Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: The Little Mermaid (1989)

#inspirationalmovies

It has been some time since we claimed that a classical piece (almost) nobody viewed as feminist masterpiece.... actually was one! (Remember the explosion in both your and our brain caused by the idea that Dirty Dancing (1987) was a feminist gem?)

So here comes another one in the you-would-have-never-called-it-feminist-until-now series*. The Little Mermaid (1989). Yes, the Disney sea-princess garbage where a young girl gives up her family, friends and talents in order to pursue a man she has seen once. Meh... or at least we thought so.

Well, read this paper written by Stephanie Stott, a student in Kim Magowan’s gothic lit class at Mills College called  The Little Mermaid: Our Favorite Gothic Villain and you just might want to give Ariel another try. Or at least know how to reframe the story in order to minimize the damage if young girls around you suddenly want to emulate the little mermaid.

* That's of course not actually true as somebody has analyzed these movies as such and hence we are reporting. But the great majority...