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The Feminist Diaries

I have a deep and undying love for The Princess Diaries, and I will go to my grave insisting that they are great feminist works. This may be difficult for some to understand, but I will do my best to convince them otherwise. 
     If you're unfamiliar with the movies, I'll provide a quick rundown. In the first movie, Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a nerdy high school student who is entirely blindsided when told that she's a princess. She struggles with this fact throughout the movie, but decides that she will accept her royal responsibilities at the end of the movie. In the second movie, she is told that she must become queen of Genovia in her grandmother's (Julie Andrews) place. However, to do so, the law states that she must be married. She decides to marry a royal that she has absolutely no romantic connection with and begins to form a relationship with Nicholas (Chris Pine), who is trying to get the throne due to his uncle's persistence. In the end, she calls off the wedding and states that she doesn't need a husband to rule, and Parliament agrees. She then decides to pursue her relationship with Nicholas.
    Throughout the two movies, Mia is asked to give up parts of her identity and individuality to fit into the molds that have existed for centuries. She breaks these boundaries and insists that there's another way. In the first movie, the boy of her dreams is finally interested in her. When he uses her for a publicity stunt, she realizes that he was never really interested in her and goes after the boy who's been there all along, her best friend's brother, Michael. While stylists make her appear more "royal" with a makeover, she refuses to conform her personality and even finds the strength to stand up to her bully, Lana. In the second movie, she tries her absolute hardest to do what's best for her family and country. After constant humiliation, she remains steadfast in her desire to help others and even closes a royal vacation spot, much to the chagrin of the people that utilize it, and opens up a beautiful orphanage for the Genovian children. Throughout her royal journey, Mia stays true to herself and helps as many people as she can along the way without sacrificing her beliefs. Mia is an absolutely amazing feminist icon.
    #longlivequeenmia
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Comments

  1. SarahNovember 15, 2019 at 6:12 AM

    Ok, Unpopular opinion. Mia should have pursued Lily's Brother in the second movie. He just kind of becomes nonexistent, like you don't hear much about him, and he liked her before she knew she was a princess.

    Also, I looked up the cast of the first movie and Whitney Houston was one of the producers?? And the first movie only got a 47% rating on rotten tomatoes, which is absolutely absurd!

    ReplyDelete
  2. breedNovember 30, 2019 at 4:24 PM

    The class really enjoyed these movie clips and talking about the gender issues (I think). It is always interesting to look at old familiar works through a new lens.

    ReplyDelete

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