Disney Princess
Disney Princess (ELIMINATION BASED ON COMMENTS!!) Feminist Disney Prince Countdown! Which Prince is the LEAST feminist? TIEBREAKER!
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34 fans picked: |
John Smith
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Aladdin
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But Smith? He comes to other people's land in order to invade it and "claim it and tame it", ready and willing to kill any of those people if they refuse to give it away and rightly decide to fight for it. He carries his gun everywhere with him which is apparently some sort of weird fetish he had in order to highlight his superiority. Then he sees a gorgeous young Native American woman and, as someone who generally had the tendency to kill people of her race because he perceived them as "savages", instantly and instictively points a loaded gun at her, but the next second he lowers his weapon solely because he is smitten with her gorgeous looks, it being the ONLY reason why he didn't bash her brains out there and then. A gorgeous young woman then sings him a song about the voices of the mountains and the colors of the wind while he is way too busy examining her looks rather than actually paying attention to what she says and even when he does, it's comes off as the mere attempt to leave the right impression on her (and the only reason why he is even listening to her singing in the first place instead of standing next to her cold dead body is the fact that he found her pretty. Honestly, I could stop here without even trying to continue because there is NO way Aladdin and any of his outlooks or actions could outbeat this kind of sexism) and he supposedly changes his entire mentality an attitude over second as the tree talks to him... ok. Now, to move on a little from talking about Smith's personality, lets look at the kind of role the movie gives to him. Ultimately, the premise and concept of the movie was Pocahontas' journey of self discovery and further on her ability to deliver and address the right message and her idea of life, respect, communication and peace through her wisdom and courage. Unfortunately, the general focus of the movie ends up being changed from Pocahontas to Smith's male saviour complex and people he intended to kill and robb off their land and their homes - and the only reason why he DID NOT do it is, again, Pocahontas' gorgeousness - give him praises in the end for saving their leader, who would NOT have needed any saving in the first place had Smith and Ratcliffe not come to their land. What Smith did was a honorable act but by no means heroic - he merely fixed his own mess. And why? Oh, because Pocahontas was hot!
Aladdin on the other hand doesn't really hear out what Jasmine has to say at all, neither does he trust in her opinions.
Again, SwanPride, I think it's more about her class than her race.
Aladdin might not stare at Jasmine's hottness with eyes wide opened like Smith, however, nor does he ever show any signs of her appearance being the driving force of his character development. Even when Genie suggests that she must be pretty Aladdin instantly corrects him and says that she is beautiful that has a whole new meaning to it. Aladdin didn't just fall in love with Jasmine the gorgeous stranger woman, he fell in love with Jasmine the person which wasn't the case with Smith because while both couples technically start out as love at first sight, it's Aladdin whose journey is NOT defined by Jasmine and her beauty along but his individual struggles and insecurities whereas in Smith's case he a) would have killed Pocahontas had she not been pretty b) would have never changed his attitude towards native Americans had she not sang him a song about colors of the wind which he only listened BECAUSE he wanted to hit on her.
I'm not sure Aladdin not valuing Jasmine's opinion has anything to do with her being a girl, I think it has to do with Aladdin being entirely self-absorbed. I stick up for Aladdin (yes, shoot me now) because when he describes things he loves about Jasmine, he calls her 'smart' and 'funny' first, BEFORE being prompted by the Genie to say she's beautiful. Her looks aren't what initially come to mind. Also, Jasmine isn't as easy a person to approach and fall for as say, Rapunzel, or Cinderella. Jasmine is hot-headed, smarmy, and constantly calls him out on his shit, but he loves her for being so abrasive.
The other thing I like about Aladdin is in the scene where Jasmine is seducing Jafar, we don't see him /also/ get distracted and start drooling all over her acting so sexy.
He does initially treat Jasmine as a prize, though, and /agrees/ with her when she even tricks him by saying she is one, although I think he says it more because he thinks that's what he supposed to say, not that that's what he actually thinks. I have serious issues with Aladdin, serious, serious issues but I don't think gender equality is one of them.
But on the other hand, John Smith really takes into account and listens to what Pocahontas says and never questions or doubts her, when she is talking about 'Colors if the Wind'. And when he goes back to camp, he continually brings up what she says to defend the Native Americans, never once mentioning Pocahontas' gender, just saying he met one of them and this NA was a credible source. (although he might have not been bringing up her gender just because that could get him into shit)
If you want to guilt Smith as being the heroic savior of the movie that they just place in, you especially need to do that to Aladdin as well. I guess the difference is is that Aladdin was meant to be the savior, and Smith isn't. But I never thought that he stole the spotlight, my overall impression at the end of the movie is that Pocahontas still saved the day.
maryksand-- I'm not sure I agree with the thought that Smith only listened to what Pocahontas had to say because he wanted to hit on her. I think he genuinely was curious, it's in his nature. And Aladdin saying Jasmine was beautiful didn't bring a 'whole new meaning' to it , he follows it up with 'she's got this hair that just-- and these eyes, wow!' or whatever he says.
Like I said, this is hard.
I guess it's a bit late to share that now, but my reasons to pick John Smith over Aladdin now apply exactly to why do I believe Shang deserved to be a lot higher. True, in the beginning of the movie he wasn't feminist at all. He believed men and women have their own gender related duties and obligations. However, we can see the growth in him as the movie progresses, and I strongly believe that in a post-movie scenario he's one of the most feminist friendly princes.
I think Aladdin is a little more feminist because when Jasmine pointed out he was treating her like a prize and like all the other men had, he agreed and said, "You're right." He apologized and saw there was something wrong with it. John did come to listen to Pocahontas and allow himself to change his views because of it though, so he has something going for him too. I guess it all depends on perspective.
I also think maryksand is making too big a deal out of John Smith. Just because his initial act not to be violent was because she was beautiful, I don't think that means his entire transformation of view should be thrown out the window. He did genuinely change his view, at least in my eyes. I do not think one act made based on the looks of a woman should mean that it is invalid that he would learn from her.
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