Beauty and the Beast in Cinema: A Challenge to Gender Roles
TL;DRAbstract
La Belle et la bête, better known as Beauty and the Beast, was written in 1756 by a French author, Madame Leprince de Beaumont. Many adaptations have appeared since, but two of significance are by French director Jean Cocteau in 1946 and by American Disney directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise in 1991. The protagonist, Belle, challenges gender roles in both these film adaptations and the original. In the 18th century when Leprince wrote the original fairy tale, women were considered inferior to men. As a rare female author, she wanted to teach both genders that women do not need to marry because it is expected of them; they should marry for love. This story thus marks the birth of romantic love. In the WWII era adaptation by Cocteau, men were in charge and women were supposed to obey. However, Cocteau made Belle the head of the household, and the beast was subservient to her. This role reversal represented his own challenge to tradition as a homosexual man. The Disney adaptation came
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La Belle et la bête, better known as Beauty and the Beast, was written in 1756 by a French author, Madame Leprince de Beaumont. Many adaptations have appeared since, but two of significance are by French director Jean Cocteau in 1946 and by American Disney directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise in 1991. The protagonist, Belle, challenges gender roles in both these film adaptations and the original. In the 18th century when Leprince wrote the original fairy tale, women were considered inferior to men. As a rare female author, she wanted to teach both genders that women do not need to marry because it is expected of them; they should marry for love. This story thus marks the birth of romantic love. In the WWII era adaptation by Cocteau, men were in charge and women were supposed to obey. However, Cocteau made Belle the head of the household, and the beast was subservient to her. This role reversal represented his own challenge to tradition as a homosexual man. The Disney adaptation came
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