Passively Ever After

Me as Cinderella circa 2007

Cinderella was probably the biggest princess of my childhood — so much so that when my mom was pregnant I told her she should name my sister after Cinderella. Looking back at this, I now understand why my mom was so hesitant to be enthusiastic about the idea (I would like to note, though, that my parents did in fact name my sister Ella…it just had no correlation to Cinderella). That is because Cinderella highlights the notion of submissive women and stereotypical gender norms. The visual design elements I noticed emphasize the female passivity and male heroism/privilege that is instilled into the minds of the young who don’t know any better. In some ways, I see shy traits in myself that relate to the movie, and in other ways I can see how my upbringing went against these ideals.

I almost immediately noticed a visual parallel that serves as a simile comparing Cinderella to a trapped mouse. The “mousey” trait is commonly associated with girls, describing girls as timid, shy, innocent, and inferior. The idea is that girls who are “mousey” are most desired by men.

The shadows of the window on Cinderella’s figure mimic the iron bars of the mouses cage. The first wide shots of the mouse and cinderella belittle them, making them seem inferior and small to the rest of the world. The second medium shot for both of them reveals their fear, and since only the bars/shadows are in the background, it emphasizes a feeling of entrapment.

This simile is simply highlighting the idea that women should be passive; that I, as a girl, should do exactly what I’m told and not resist or share my opinion. Though I wouldn’t consider myself to be “mousy”, I do see aspects of shyness in my personality, along with the fact that I’ve grown up hating public speaking and always being so hesitant/not confident to share my opinions in large groups. I never understood why I had this issue, because I grew up in an environment where I was always comfortable and my voice was valued. Movies like Cinderella must’ve had a role in planting this insecurity in my head at a young age that I simple have not been able to shake.

Another interesting visual parallel I noticed between Cinderella’s reflection in bubbles versus the eyeglass perpetuates the idea of heroic masculinity; that it is a man’s job to save women.

The identical circle shape highlight/reflection along the edges give these two shots a striking parallel, though they are rather far apart in the film. My interpretation of this is that when Cinderella was alone (i.e. without a man), her life/future was poor, unclear (hence the multiple bubbles), miserable, and could fall apart at any moment (just as a bubble can easily burst at any moment). However, when she meets her Prince Charming, her future becomes beautiful and magical, and that beauty and magic is solidified and harder to break (like glass).

Cinderella, along with most other Disney princess movies, was teaching young girls like me that we should passively wait for a man to swoop in and save our day. I was learning that marrying a man is the best thing I could do to secure a future. As I grew up, my parents instilled principles that go against the outdated ones I was admiring in these movies: they emphasized the importance of self-success and self-sufficiency. They taught me that I need to create a life for myself and not be solely dependent on others.

Cinderella also seems to be a prime example of the idea that men get all the credit for everything. I hadn’t watched this movie in over 10 years, but because Prince Charming is not only known as a vital character to the Cinderella story itself but also has become a globally used symbol for “knight in shining armor”, I was under the assumption that Prince Charming would constitute a substantial portion of the film. Yet I was unpleasantly surprised when I saw that Prince Charming himself barely had 5 minutes of physical screen time, and he hardly had any lines at all! This is blatantly teaching young girls that men have assumed/inherent power and privilege that women do not. It’s teaching us that men should get all the credit, and women are there to be a pretty side-addition. Since I went to an all-girls school, male privilege was nearly impossible to experience in our bubble. Not only was every and all aspect of female empowerment drilled into our brains, but there were simply no boys around to overpower me or take credit for my ideas/work. Thus, I learned to value my work with full knowledge to myself and to the world that it is mine and mine only.

Work Cited:
Cinderella. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney, 1950. Disney Plus.