Beauty and the Beast is always a classic. Plenty of people refer to Belle as their favorite princess, and Gaston is one of the most iconic villains in Disney-lore. For these reasons, in addition to the pending release of the live-action film, I was incredibly excited to re-watch Beauty and the Beast (despite having actually re-watched it over Christmas break).
I really wanted to go at this re-watch from the perspective that Professor Andres mentioned she held on the first day - that the Beast and Belle actually have a somewhat abusive, Stockholm-syndromey relationship.
My main contention on the re-watch is that I disagree strongly with the points of stockholm syndrome present in Belle. I also do disagree with their relationship being entirely abusive.
Of course, the Beast never once touches Belle forcefully (even though he does her father). However, at the beginning of the movie the Beast certainly yells a lot. There is even the one line where he says, "THEN GO AHEAD AND STAAAAARRRVEEE! If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat at all." This is probably the worse line in the whole movie and could point to an abusive relationship if the audience saw Belle justifying some kind of a relationship with him despite hearing that. However, at this point Belle is in anything BUT a relationship with him. In fact, she even makes her own choice to not interact with him because he is saying these kinds of things to her.
As well, just before that line is said, the audience also see many scenes in which the Beast was not only yelling at Belle, but also yelling at all his servants and Maurice. This hostility is emphasized by the narrator when he explains at the beginning of the movie the Beast's seclusion from the world. He is completely alone with a magic mirror as his only access to the outside. The fact that the Beast yells and screams at everyone on screen showcases that what he has is truly a temper that isn't specific to Belle that could be potentially heightened by his lack of social interaction. Now, is it okay to ever give someone a chance who yells that much when you first meet them, even if they later change? That is a matter of opinion. Many would probably say no. But no matter the answer to that question, it is indisputable that his anger issues are present with everyone he interacts with, not just Belle. Belle never consents to being yelled at, in fact it is quite the opposite as she won't even come out of her room to look at him when he is yelling at her and tries to leave the castle when he yells at her later in the West Wing. A passively abusive relationship implies a lack of attempt to escape, and Belle certainly does not give the audience any indication that she is okay with being yelled at by the Beast.
The next source of criticism is that the Belle-Beast relationship grows in a manor reminiscent of stockholm syndrome which I WILDLY disagree with. The premise of Stockholm syndrome (at least to me) is that eventually the victim begins to justify the inhumanity of her captor in her mind. The Beast on the other hand becomes more humane throughout the movie, exactly opposite of the premise of stockholm syndrome. Belle strongly refuses to interact with him throughout the movie until he is the one who makes a conscious effort to change his attitude. She never justifies his inhumanity but rather is strong willed about not being okay with his actions until he changes them.
I love Beauty and the Beast. Though one can always point to how the Beast acts in the beginning (he might not be the kind of person I want to spend my time with), I think his inital anger issues highlight the message of the movie to an even greater extent. The narrator explains how the Prince was originally "spoiled, selfish, unkind." The Beast seems to be dealing with the fact that he is aware of his old habits and is mad at himself for ever behaving in such a way. It is Belle who showcases to him, and the audience, that not only should you be none of those things, but curiosity and intelligence can also win out in a female.
One of the negative things that stood out on my re-watch is that the Prince becomes the Beast in the beginning after rejecting an old woman because of her haggard appearance. But that old woman became beautiful anyway after delivering the message, "don't be deceived by appearances?" The message I feel is inherently a good one. Appearances don't matter, it is the heart. But I feel it could have been cool if Disney emphasized that message even more by leaving the haggard old woman actually old and haggard.
I also think Prince Adam might be my favorite Prince (at least in my top 3) so I'm retroactively admitting that this whole post could be extremely biased.
"Its not right for a woman to read. Soon she gets ideas, thinking..."
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