This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chapman chapter.
So many of us grew up with Disney that it’s hard to separate the love and nostalgia from what the movies actually teach children. Ever since Snow White, the princesses have been slowly starting to portray something other than the beautiful white girl who cooks, cleans and waits for her prince to sweep her off her feet.
At first glance, Tangled looks like a step backward; it features (yet again) a beautiful white girl. But after actually watching the film critically, it’s hard to say that Tangled isn’t the most progressive Disney princess movie. Here’s why:
Femininity is portrayed as powerful. When Rapunzel first pulls out a frying pan to defend herself, it’s easy to roll your eyes and say of course she has to use a frying pan. Frying pans = cooking = homemaking = “femininity.”
But then the movie continues and Rapunzel uses the frying pan to defend herself from the ruffians of The Snuggly Duckling. By the end of the movie, the frying pan has become the new weapon of choice for the castle guards – femininity is recongized as powerful throughout the entire kingdom.
In a reversal of gender roles, men care about their appearances, use their sexuality to get what they want, and have stereotypically feminine interests while still being respected by their peers. Flynn complains throughout the film that the Wanted posters “just can’t get his nose right!”
He tries to use “the smolder” to get Rapunzel to do what he wants and although it doesn’t work, it’s a complete 180 on women being the ones to use sexaulity as a method of persuasion.
The Snuggly Duckling ruffians have “feminine” interests but are still just as tough and strong as the men who don’t have such interests. There is no negative commentary in the film on the men and they actually save Flynn from death at the climax of the film.
Mother Gothel’s emotional abuse of Rapunzel doesn’t pull any punches and doesn’t have a happy ending. Rapunzel is brought up so that she is completely dependent on Mother Gothel both emotionally and in terms of survival. Mother Gothel tears her down with microaggressions and then builds her back up by telling her how much she loves her.
We watch Rapunzel’s struggle in denying that Mother Gothel is abusing her and then finally coming to terms with it and fighting back at the end of the movie. Even when Mother Gothel falls out of the window, Rapunzel throws her arms out as if to attempt to save her, showing that emotional abuse isn’t something that you can come back from in an instant.
You can always look to improve but Tangled is definitely a step in the right direction.