(There are spoilers below)
Disney's films, especially those with female protagonists, have clearly experienced significant progress in their values.
From the early Snow White series that embodies the values of the 1950s (looking forward to the rescue of men), to the Tangled in 2010 (Rapunzel walks out of the tower by herself, and the male protagonist is more like her companion in her journey to find herself rather than a savior), and then By 2016's Moanna (no emotional line, no male lead) and Frozen 2 in 2019 (the same Elsa has no emotional line, no male lead), Disney wants to highlight a sense of female subjectivity that is different from the "second sex" , More focused on women’s journey of self-discovery and self-realization.
This time Cruella went further. In the process of women’s self-discovery, she bravely embraced the dark side of women under male gaze: ambitious, talented, and did not hide her desire for success, power, and fame. It is less merciless; everything is for my use, and I have no distractions on the road to achieve my goals. This time, women are no longer required to be considerate, gentle, considerate, and save the country to achieve their goals. This time, the woman can finally win her own battle in a head-to-head confrontation. In this sense, this is a great progress in the values of Disney’s female-themed films to this day.
However, this is not a Marie Su Shuang drama. The film delicately portrays Estella's journey of finding herself and the integration process of "becoming herself" in the psychological sense.
Out of natural love and loyalty to her mother (adoptive mother) in the early days, Estella chose to suppress a part or even a large part of her true self, trying to lay low and fit in. It’s like we are growing up trying to suppress our true voice in order to fulfill our parents’ expectations; after realizing the truth that baronians were the murderers of their mothers, the blackening process of the hostess is more like finding a An opportunity in life to release the suppressed part of the self; in the end, knowing that the baron is the birth mother, Estella rode a red motorcycle to the fountain in Regent's Park in the early morning, and the large monologue in front of the fountain in Regent's Park. Personally think it is the climax of the film. Only then completed the integration of self-personality and self-establishment, and became Cruella. On the one hand, I understand that my adoptive mother is afraid of the evil side of me, so I want to shape me with love, but at the same time I realize that I am neither a kind-hearted and weak adoptive mother nor a narcissistic, self-centered birth mother. "Coz I am better, I was born brilliant, born bad and a little bit mad. I am Cruella". So far, the psychological mother-killing has been completed, completely getting rid of the shadow of the mother, and integrating the good and evil represented by the two mothers, both There is the unparalleled brain and talent of the biological mother, and the kindness of the adoptive mother. Become a new self with good and evil, three-dimensional and full.
Therefore, in the follow-up, we will see Cruella restore the relationship with her friends, integrate resources, and make a fatal blow to the Baroness. Especially praise the mother and daughter on the cliff. Estella is not paralyzed by the baroness's hypocrisy. What supports her is the stable core self who has let go of any expectations of her biological mother.
Disney uses a very intense film to show us how a person, a woman, bravely embraces her dark side while retaining her own uniqueness; how to achieve between fulfilling parental expectations and self-realization Reconciliation; how to live a life that is not defined by parents and society.
(Purely original, copyright)
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