StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Women with Courage in Brave - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Women with Courage in "Brave" focuses on the arrow shooting competition scene to examine gender and identity issues. The values of the scene depict the clash between traditional and non-traditional gender norms. The scene challenges essentialist ideas about gender and identity issues…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.6% of users find it useful
Women with Courage in Brave
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Women with Courage in Brave"

3 March Women with Courage: Autonomous and Free Women in Brave What does bravery mean to women? For men, bravery can include displaying heroism in their inner and outer battles. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman directed the 2012 Disney film, Brave, which shows how women exhibit their brand of bravery. This paper focuses on the arrow shooting competition scene to examine gender and identity issues. Three princes vie for Merida’s hand. As the eldest of her family, Merida believes that she can and should fight for her own hand too. The values of the scene depict the clash between traditional and non-traditional gender norms and roles. The scene challenges essentialist ideas about gender and identity issues because Merida undermines and opposes her family and community that promote the negation of women’s free will and autonomy. The scene exposes the binary distinction between traditional and non-traditional gender norms and conduct. Merida challenges essentialist norms about gender because she is not like typical princesses, who love beautifying themselves and preparing for romance and marriage. She dislikes making herself physically attractive to anyone, especially another man. She even hates acting and dressing like a princess because the tight clothing disables her from moving freely around and doing anything she wants. Figure 1 shows her slumped on the princess’ chair, instead of having the usual grand posture of a “real” lady, as her mother would have emphasized. Merida’s poor countenance and posture breach customary gender etiquette. Furthermore, Merida loathes having no free will in the events unfolding before her. Lady Elinor announces the goal of the arrow shooting competition. Whoever wins will marry her daughter. Merida shakes her head and looks sullen and dejected. See Figure 1. She contests the idea that she needs a man to vie for her, which fundamentally means, a man who will end her freedom and autonomy. Merida is unlike other princesses who are happily groomed to be married. Other princesses will be excited and eager to meet their princes, their future husbands. Lady Elinor prepares Merida for this stage in her life, but the latter has no inclination for a married life. The competition seems like a death sentence to her. In addition, romance usually serves as a driving force for princesses. Merida is not the typical princess at all because romance is the last thing on her mind. She wants adventure in the woods, shooting targets, and riding alone and free. As she blows out her exasperation, a stray hair falls on her face. It represents her stray nature, a nature that resists heteronormativity. Heteronormativity insists that as a princess, her greatest role in life is to be married off to a prince someday. She opposes heteronormativity because she does not want to get married and lose her precious freedom. Merida wants to own her life, including her decision for marriage. Figure 1: Sullen and Dejected Merida Aside from exploring the sharp contrast between traditional and non-traditional gender norms, the scene depicts a young woman’s struggle in defining new gender-identity relations. Merida disrespects the traditional connection between gender and identity, where she is expected to be, not just an ordinary woman, but a princess who will preserve traditional inter-clan marriage customs. The scene shows that the community generally blindly follows gender norms and traditional customs. Women, in particular, believe in the romantic notion of the competition. When the vain prince is shown, some of them swoon and fall in love with him. These people represent women who reinforce traditional gender norms and identity, where they allow their society-molded womanhood to dictate their interests and destinies. Merida is different from them. She opposes the traditional gender-identity relationship by defying traditions and gender roles. Figure 1 suggests that she is not someone who will accept her fate too easily. She will not be forced to marry anyone, just because society expects her to. Furthermore, Merida has her mother’s stubbornness. If Lady Elinor is bent on marrying her daughter to a deserving prince, Merida is equally bent in resisting everything that her mother wants her to be. Merida wants to control her gender and identity, which already started way before this competition, when she does not follow her mother’s training for her to be a lady, and when she goes off to her shooting treks in the woods. She does not intend to be an object for society to hold and control. Merida is prepared to assert her freedom and autonomy in defining her gender and identity. Figure 2: Women Swooning for a Vain Prince After defining new directions for gender and identity, a young princess clashes with traditions to assert her free will and autonomy. Merida is prepared to defy sacred customs, if it means that she can prove to her mother and society that she deserves to be free and independent. Her mother exclaims the grand criterion of the competition: “Only the firstborn may compete for the hand of the fair maiden.” The criterion depicts heteronormativity, where men choose women for their wives, with the latter having no say on such a personal matter. Society reinforces heteronormativity, when families prepare men and women for different roles and responsibilities. In this case, firstborn males, in particular, have the highest power in their families. Only they can vie for a princess’ hand in marriage. Merida flouts these customs, even if it means breaking her community apart. Figure 3 shows her vying for her own hand. She says: “I am Merida and I will be shooting for my own hand.” She introduces herself, which is a sign of autonomy. It depicts that she will not allow society to define her identity. Afterwards, Merida states her claim for her own hand. She underscores that she has free will to protect her own interests. If no one will do it for her, she will fight for her stake. Moreover, putting a dog in her seat is an allegory for slavery. She will not be a dog to society. She will not wait for scraps of freedom, when she can take it for her own. Merida will retrieve her freedom, though it includes a public demonstration of fighting for her hand. Figure 3: Defiant Merida While negating traditions, a young princess challenges and fights her own family to protect her freedom too. When Merida rips her dress, she rips her relationship with her mother as well. Her mother demands for Merida to stop shooting the targets. Merida dismisses her pleas and shoots every arrow, one bull’s-eye after another. See Figure 4 for the Perfect Shots. She is on target on what she believes in, which is her right to freedom and independence. However, she is off target when it comes to her mother. For traditional societies, daughters are expected to respect and obey their mothers at all times. When Merida split the last arrow, it symbolizes her split with her mother. Her mother stands for the traditional woman- beautiful, graceful, and obedient to customs. Merida crashes with the ideal and breaks it apart. She has just put an arrow on her mother’s heart, but it is a shot she is willing to take. Merida puts her interest before her family, which opposes traditional daughter roles and responsibilities. Figure 4: Merida’s Perfect Shots The scene explores sharp differences between essentialist and feminist gender norms. Merida defies heteronormativity when she shoots for her own hand and defeats all three suitors. The scene reflects Merida’s bravery, where she opposes family and society to fight for her identity. She questions womanly and princess roles and defines her own gender and identity. Traditional gender norms undermine her true identity, so she carves her own individuality, which is something brave and bold during her times. The scene argues that a brave woman is not fearful of consequences, if her own identity is at stake. A brave woman will shoot down the arrows of traditions. She will fight for her own hand at all costs. Works Cited Brave. Dir. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman. Perf. Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, 2012. Film. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. . Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/english/1468751-not-sure
(Not Sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1)
https://studentshare.org/english/1468751-not-sure.
“Not Sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1468751-not-sure.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Women with Courage in Brave

Charges Levelled Against Poetry by Women

will I not brave, Unawed, the darkness of the grave?... Two of the charges most frequently levelled against poetry by women are lack of range - in subject matter, in emotional tone - and lack of sense of humour.... Discuss these charges, referring closely to poems by William Shakespeare and Emily Bronte Name: Class: Course No: Date: University: Two of the charges most frequently levelled against poetry by women are lack of range - in subject matter, in emotional tone - and lack of sense of humour....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

A Woman in Berlin Critique

Subject: History and Political Science Topic: A Woman in Berlin 1.... (A) In desperate situations an individual's power of reason turns desperate and one becomes willing to avail any options, which in the ordinary course, one would not have accepted.... With the loot and plunder of the Russian soldiers in full swing, the author yet did not give up her efforts to record the day to day post-war developments in the diary....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

How civil war changed families

Hundreds of women on both sides in the American Civil War took on male names and appearances, so that they could join the fight for their respective sides.... Hundreds of women on both sides in the American Civil War took on male names and appearances, so that they could join the fight for their respective sides.... A ‘man' had freedom which a woman could not enjoy, so some of these women kept up the pretence for the rest of their lives, although the majority were spotted at some early point....
5 Pages (1250 words) Assignment

Why men cheat on women

Name: Date: Why men cheat on women?... Introduction There are several reasons for men to cheat women.... Name: Instructor's name: Course name: Date: Why men cheat on women?... Introduction There are several reasons for men to cheat women.... What men desire Although, man's desire leads to cheating, this has nothing to do with the women partners.... The younger men would prefer to have romantic and sexual relation with a number of women, as they crave for different tastes....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Suffrage of women through the 1800s-1900s

women were always considered inferior to men throughout the world until the nineteenth century, when women began to realize the need to speak for their rights.... Before that, women were.... Education of women was largely discouraged and there were no respectable jobs available for the women.... Even if some of them managed to find work somehow, they The delicacy of women was overemphasized and their abilities to play a significant role in the development and progress of the society were underestimated....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The novel dwells into the life of a dynamic society, whose changes affect the livelihood of the society in diverse fronts.... In the novel, the author details the.... ... ... Indeed, the author has explored various themes in the novel using diverse characterization as well as key elements that have shaped the course and meaning The novel details the community as cemented through stability in its beliefs and cultures, which guide the thinking in the world....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

American Women History

The essay 'American women History' is devoted to the history of the place of women in American society in such matters as religion, education, a family from the 19th to the 20th century.... The text shows that women underwent a lot of social discrimination at the hands of men during the period of the 19th and 20th centuries.... Men were to be seen in public spheres while women remain in the private spheres of home so that they do not compete with their husbands in social life....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Seeking Saudi Womens Serenity through Art

The paper "Seeking Saudi women's Serenity through Art" tells us about women in Saudi Arabia.... women have continually been treated as legal minors in the Arabic world.... The Arabian Peninsula is a traditional home of patriarchal values in which separation of men and women, and honour is considered vital (Mtango 2004: 51).... In Saudi Arabia, women must have male guardians who determine important aspects of their lives such as marriage, work, study, finance, and medical procedures....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us