Anonymous asked: Heya, I was wondering if you were a little disappointed that it seems like a main theme of Brave will be everyone trying to get Merida to play ladylike and her fighting back and somehow getting into trouble. I know that children's-movie-law dictates that she will be accepted for all her special ways at the end (after learning a valuable lesson, of course) But it still kinda bums me out that the first female lead for Pixar's entire plot revolves around being a woman. Thoughts?
Hi anon! What we’re getting from your question is that you wish that the focus was more on Merida’s character, and just the fact that she’s gutsy and smart, just all on their own, and the adventure she goes on, without it being a story of a girl going against doing “ladylike” things. Instead, the movie focuses on the story surrounding her choice to defy expectations as a young woman.
Actually the idea of a children’s movie whose plot revolves around the challenges of being a woman in a particular time in history is incredibly exciting to us, because it affirms the “entertainment factor” of stories that are expressly about women. This is especially significant because it is a first, and like Bridesmaids did for comedy, it will set a precedent for what stories are “acceptable” for female leads to tell. Your hesitation about being excited is understandable, but the crux is that the plot will likely not revolve entirely around Merida’s gender, but rather her gender will influence elements of the plot.
Brave is the story of one woman’s life, her skills, her adventures, and her relationships, and while those things are not exclusively “women’s issues,” they are affected by the fact that Merida is a woman in the mythical Scottish Highlands. That distinction is important. Writing female leads to be the same as their male counterparts in everything but genitalia does a disservice to the struggles that women face every day.
Thoughts, anyone?
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