![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ashkirynOtherwise known as the post that'll most likely make people go WTF in my direction. AND YET. ;)
Hype is kind of a funny thing. I don't think that I can be the only one who's ever done this....have you ever just gone on and on about something so much, and then when you go back and see it again, you end up disappointing yourself, because you'd inadvertently idealized your memories and placed it on a pedestal? I've ended up doing this quite a few times, which I think is only human. It's also something that I think that other people sort of do to me. I mean, I'm only 21, and yet I have constantly, throughout my entire life, been hearing people rave and go on about how mature I am, how insightful, and how clever. And while I hope that it's not arrogant of me to say that there's some truth to that, I also think that these traits of mine are somewhat over-hyped, with the result that sometimes I forget that I'm only 21 and still (hopefully) have a fucking lot of life to live, and therefore, I shouldn't be surprised when my life changes and new things for me to love enter it. And that I shouldn't expect to be stuck in my ways...or that that'd be unhealthy, anyway.
LEARN SOMETHING FROM MY *~WISDOM~* :P
My main point, however, is that I think the movie Tangled is way over-hyped, and I didn't even like it that much when I first saw it. Sure, I thought it was cute, but most of the songs made me cringe in embarrassment (especially "I See the Light"....though I've come to love them all now ._.), the ending kind of made me want to headdesk, and for all that I'd heard for months and months (because I am lame and didn't see this movie until, like, a year after it came out) about how it so freaking amazing, and having been roving the profiles of the rapidly growing fandom, who raved that it was the best movie ever made, etc, etc. So, needless to say, I was disappointed when I broke down and bought the DVD for myself to finally watch it.
And then I brought it with me when I went to visit my older sister, Jess, and her kids, and I ended up watching it with my niece. And then I watched it again with my mom and aunt, who both fell asleep during the movie, so I really just watched it by myself. And then I watched part of it again on my laptop, and then again on TV with my uncle, cousins, and Lys. And somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the damn thing.
I still think it's over-hyped. And I most certainly don't think it's the best movie ever made, or even the best Disney movie, and I definitely don't think Flynn Rider is as supermegafoxyawesomehot as most people make him out to be (*waves Prince Phillip flag in defiance*). (...though, I don't hate Flynn by any means, so please don't think that. I promise that I really do like him!)
And yet.
Basically, I blame everything on Rapunzel. Because, in defiance of every expectation I ever had, somehow, with every viewing of her movie, Rapunzel made me fall more and more in love with her each time, which eventually culminated in her ousting Belle out of her long-standing position as my favorite Disney Princess, a position she's had ever since I was three. This is how bad I've been thrown down the fangirl slope.
(As a sidenote, and so that I can get this out of the way: No, I do not fucking count Mulan as a Disney Princess. Yes, I know that she's officially marketed as one, but even that can't make her one in my eyes. And that's nothing against Mulan! Believe me, I am a gigantic Mulan fan. But the fact is that Mulan isn't born a princess, doesn't marry into royalty, and just isn't one in any way, shape, or form. She is not a princess, I do not count her as one, and please, for the love of God, just let this sleeping dog lie, yes?)
Ahem. We're going to talk about Rapunzel, I swear. *sheepish smile*
Believe you me, I would be amongst the first to line up to register my complaints on the subject of and, basically, failings of the Disney Princesses. Particularly the 'classic' Princesses, such as Snow White, Aurora, and Cinderella. Even popular ones that spawned what's known as the Disney Renaissance, aka Ariel, make me uncomfortable. Belle was my favorite, I think, for the simple reason that, in many ways, she was the safe one to like. Most people, even if they hate all the others, like Belle. And, as it probably was for so many people, it was practically a match made in heaven between us: she was a bookworm, I was a bookworm.....INSTANT CONNECTION! In any case, the fact still remains that one of the things that Disney gets the most flak and criticism about are their Disney Princesses, and what kind of influences they're passing on to young minds. (Ftr, college class analysis and Disney make the MOST FUN combinations ever! *headdesk*)
And I'm not saying that the criticism isn't deserved. After my own experiences (and seeing the ravage that Twilight's inflicted upon the world), I don't underestimate the power that fiction can have in shaping our identities. The main point that I'm building up here is the fact that in recent years, all of these many years of criticism have put an immense pressure on Disney's shoulders, to start doing Princesses right. Characters like Belle, Jasmine, and Mulan are counted as strides in the right direction, but people from the start approached The Princess and the Frog and Tangled with the highest of expectations; Princess and the Frog even more so than Tangled, because Tiana is now the first black Disney Princess, and so there were issues of racism to add onto the pile. (And this is the last time I'm going to speak of Tiana, because this post is supposed to be about Rapunzel.)
At least with Rapunzel, I think Disney succeeded in creating the perfect Disney Princess. And oh yes, you heard me right: the perfect Disney Princess---Rapunzel combines the perfect balance of the formula of Disney Princess, both classic and more modern versions.
I just...Rapunzel is such a Badass Adorable. She's a quintessential Disney Princess---she's pure and innocent and a Friend To All Living Things, this movie is her coming-of-age story, she's naive....But where other Disney Princesses fail, I think Rapunzel succeeds. I mean, come on, this poor girl's "I Want" song is totally legit---she's lived in this single tower and has never even touched fucking grass before, only has three books, and has been living like this for the whole 18 YEARS of her life. Fuck, wouldn't YOU want to get the hell out? And moreso than with any other Disney Princess, I BELIEVE in why Rapunzel is the way she is; of course she's naive, the only social interactions she's ever had are with a goddamn chameleon and her emotionally abusive 'mother' who deliberately lies about what the outside world is like in an attempt to control her. It's actually a kind of fun character experiment....seeing how an upbeat, cheery, ultimately optimistic Disney Princess acts in a fucking depressing environment. And the result, for me, is incredibly endearing. And even better...over the course of the movie, I would argue that it's really Rapunzel that is kicking the most ass and taking names, and she ends up saving Flynn more often than he saves her, which is very damn refreshing. Rapunzel is just full stop awesome, and I come to love her more and more every time I watch this movie.
The reason why I've got Rapunzel in the #3 spot on this list is because, to me, she ends up embodying Rarity and Aerith into one person: like Aerith, she's incredibly positive despite the abuse she's suffered in her life, and never loses sight of who she is, no matter what, and like Rarity, I think she's an incredible, well-rounded role model for her target audience (namely, young girls). Especially for the second part, because it'd be stupid of me to ignore the fact that Disney Princesses do end up having a role in shaping a young girl's development, and to have a positive influence in Rapunzel is actually really important to me. While the message with Rarity is to be yourself and that you can still take care of yourself even if you're girly, Rapunzel's is slightly different. Naive, innocent characters don't often remain that way, and until then, they get a lot of flak for being the way they are. Rapunzel shows that you actually can be naive, innocent, and pure-hearted, and still be completely kickass. And that sure, maybe remaining that innocent is hard in the face of darkness, but that it can be done.
Oh, and then there's that awesome thing about following your dreams, and working to make them come true. And that frying pans are the best melee weapon. ;)
o - o - o
Thug: Go. Live your dream.
Flynn: I will.
Thug: Your dream stinks. I was talking to her. *nods to Rapunzel*
- Tangled
o - o - o
Hype is kind of a funny thing. I don't think that I can be the only one who's ever done this....have you ever just gone on and on about something so much, and then when you go back and see it again, you end up disappointing yourself, because you'd inadvertently idealized your memories and placed it on a pedestal? I've ended up doing this quite a few times, which I think is only human. It's also something that I think that other people sort of do to me. I mean, I'm only 21, and yet I have constantly, throughout my entire life, been hearing people rave and go on about how mature I am, how insightful, and how clever. And while I hope that it's not arrogant of me to say that there's some truth to that, I also think that these traits of mine are somewhat over-hyped, with the result that sometimes I forget that I'm only 21 and still (hopefully) have a fucking lot of life to live, and therefore, I shouldn't be surprised when my life changes and new things for me to love enter it. And that I shouldn't expect to be stuck in my ways...or that that'd be unhealthy, anyway.
LEARN SOMETHING FROM MY *~WISDOM~* :P
My main point, however, is that I think the movie Tangled is way over-hyped, and I didn't even like it that much when I first saw it. Sure, I thought it was cute, but most of the songs made me cringe in embarrassment (especially "I See the Light"....though I've come to love them all now ._.), the ending kind of made me want to headdesk, and for all that I'd heard for months and months (because I am lame and didn't see this movie until, like, a year after it came out) about how it so freaking amazing, and having been roving the profiles of the rapidly growing fandom, who raved that it was the best movie ever made, etc, etc. So, needless to say, I was disappointed when I broke down and bought the DVD for myself to finally watch it.
And then I brought it with me when I went to visit my older sister, Jess, and her kids, and I ended up watching it with my niece. And then I watched it again with my mom and aunt, who both fell asleep during the movie, so I really just watched it by myself. And then I watched part of it again on my laptop, and then again on TV with my uncle, cousins, and Lys. And somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the damn thing.
I still think it's over-hyped. And I most certainly don't think it's the best movie ever made, or even the best Disney movie, and I definitely don't think Flynn Rider is as supermegafoxyawesomehot as most people make him out to be (*waves Prince Phillip flag in defiance*). (...though, I don't hate Flynn by any means, so please don't think that. I promise that I really do like him!)
And yet.
Basically, I blame everything on Rapunzel. Because, in defiance of every expectation I ever had, somehow, with every viewing of her movie, Rapunzel made me fall more and more in love with her each time, which eventually culminated in her ousting Belle out of her long-standing position as my favorite Disney Princess, a position she's had ever since I was three. This is how bad I've been thrown down the fangirl slope.
(As a sidenote, and so that I can get this out of the way: No, I do not fucking count Mulan as a Disney Princess. Yes, I know that she's officially marketed as one, but even that can't make her one in my eyes. And that's nothing against Mulan! Believe me, I am a gigantic Mulan fan. But the fact is that Mulan isn't born a princess, doesn't marry into royalty, and just isn't one in any way, shape, or form. She is not a princess, I do not count her as one, and please, for the love of God, just let this sleeping dog lie, yes?)
Ahem. We're going to talk about Rapunzel, I swear. *sheepish smile*
Believe you me, I would be amongst the first to line up to register my complaints on the subject of and, basically, failings of the Disney Princesses. Particularly the 'classic' Princesses, such as Snow White, Aurora, and Cinderella. Even popular ones that spawned what's known as the Disney Renaissance, aka Ariel, make me uncomfortable. Belle was my favorite, I think, for the simple reason that, in many ways, she was the safe one to like. Most people, even if they hate all the others, like Belle. And, as it probably was for so many people, it was practically a match made in heaven between us: she was a bookworm, I was a bookworm.....INSTANT CONNECTION! In any case, the fact still remains that one of the things that Disney gets the most flak and criticism about are their Disney Princesses, and what kind of influences they're passing on to young minds. (Ftr, college class analysis and Disney make the MOST FUN combinations ever! *headdesk*)
And I'm not saying that the criticism isn't deserved. After my own experiences (and seeing the ravage that Twilight's inflicted upon the world), I don't underestimate the power that fiction can have in shaping our identities. The main point that I'm building up here is the fact that in recent years, all of these many years of criticism have put an immense pressure on Disney's shoulders, to start doing Princesses right. Characters like Belle, Jasmine, and Mulan are counted as strides in the right direction, but people from the start approached The Princess and the Frog and Tangled with the highest of expectations; Princess and the Frog even more so than Tangled, because Tiana is now the first black Disney Princess, and so there were issues of racism to add onto the pile. (And this is the last time I'm going to speak of Tiana, because this post is supposed to be about Rapunzel.)
At least with Rapunzel, I think Disney succeeded in creating the perfect Disney Princess. And oh yes, you heard me right: the perfect Disney Princess---Rapunzel combines the perfect balance of the formula of Disney Princess, both classic and more modern versions.
I just...Rapunzel is such a Badass Adorable. She's a quintessential Disney Princess---she's pure and innocent and a Friend To All Living Things, this movie is her coming-of-age story, she's naive....But where other Disney Princesses fail, I think Rapunzel succeeds. I mean, come on, this poor girl's "I Want" song is totally legit---she's lived in this single tower and has never even touched fucking grass before, only has three books, and has been living like this for the whole 18 YEARS of her life. Fuck, wouldn't YOU want to get the hell out? And moreso than with any other Disney Princess, I BELIEVE in why Rapunzel is the way she is; of course she's naive, the only social interactions she's ever had are with a goddamn chameleon and her emotionally abusive 'mother' who deliberately lies about what the outside world is like in an attempt to control her. It's actually a kind of fun character experiment....seeing how an upbeat, cheery, ultimately optimistic Disney Princess acts in a fucking depressing environment. And the result, for me, is incredibly endearing. And even better...over the course of the movie, I would argue that it's really Rapunzel that is kicking the most ass and taking names, and she ends up saving Flynn more often than he saves her, which is very damn refreshing. Rapunzel is just full stop awesome, and I come to love her more and more every time I watch this movie.
The reason why I've got Rapunzel in the #3 spot on this list is because, to me, she ends up embodying Rarity and Aerith into one person: like Aerith, she's incredibly positive despite the abuse she's suffered in her life, and never loses sight of who she is, no matter what, and like Rarity, I think she's an incredible, well-rounded role model for her target audience (namely, young girls). Especially for the second part, because it'd be stupid of me to ignore the fact that Disney Princesses do end up having a role in shaping a young girl's development, and to have a positive influence in Rapunzel is actually really important to me. While the message with Rarity is to be yourself and that you can still take care of yourself even if you're girly, Rapunzel's is slightly different. Naive, innocent characters don't often remain that way, and until then, they get a lot of flak for being the way they are. Rapunzel shows that you actually can be naive, innocent, and pure-hearted, and still be completely kickass. And that sure, maybe remaining that innocent is hard in the face of darkness, but that it can be done.
Oh, and then there's that awesome thing about following your dreams, and working to make them come true. And that frying pans are the best melee weapon. ;)
o - o - o
Thug: Go. Live your dream.
Flynn: I will.
Thug: Your dream stinks. I was talking to her. *nods to Rapunzel*
- Tangled
o - o - o
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-08-03 01:51 am (UTC)But I did end up loving Rapunzel- she IS undeniably lovable. I agree with pretty much everything you said here other than the two points I made before, and that includes the thing about Mulan and the title of 'princess'. I'm the same way with Megara from Hercules, and Megara will forever be my favorite Disney heroine. Notice I say 'heroine', because she wasn't a princess. (At least, I don't think getting together with the demigod-turned -mortal son of the King of the Gods counts as marrying royalty, right?) Meg and Mulan should be labelled as Disney heroines, not princesses. So I'm with you on that point.
I would disagree with you on the whole 'Rapunzel is the first perfect Disney princess' if Meg counted as a princess, but she also technically counted as a Disney villainess so there's a conflict there. The point is: if this were about 'the first perfect female Disney character', I'd have to argue that it was Megara.
But yes, Rapunzel was flawless and beautiful and I really loved her and she really is inspirational, so I totally approve of her addition on this list. :)