UPNetwork  

Go Back   UPNetwork > General Forums > Debate

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-14-2015, 08:02 PM   #1
Doppleganger
我が名は勇者王!
 
Doppleganger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Emina Isle
Posts: 14,198
Send a message via AIM to Doppleganger
Is Beauty and the Beast furry?

I was eating at BK and in my caffeine-induced craziness this thought sprung to mind. So I am legitimately curious, it isn't a joke topic.

Beast doesn't look human, but he acts and thinks like one. However there's a conflict of interest I think that exists beyond the movie's scope - Belle's awareness of the spell, and Beast's material wealth.

It's entirely possible that Belle could be attracted to Beast due to his personality, or - like the folk legend of a young guy marrying an old widow for her money - she did so with the expectation he'd become human again, and she could get his money. Don't forget she lived a modest life with her father and Beast was loaded.

There's also the issue of Belle's friends in the castle. They wanted her to break the spell, but they demonstrated more kindness and acceptance of her than the townspeople, the librarian exempted.

If Beast were poor and had nothing, how would we be able to believe Belle's love is genuine, or would it be more akin to loving a dog? Because in my mind if Beast was poor it's getting really hard to convince me that she loves him as a human, given he's much closer to a dog with intelligence than he is to a cursed prince. Dogs tend to be pretty impoverished, owning at best a dog-house or a dog-bowl. Maybe some urine marked territory.

A lot of human relationships are established not on the basis of "true love", even if in principle it's stated as such. People are practical. Research has shown that women marry men for money, security, status, and men marry women for beauty or ego. They're inelegant reasons, but they happen all the time. But in the domain of fiction, where B&tB lies, true love is a lot more common. But I still have to be convinced that it's legitimate and not subject to the cynicisms of the real world.

To get to the point, it's really hard to convincingly portray "true love". At best, especially in Disney works, it's done as a matter of destiny. Sleeping Beauty's whole premise was it was true love because fate wanted it bad, and in retrospect Snow White and Cinderella do not look like true love examples. So, it's easier for me to believe Belle was just a deviant, and really dug the shaggy hair look, rather than she was genuinely attracted to Beast's heart. Despite what the movie said, it's about the presentation and contrast of my personal evaluation of real-life human behaviours.

So yeah. I am "kind of" bored and "sort of" high. Please indulge this curiosity.
__________________
あなたの勇気が切り開く未来
ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
永遠を抱きしめて
Doppleganger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2015, 07:19 PM   #2
Slash
Silver LO
 
Slash's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Tokyo Underground Sewage Facility
Posts: 6,760
Send a message via Yahoo to Slash Send a message via Skype™ to Slash
To answer the topic: It is, and...?

Your entire latter question is pretty much the same "would she love him if he were poor?" that pretty much stands in every single Disney movie with a charming prince sweeping the dashing young lady off her feet. Beast just happens to also have a furry appearance and the occasional primal outburst.

So, yeah, it's furry, but that really doesn't even seem to be related to the question you're asking in the main OP.
__________________
--- ---
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sneezey12 View Post
KAIRNE I WILL RIP OFF YOUR SCROTUM AND FEED IT TO YOU THROUGH A FUCKING SWIRLY STRAW.

Slash is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2015, 08:11 PM   #3
Doppleganger
我が名は勇者王!
 
Doppleganger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Emina Isle
Posts: 14,198
Send a message via AIM to Doppleganger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slash View Post
To answer the topic: It is, and...?

Your entire latter question is pretty much the same "would she love him if he were poor?" that pretty much stands in every single Disney movie with a charming prince sweeping the dashing young lady off her feet. Beast just happens to also have a furry appearance and the occasional primal outburst.
I don't think so. Beauty and the Beast is held in a much higher regard than other Disney romances because it's portrayed as either more realistic or believable than the other stories.

It's pretty clear that Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White were founded on shallow - some say even sexist - motivations and portrayals, there isn't really a lot of room for debate or complexity because those relationships are too simple.

With BatB, there's a clear message Disney is trying to sell, but I was curious at what un-intended messages they inadvertently communicated incidental to their true intent.

I don't think it's very cut and dry whether or not Belle would like Beast if he were poor, especially since my advocacy is contrary to the movie's intent. Heck, in the case of the three prior movies it's pretty clear the Prince doesn't care that his Princess is poor or not. Charming went after a cute maid, Phillip a peasant girl he met in the woods, and Florian a cute corpse.

But Belle has the decision making power in her own film, so what would she do?
__________________
あなたの勇気が切り開く未来
ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望
今 信じあえる
あきらめない 心かさね
永遠を抱きしめて
Doppleganger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2015, 09:04 PM   #4
Talon87
時の彼方へ
 
Talon87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
I don't think Belle gives a damn about his wealth. Yes, he sweeps her off her feet with the gift of his library, but even if he didn't own a single book to his name I think she would've been charmed by a man who either a) shares her interest in books or b) gifted her one book, as even the poorest of the poor can save up for a single book. The Beast is never implicated as a bibliophile before meeting Belle (on the contrary, he's revealed to be illiterate!), so we can cross A off the list. But B? B is still fair game. It's essentially what Beast did -- pay attention, find out what the girl likes, and give her a fitting gift -- on a much smaller scale. But I don't think scale matters with Belle. She cares much more about the character of a person than their social or financial statuses.

While Belle does complain of life in provincial France, this isn't to say she wants a rich girl's life. Hers is a small town / big city complaint, not a poverty / opulence complaint. She wants to see the great outdoors, to live a life similar to the fantastic ones she's read about. She doesn't want to become provincial housewife No.343,766, mother of nine children, a generic woman forgotten by time. She wants to live a life that stands apart from others'. Gaston offers her the arguable best version of what she doesn't want. (I.e. he offers her a life as the village hero's trophy wife, an unfulfilling life that will end with both of them forgotten in due time.) The Beast by contrast offers her a tale worth telling again and again and again. Even if he weren't a prince, he'd still be the Romeo who was transmogrified by an insulted sorceress. Not that I'm seriously arguing anything in this paragraph was a driving decision for her! Just Devil's advocating that even if we want to make a big deal of her dissatisfaction with provincial life that I don't think we can chalk it up to her being a gold digger as you seem to be implying she is.
Talon87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Lower Navigation
Go Back   UPNetwork > General Forums > Debate


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:40 AM.


Design By: Miner Skinz.com
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.