I just got back from staffing a diocesan youth weekend here in Seattle (appearances by both bishops - yay!). The theme was "Now Playing", basically a movie-themed weekend. I thought a fun game would be "guess the movie" based on a synopsis, a good review and a bad review - with any obvious details removed, of course. Well known movies only, of course.
I got my info from Amazon, as the bad reviews especially are easy to pick out with just a mouse click. One really interesting one star review was this one - see if you can guess the movie:
There's no way to put a good spin on this bad plot. The little meek heroine gives up her voice to get the man. Not too subtle, is it? The interesting woman in the movie is the smart, intelligent, proactive and powerful woman. Why can't they offer women role models who are powerful, smart and good? Powerful women are scary so they must be evil and seek to harm and diminish and denigrate other women. So much for sisterhood. It's very disappointing that in the 21st Century, we're still peddling this extremely negative message to little girls. And what must the heroine give up in order to have her man? Let's see...her voice, her talent, her home, her dreams, but alas, it's all worth it. Or so we're led to believe. Yuck. I am profoundly disappointed that these type of movies are still popular amongst parents and children alike.
At first I was taken aback, but quite quickly I was taken with how accurate the review was. Any guesses as to which movie it is? Answer after the jump...
Still struggling? How about this:
From the moment that the Prince's ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty years. In this tale of a headstrong young heroine who yearns to "spend a day, warm on the sand," she trades her voice for a pair of legs. The lyrics and music are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story.
Still can't get it? Surely not...
Of course it's Disney's The Little Mermaid.
When I tried this one on my small group at the weekend, several of them were initially quite indignant at the bad review of the movie (especially the girls), but on further reflection they realized that it is, indeed, quite accurate. It's just one more brick in the cultural wall that tells young girls that their own talent in math or science or being smart in general is not to be pursued if they want to win their prince.
Damn, when did I turn into a feminist?
