Archived: February 2023’s newsletter main feature. “Learning from Media: Barbie and the Strength of Femininity”
Learning From Media: Barbie and the Strength of Femininity
What comes to mind when you hear “Barbie”?
You probably think of the popular doll line– a franchise often associated with unrealistic beauty standards for women. (After all, who’s naturally born with a pencil-width waist and a giant bust?)
As someone who grew up in the early 2000s, my mind goes to the Barbie movies. And no movie stands out more than The Princess and the Pauper.
Fantastic songs, hilarious villains, and a strong plot that keeps you hooked all the way through.
But would you be surprised if I told you this movie is also feminist?
Many writers translate “strong women character” into “physically strong fighter with no emotions.” They ignore the fact that you need a good character first and foremost– handing a woman a sword and giving her no other qualities does not make her a good character.
It also implies that a woman can only be strong if she is physically skilled– if she has traditionally male qualities. While writing women who fight isn’t a bad thing– who doesn’t love a kick-ass girl boss?– it is bad to imply that a woman is only strong if she is masculine.
This is where the Princess and the Pauper’s strengths lie.
The Power of Femininity.
Seriously, It’s a Great Movie
Hey. Psst.
This article is super long already, so I’m going to assume you know the movie going in.
If you don’t, go watch it.
Seriously, it’s really good.
You ready?
Okay, let’s continue.
Friendship Between Women
Don’t you hate it when the media pits women against each other? We’re fed this idea that there’s only so many seats at the table, so we’re expected to fight for the spotlight.
Princess and the Pauper averts this.
If you’ve watched the movie, then you know that Princess Anneliese’s double– Erica– takes the princess’ place after she’s kidnapped while love interest Julian searches for her.
Erica straight out states that she would be arrested if anyone discovers she’s impersonating the princess. Yet, she willingly takes the risk for Anneliese.
Would it surprise you if I said they only met once before this point?
For a few minutes?
That’s right. They had one conversation and a song together, and that’s it.
And yet, Erica risks her life for Anneliese’s safety, and to help carry out the princess’ duty to her kingdom.
The Princess and the Pauper is a movie about a friendship formed in one afternoon, but one strong enough to last a lifetime
The Women Rescue Themselves
Read that again.
THE WOMEN RESCUE THEMSELVES.
Too many princess movies have the heroines carried off into the sunset by their princes. This was especially true when I was a kid. I don’t know how many times I sat through a movie where the women weren’t even characters in their own films. Even as a small child, I was frustrated at how weak and submissive they were.
But not in Princess and the Pauper.
“But wait,” you say, “Anneliese gets kidnapped twice!”
Yes. And she rescues herself both times.
She uses her intelligence, first in a clever ruse to escape the bumbling Nick and Nack, and then in saving herself and Julian from the mine.
And Anneliese isn’t the only one who uses quick thinking to free herself. Erica escapes jail by singing her guard to sleep, crafting a hook and stealing his key, and sneaking out the gate. Arguably, she might have made it all the way to freedom on her own if King-Dominic-in-disguise hadn’t caught her.
The two heroines don’t need knights in shining armor to rescue them. Nor do they wait around helplessly for it. They are active characters in their own right, as well written characters should be.
Animal Allies
How many Disney Princess movies have you watched where the princess has a team of cute animal sidekicks running around helping them?
How about all of them?
This is because kindness and friendship are classically feminine traits. In fact, they are strengths often overlooked by the audience. We’re more willing to call a princess who escapes wielding a sword heroic than a princess who escapes with a helpful rodent team.
Much like the Disney movies, the heroines of Princess and the Pauper have their own animal sidekicks that are integral in saving the kingdom. Anneliese’s cat Seraphina assists her first daring escape from Nick and Nack, and later, Erica’s cat Wolfie finds the shaft that Anneliese uses to save herself and Julian from the mines.
Their cats repay the love the heroines have shown when they need it most. For the heroines’ kindness, they are never alone.
Meanwhile, Preminger does not have this advantage. His cruelty not only to his henchmen, but also to his horse Hervé, comes back to bite him when he leaps onto Hervé’s back to escape in the finale. The love interests leap to their own horses, he has a lead on them, he beats Hervé’s sides with a riding rod, and then…!
Hervé turns around.
The men don’t get to heroically capture the villain, because Seraphina beat them to it.
You see, Seraphina and Hervé had already developed a friendship when he helped her reach Anneliese during the first kidnapping, and then released her from a saddle bag in the second. Her well-mannered respect towards Hervé pays off then, and again at the end, when he betrays Preminger’s cruelty for her kindness.
The trend “kind heroines succeed through friendship” and “cruel villains are defeated alone” is a common trope, but not a bad one. It goes to show that being compassionate towards people around you– including animals– is a strength in its own right.
Men Are Supporters, not Rescuers
The men are active throughout the film, but instead of fulfilling the “knight in shining armor” cliche, they find themselves in supporting roles.
Julian is the most active hero. He recruits Erica as Anneliese’s double to stall the wedding, teaches her how to be a princess (in one of the best song numbers of the movie), and tracks Preminger to the forest where Nick and Nack are holding Anneliese hostage– based on nothing but a piece of pine! Like Anneliese, he shows intelligence and strong initiative.
But Julian doesn’t rescue Anneliese.
He arrives too late– she’s already escaped! Preminger captures him and traps him in the mines with her, and it is her quick thinking and an assist from Wolfie that saves them.
And this isn’t a bad thing.
Anneliese doesn’t need a hero. She needs a friend. Julian is the friend who sees through Preminger’s lies, and is there to help in her escape plan.
Similarly, King Dominic shows trust in Erica when she is revealed as an imposter. She escapes her cell on her own, but he’s there to help her the rest of the way out of the dungeons.
It is the men’s trust that make them such valuable allies.
After all, just because a woman is strong, doesn’t mean she has to be completely independent. It’s a good thing to show that strong people can rely on others, particularly on their closest friends– and that men can be heroic while still supporting and trusting the women they care about.
The Day isn’t Saved Through Marriage.
Multiple people underestimate Anneliese throughout this film.
The Queen is guilty of it herself. Yes, the princess’s own mother.
The movie begins with a classic plot: The kingdom is suffering. There is no king or prince, so the only way to save the kingdom is to marry off the princess to a wealthier man.
She’s a bargaining chip.
Naturally, Preminger also underestimates the princess. In his villain song, he calls her “that nitwit Anneliese,” even though it is clearly shown that she is a highly intelligent person. Much like the Queen, he sees her as a marriage opportunity, and fails to see her strengths as a person.
In the end, Anneliese proves both Preminger and her mother wrong.
Anneliese foils Preminger’s schemes twice over, and eventually reveals his plots to the kingdom.
She also saves her kingdom from financial ruin by recognizing the valuable geodes in the royal mine. After all, one of the earliest scenes we have of Anneliese is her studying pyrite, which shows she is knowledgeable about geology. (Aha, we discovered why I like this film so much! The day is saved with the power of geology!)
The only way the Queen could save their kingdom was to marry off Anneliese. Anneliese used her intelligence instead.
Rather than her worth solely depending on her marriage, Anneliese saves the kingdom through her own power. A worthy ruler in her own right.
In Summary…
Some of the newer Barbie movies have attempted to update their franchise by making Barbie’s characters more physically active. For example, Barbie picks up a sword in The Three Musketeers.
But these movies can feel forced. It’s not that you can’t be hyper feminine and physically strong, but Barbie’s strength has always been in the power of femininity. Heroines who don’t need to punch their way out of a situation to succeed, and instead thrive through classically feminine traits like kindness and friendship, with a hefty dose of cleverness and creativity.
And, honestly, I think that’s a good thing for this franchise. Let’s teach children of all genders that gentleness and creativity are as desirable as physical strength. Let’s show them kind women in beautiful dresses bravely facing down the odds, defeating villains and winning their own happily ever after.
Feminine is not lesser than masculine.
There are a million things that make The Princess and the Pauper the best Barbie movie, from the fantastic songs to the wonderful absurdity of Preminger’s voice acting. If you haven’t watched it yet, definitely check it out, and tell me what you think!
Stay tuned for more writing bits in my Learning from Media series, in which I will do exactly what it sounds like: analyze pieces of media and see what we can learn from them.
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