Saw Brave.
Jun. 29th, 2012 06:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sepdetI had decided to avoid it, but friends wanted to go.
It was... Okay. Enjoyable to watch but a mild letdown (except that I'd read a Guardian review of it that warned me of the problematic bits, so I wasn't surprised.)
Brave felt like a series of halfhearted attempts to subvert the princess paradigm, the evil (step)mother paradigm, the wicked witch paradigm, and the girl-leaves-mother-to-become-wife paradigm without entirely subverting any of them.
Also, random IrishoScotiCeltica: the opening scene made me think I was about to be launched into a tongue-in-cheek parody of a SCA reenactment event with a sort of generic Celtic mashup.
I am not quite sure how the word "princess" is applicable to this universe, whatever it's supposed to be.
I liked the later bits with the bear. I kept thinking of Callisto and the old Brauron bear festival for mother goddess Artemis. I felt like there might be some mythological roots to the bear story thread that I was missing. Is there some Celtic equivalent with a bear mother goddess and/or a bear festival related to menarche? ETA: Aha. It's Artio. I'm betting that goddess' name is etymologically linked to Greek arktus, bear, which is what girls at the Brauronalia were called while dressed as bears of Artemis.
And speaking of Greek mythology, with all the archery paraphernalia, I couldn't help thinking of the ending of the Odyssey, and the way Odysseus and his son dealt with unwelcome houseguests. But I suppose that might have jeopardized the film's PG rating.
As the Guardian review noted, Brave is an improvement over older Disney princess movies, and it's Pixar's first (!) attempt at a female lead, but it's still a modified princess movie. ("Princesses can be brave and make their own decisions, as long as they choose from among the choices their society offers them.")
Also, of course, pretty animation. Fantastic horse. I wish the whole movie had been about a gal, her bow, and her horse. Maybe I'm not a grown up.
Update: I can't seem to find the Guardian review I read before. Here's another (spoilers) with a thoughtful analysis, which makes me reassess my own first reaction.
Good point that the film passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. So maybe it's a flawed film that is trying to do things other princess movies haven't, particularly in exploring the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship as opposed to the standard boy-meets-girl princess plot, and that's progress?
Also, good point that the plot is basically the girl fighting for her own autonomy.
Update: I've written a long spoiler-y meditation on the "Bear and the Bow" mythology and classical/Celtic motifs in Brave on my Mythphile blog. If anyone's seen the film and knows Celtic and Scottish mythology, please check me and make sure I haven't screwed up. My knowledge of Celtic/Gaulic/Gaelic culture is painfully spotty.
It was... Okay. Enjoyable to watch but a mild letdown (except that I'd read a Guardian review of it that warned me of the problematic bits, so I wasn't surprised.)
Brave felt like a series of halfhearted attempts to subvert the princess paradigm, the evil (step)mother paradigm, the wicked witch paradigm, and the girl-leaves-mother-to-become-wife paradigm without entirely subverting any of them.
Also, random IrishoScotiCeltica: the opening scene made me think I was about to be launched into a tongue-in-cheek parody of a SCA reenactment event with a sort of generic Celtic mashup.
I am not quite sure how the word "princess" is applicable to this universe, whatever it's supposed to be.
I liked the later bits with the bear. I kept thinking of Callisto and the old Brauron bear festival for mother goddess Artemis. I felt like there might be some mythological roots to the bear story thread that I was missing. Is there some Celtic equivalent with a bear mother goddess and/or a bear festival related to menarche? ETA: Aha. It's Artio. I'm betting that goddess' name is etymologically linked to Greek arktus, bear, which is what girls at the Brauronalia were called while dressed as bears of Artemis.
And speaking of Greek mythology, with all the archery paraphernalia, I couldn't help thinking of the ending of the Odyssey, and the way Odysseus and his son dealt with unwelcome houseguests. But I suppose that might have jeopardized the film's PG rating.
As the Guardian review noted, Brave is an improvement over older Disney princess movies, and it's Pixar's first (!) attempt at a female lead, but it's still a modified princess movie. ("Princesses can be brave and make their own decisions, as long as they choose from among the choices their society offers them.")
Also, of course, pretty animation. Fantastic horse. I wish the whole movie had been about a gal, her bow, and her horse. Maybe I'm not a grown up.
Update: I can't seem to find the Guardian review I read before. Here's another (spoilers) with a thoughtful analysis, which makes me reassess my own first reaction.
Good point that the film passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. So maybe it's a flawed film that is trying to do things other princess movies haven't, particularly in exploring the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship as opposed to the standard boy-meets-girl princess plot, and that's progress?
Also, good point that the plot is basically the girl fighting for her own autonomy.
Update: I've written a long spoiler-y meditation on the "Bear and the Bow" mythology and classical/Celtic motifs in Brave on my Mythphile blog. If anyone's seen the film and knows Celtic and Scottish mythology, please check me and make sure I haven't screwed up. My knowledge of Celtic/Gaulic/Gaelic culture is painfully spotty.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-30 06:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-30 07:19 am (UTC)*winces and shields eyes*