he was poking Dale's (or Chip's) butt instead, HAHAHA].
7.  View of the tree decorations from inside the tree.
8.  Santa Claus candles gag.
9.  Shorn of leaves and ornaments, at 6:10 the tree looks like a Charlie Brown one.
10.Mickey forgives all, because aww, chipmunks in our tree!
11.Happy ending with traveling carol singers--wait, a trio of a singer, a cello and an accordion?! In the snow?!  <-- Not intended as a backhanded compliment, but this was what I found to be the most LOL-ing part of this cartoon.

Happy ten days before Christmas!

ANOTHER Disney princess?

Response to this article

I understand Disney's intentions but really?  Does a female have to be royalty in order to be taken seriously and given her own movie and TV show?  I understand the need to teach kids good morals and the fun tie-ins with the adult Disney princesses dropping in for animated cameos, I get it.  I get that it's the first time a kid is a princess and the audience will get to see her grow up in royalty.  Can't we just have a fun, adventerous, sweet-type girl kid who isn't a habitual ball gown wearer?

And in the back of my mind, after this first knee-jerk reaction, I thought back to this clip from 30 Rock.

Well done Disney.  This movie and TV series will affirm to little white girls that they really are pretty.

Offbeat princesses

Within the week, not one, not two, but THREE movie trailers have come out that feature princess protagonists: Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror (the kid-friendly version of Snow White, apparently), and now Brave, with Pixar's first female main character.  So far it looks like Kristen Stewart's princess, in SWatH, seems the closest to a "warrior princess" type, but all three heroines are shown wielding a weapon (double-bladed sword, epee or foil, and bow and arrow, respectively).

Out of the three I'm the most excited for Pixar's movie-- and how could I not be? They don't just make films, they craft them.  And I'm pretty sure this is the first time seeing a main character who is a ginger and has massive amounts of enviably voluminous and curly hair.  I don't know if the source material has the character thus coiffed, but it's kinda gutsy that they didn't just go with the typical long and flowy route with this princess.  I can't think of a single Disney princess with curly hair (The Princess and the Frog's Maddie sorta had some texture in her hair but she's a frog for half the movie, so I'm not counting her).  I can only imagine how difficult it was to animate Merida's hair.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about this movie for a lot of reasons, but...hair! My goodness! So cool.

Anyway some other recent examples of offbeat princesses:
- Hanna (2011).  Okay, so the titular character is not a real princess, has no royal blood, but this film is very much a fairy tale, complete with mystical powers, a bloodthirsty witch, betrayal...it's like Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz, and even makes overt references to the brothers Grimm.  Hanna has the "skin as white as snow" part down, and maybe even a vengeful mother...

- Tangled (2010?) I haven't seen this, but I know it's a Rapunzel story and that the princess wields a mighty frying pan as her weapon.  Definitely offbeat.

- Black Swan (2010).  Okay, "offbeat" isn't the optimal word to describe Natalie Portman's character; "tortured" would be closer.  One could say that she's sheltered and coddle in the way that a little princess might be, the way that Disney's Princess Jasmine was (minus the pet tiger, bumbling father, lecherous vizier, etc.) 

I'm of two minds about this phenomenon, regarding the three movies from the beginning of this post.  On the one hand, these girls are all white/European and based off western European tales, and they're all, well, princesses.  There are equally interesting and filmable stories about women and girls in non-European folk and fairy tales who are not born of royal blood. But on the other hand, these are all princesses who fight, who aren't just dainty damsels in distress, and they challenge gender expectations as royalty and as young women.  And I'm a sucker for this kind of story, and genuinely look forward to watching all three movies.

On Halloween and being 'ethnic'

Ah, Halloween:It’s the only day on which it is socially acceptable to dress up as someone other than yourself (or a sexualized version of yourself) and ask people for free candy.  So many options to choose from, with so many pre-fabricated costumes available not just at your local party needs store but in department stores and drugstores and megamarts.  But I think the issue of who/what to be for Halloween gets a little sticky if you’re not a white person. 

“An Asian little red riding hood?”

My best friend in middle school Dorothy (not real name) gave me this question, accompanied with dubious look when I told her I was considering going as that character for one Halloween.  We were close friends and I thought we had reached the point where we could be brutally honest with each other without getting offended or personally injured, but the way she responded managed to sting me a bit.  White girls were used to sell the costumes for geishas, Pocahontases, harem girls, gypsies, flamenco dancers, and Cleopatras—why couldn’t I dress up as someone who didn’t share my ethnicity?  Did Dorothy expect me to trick-or-treat as an Oriental, because I already had the right “look”?  Actually, I think that was the year I went as Cleopatra—mostly because the costume kit was relatively inexpensive and it gave me the chance to rock some heavy black eyeliner.

It’s fun to assume another identity through a sartorial transformation, don’t get me wrong.  But it’s not fun when being “ethnic” or being a minority is thought to restrict what kind of roles you can play, even just for one night.  It’s bad enough that Hollywood often sequesters certain minority actors to certain roles.  The first thing I think of it how the (very handsome) chocolate-skinned Idris Elba was cast to play a Norse god in “Thor”.  Well, why not?  Elba himself pointed out the ridiculousness of the fact that the movie deals with Norse mythology, and that itself is stranger than his casting in his role.  Ah, but I digress; this could be a blog post itself but this topic has already been extensively covered and articulated more comprehensively than I could ever hope to accomplish. [Amazing Grace is a great children’s book on a similar topic.  The titular Grace is an African-American girl who gets the part of Peter Pan in her school play, despite the discouraging whispers of her peers that she’s black and a girl.  Thank God for “Reading Rainbow”, which is how I know about this book in the first place.] 

So, Halloween: great opportunity for people—especially white people—to  appropriate other cultures’ dress just for kicks and giggles.  This year I hope to go as the boy Russell from the movie “Up”.  When I first watched the movie it never occurred to me that his character was Asian, but I later learned that the voice actor and Russell were both Japanese.  I admit it: it’s convenient for me, an Asian person, to dress up as this character.  But another motivating factor is that I have the proper physique and this character is a boy, a young male.  Most of my peers—twenty-something year old females—will opt to dress up as something sexy and female.  I aim to do the opposite by donning garb that is the opposite of both those adjectives. 

On "Beauty and the Beast"

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" was my favorite Disney princess movie while I was growing up.  Now, Pocahontas, Mulan, and "The Princess and the Frog" heroine Maddie are up there as well.  It's kind of depressing to think about, though, considering how dark that movie is and the implications of the turn of events at the end:
1.  Belle says to the Beast (whose name, Adam, is never revealed in the film) that she loves him
2.  The rose is deflowered with the last petal floating magically down to the table
3.  The Beast (animal, base) becomes a Man (noble, gentle but strong)

Not to mention that this version justifies domestic violence in framing the female protagonist as the one who sees beyond the masculine one's abuse and endures it, ultimately transforming him through her love and patience and other feminine virtues.

There are many iterations of this story, both in text and film.  I have seen and read many of them:
- Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête (1946)
- Panna a nevtor (1981) from Czechoslovakia
- Cannon Movie Tales' musical version (1987) starring John Savage and Rebecca De Mornay
- Faerie Tale Theatre's Beauty and the Beast episode (1984) starring Klaus Kinski and Susan Sarandon
- the first season of the CBS drama Beauty and the Beast (1987) with Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton
- of course, the Disney version from 1991 (but not any of the sequels or spin-off straight-to-VHS movies)
- haven't seen it but I have the soundtrack of the Broadway musical version of the Disney version
- the Hellboy movies, with Ron Perlman, include a bit of "Beauty and the Beast" undertones
- ...as do werewolf stories (and probably vampire ones too, but I don't want to get into that)
- any sitcom with a hot wife and schlubby/not conventionally attractive husband counts as an addition to this list

I've felt conflicted about my passion for this story, but I've come to accept it for what it is-- patriarchal teachings to pubescent females-- and can't help but appreciate the storytelling and, well, the romance of it all. Oh, I'll have to watch some of those movies again and write a post in response to each one; there's just so much for me to analyze.

Diet

I like to say that as a child I lived off Kraft mac and cheese and Disney movies.  All things considered, I think I turned out all right.

Food:
I still like macaroni and cheese-- all kinds, but I still like the instant kind with the overly-yellow cheese blend powder and the pasta that tastes a little cardboard-y.  But I'm vegetarian now, and I'm better about making sure I get all the right nutrients every day.  I still have a sweet tooth and love chocolate but I'm much better at restraining myself.

Movies:
I wouldn't call myself a cinephile, but I am very passionate about movies.  There's a long list of movies that I haven't seen, movies that are classics or modern classics or ones that have a cult following and elicit a what do you mean you've never seen any of the Terminator movies? reaction.  Disney was a big part of my life, but as someone who is old enough to be considered an adult I know enough to be cynical about the messages in those movies, especially the princess mentality that Everything Will Be Better Once I Find My Prince.  I'm a feminist now... but I'm still fascinated by fairy tales and folk stories and why they've managed to last so long.  I enjoy a good story and good storytelling, whether in the form of a painting, motion picture, dance, music, food, etc.

My diet now? Vegetarian food, pop culture (incl. books, movies, TV), and other people-- in that I watch and interact with them, NOT that I eat them.

They're finally gettin' married!

Yes, they're finally gettin' married!  And the entire kingdom world awaits the wedding with great anticipation as this fairy tale-like romance starts a new chapter.  Who'd a thunk-- a royal heir actually falling in love with a commoner?!  And an orphan at that.  No, of course I'm not talking about Prince William marrying Kate Middleton. I'm talking Aladdin and Jasmine in Aladdin and the King of Thieves, in the last film of what I think is Disney's only animated trilogy (the first and middle films being Aladdin and The Return of Jafar).  This is probably the first wedding I ever saw; although I've watched and attended a bunch of weddings since then I think that Agrabah has the most jivin', festive feel of all.

Crime, punishment, and Disney movies?

(Taken from http://physics.ucsc.edu/~leif/nowlan/execution.html)

The Execution
Alden Nowlan

On the night of the execution
a man at the door
mistook me for the coroner.
"Press," I said.

But he didn't understand. He led me
into the wrong room
where the sheriff greeted me:
"You're late, Padre."

"You're wrong," I told him. "I'm Press."
"Yes, of course, Reverend Press."
We went down a stairway.

"Ah, Mr. Ellis," said the Deputy.
"Press!" I shouted. But he shoved me
through a black curtain. The lights were so bright
I couldn't see the faces
of the men sitting
opposite. But, thank God, I thought
they can see me!

"Look!" I cried. "Look at my face!
Doesn't anybody know me?"

Then a hood covered my head.
"Don't make it harder for us," the hangman whispered.

~

I'm currently reading "Dead Man Walking" and was reminded of this poem. It's one of my favorites and I chose to memorize and recite this for an assignment for my poetry class. I've read some of the author's other work and enjoyed it, too, but this one in particular stood out to me.

I'm not certain how I became fascinated with crime and punishment. It's been gradual but I think one could say it started with my childhood. Like many girls growing up in the 1990's I lived on a diet of macaroni and cheese and Disney movies. Aside from featuring a lot of romance, adventure and happy endings these films feature many imprisoned characters:











-Belle's father, Maurice, Belle, and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast)(image source)
-Cinderella (Cinderella)
-Jasmine, and Genie (Aladdin)
-Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) (image source)
John Smith (Pocahontas) (image source)
King Triton (The Little Mermaid)

Ultimately all these characters are freed or free themselves and they triumph, cue end credits with soaring, sentimental soundtrack. But seriously, I think these movies impacted my sense of justice and equality. I was an impressionable little kid, and I got really into these movies and cried during almost every one; I hated seeing people mistreating other people. As I learned more in school about history and treatment of slaves and prisoners I became more concerned about this matter and the bulk of the non-fiction I read in high school was on mental health and the penal system. I feel like my next sentence should be "And that's how I decided I wanted to be a lawyer/social worker", but that isn't the case; as with poetry this is just another one topic that piques my interests and adds to my broad and shallow body of knowledge. Typical INFP personality.