…veritas

Tangled (2010) Dir. Nathan Greno, Byron Howard

The movie illustrates the state women are in: trapped by beauty standards impossible to achieve, locked in their gender roles, forced to grow long hair — the symbol of their entrapment (a girl’s short hair might usurp a male role and threaten his position, after all).

The problem is not men though. Gender roles are being perpetuated by women, as well: abusive, critical behavior of Rapunzel’s evil fake mother, for example always putting Rapunzel down, is a perfect way to keep her locked in her tower, not giving her strength and confidence to break the convention and liberate herself. In order to keep her submissive the girl is being fed a infantile story that the long hair — the symbol of female oppression — has healing powers, magical powers, and the world, being an evil and cruel place, will take it away from her. Only we know magic doesn’t exist and the girl is being kept a prisoner for a reason. The movie ends with a “and they lived happily ever after” ending. The bad (wo)man is gone. The girl marries the boy. It only makes me wonder why is it yet another Princess needs a man to save her…?

Long days, pleasant nights,
Veronica Bazydlo