It has
come to my attention, that there are those in the world that wish to boycott the
new Disney movie starring Emma Watson. How can this be? How can such an idea be
possible, when there is so much greatness lying within this remake? One plain,
and simple truth: Hate.
That’s
right, hate has found a crack in the bubble of this magical adventure, and has
begun to poison society’s perspectives. You may wonder what I could possibly
mean by this, and I will certainly explain; but first, let me give a brief
overview of the original story, for those few who may have never had the
pleasure of enjoying it’s wonder.
The
original Disney movie, “The Beauty and the Beast,” centers around a woman in a
small “provincial town,” set in France. Belle, the aforementioned maid, is a unique
member to the local society. Though her visage is one of rare beauty, she
happens to be self-educated, and an independent thinker; not a common practice for
women in those days. These qualities set the young woman apart from her
surroundings, and isolate her.
Not
unknown to her, the townsfolk talk about her oddity in private circles,
exchanging concern, and further cementing her place outside of their ranks.
Among the chatter, there is one lone admirer, but not in a way that would prove
appealing to Belle. Gaston, a vulgar, narcissist, with a build that is “roughly
the size of a barge,” has taken it upon himself to woo her. Of all her
qualities, Gaston can only sees what is on the surface (her good looks), and
pays no mind to anything beyond that. To him, Belle is nothing more than
another trophy to mount on his wall (like the many animal heads in his hunting
lodge).
Close at
his side, is a character of insignificant stature, and incoherent nature, whom
is awe struck by the physical perfection of his masculine counterpart. By
comparison, Lefou is weak, and gullible, mindlessly following his egotistical
superior. Throughout their introduction into the movie, during the musical
number, “Belle,” the miniscule man dotes upon his leader, to the point that one
would question his motives.
Not to
say that one man being awestruck by another is unheard of, it’s not, it’s only
the extent of the devotion that leaves one pondering the initial intention
behind it. Lefou pays a lot of attention to the feats of strength, and skill,
to an almost, obsessive nature. Granted, men can be excited by their heroes,
like sports players, and can recite their stats from memory; but this exchange
goes beyond that point. It rivals that of a teenage girl, admiring her secret
crush who’s locker happens to adjacent her’s.
For
those us of who grew up watching this, deep down we knew. This was never a
focal point of the story, so we never drew attention to it before. That is,
until the remake was made.
Much of
this movie has been hidden in the shadows, as the world waited with baited
breath, anxious to see what spell will be cast upon the viewer. Will they keep
any of the music? Will the story be the same? What will it look like? Not one
of us ever wondered if the relationships between the characters would be
altered.
As the
months floated down like the petals of a majestic rose, more details and
previews were released, bringing us closer to the last petal. We hungrily
consumed every detail we could sniff out, craving more than was supplied.
Until,
one day, and article was released, that has divided the masses. The rift is not
cavernous, yet, its’ still fresh, and quiet, but as more people digest this
fresh crumb, the more it will infect the population, and they will fall in line
with one of many sides.
For the
purposes of this essay, I will express only two of them. There is always more
than two sides, and no one person can fall perfectly in view of the person next
to them, but overall, the vast majority can be separated by two glaring ideas:
1) Love is love, and 2) Love is only between man and woman.
“Wait a
cotton-picking minute here,” you might be wondering. “What on earth could you
possibly be talking about? I thought this was about a Disney movie?” and you
are right. This is a Disney movie, and it has sparked the age old debate, and
this is how.
The
article [Read
Article Here] describes that Lefou is in fact hiding a secret, that he is
gay, and doesn’t know how to approach the situation! When you watch the
original, after reading this, it all makes sense. All of his actions cry out to
his true nature, and this has inspired hate among those who were once excited
for this revisioning.
Reaction
has been polarized at best. Personally, I have friends, and family on both
sides of the spectrum, and try to be as forgiving and understand to those that
do not share the same views that I, myself do, but today, I cannot stay silent.
There
are those out there, who are disgusted with love. They cannot fathom that love
does not fit inside a pink and blue box, and can stay tied together with a neat
little bow. Loves seldom beautiful, or neatly drawn, or able to be made with a cookie
cutter formula. Love is a many splendid thing, and to turn your nose up to an
amazing movie because it shows human nature at it’s best? I cannot fathom.
How can
one look at the whole picture, and take the good, disagree with it, and throw
it all away? Did anyone ever look at the opposite side of the coin. Take Gaston
for instance. He’s not what you would call, ideal. Sure, he’s handsome, and
strong, but what good does he contribute to the society around him? He treats
the people around him like replaceable objects, and women are barely equal to
furniture. Let us also look at how he treats the beast, a creature who is
physically ugly, and is broken within.
Gaston
spits upon the existence of this person, solely based on his outward appearance.
Violence, and hate speech are flung at this poor soul, who chose not, his fate,
and yet is punished for it. How is THAT ok?
Upon
mulling this over, prior to writing it out, a thought crossed my mind. Well,
the movie itself doesn’t SUPPORT Gaston’s hate. **SPOILER ALERT** In the end,
the idiot dies by falling from a great height, so that argument cannot be equal
to that of supporting “same sex love.”
Speculation
on the idea has lead to me to Aladdin. The title hero, is a thief, a con
artist, and doesn’t care if he hurts another, just so long as he live another
day. His story, leads him to a princess, and order to save her must use his
street smarts to save the kingdom. A story like that promotes sin, right from
the ten commandments, yet there is no outcry to boycott that movie. Isn’t sin a
black and white path? A lie is the same as murder, idolatry the same betraying
your mother and father? If one is not ok, then none of it can be ok, correct?
How does
one understand the correlation of hate to love? God walks with all of us, even
when we cannot, or will not see him, regardless of your faith, or lack there of.
He is with us each and every step of the way, guiding us, leading us, pointing
us home. Yet, we are not walking the path with others, instead with throw rocks
their way, not thinking that we are also throwing rocks at God. Only he knows
the path of our brothers and sisters. How can we sit there and say that it is
wrong, when God is walking alongside, and Jesus sits beside them?
How can
hate be right, and love be wrong? How is one person’s life, the right of
another’s? How can anyone judge, when they haven’t all the evidence, or worse,
refuse to open their eyes to see it. Instead they bury their heads in the sand,
and suffocate on their own ignorance. Should anyone step into the sunlight, the
ostriches kick sand in the other’s eyes, in an attempt to blind them from the
truth, to drag them back into the darkness. Hiding away from humanity, will
only turn lead to misery, and isolation.
Sadly
without darkness, there cannot be light, without hate, there cannot be love.
The universe is a balance that must be maintained, or chaos will reign. Let
love band together, hand in hand, and never lose sight of the spark in the
shadow, even when no one is beside to keep you warm.
