Lately, I’ve heard about some things resurfacing in the BatB fandom. Stuff about BESTIALITY and STOCKHOLM SYNDROME, for instance. And sure, I can’t change you guys’ opinions about the presence of these subjects in the BatB universe. If you think that it’s a horrible movie that’s fraught with unthinkable topics that would scar kids for life, then I don’t even know why you’re taking the time to read this. Nothing I can say will ever be able to change your mind. So for the good of everyone else here that’s going to stay and read through my little defense of the reason why this blog exists today, please just go off to some other part of Tumblr.
Now that that’s out of the way, the first thing that’s been going around has been STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. That the only reason the spell was broken was because Belle fell for her captor. And I honestly don’t think that this Is what the film is trying to portray. In fact, one of the prime signs that a person has developed Stockholm Syndrome is that the feelings of love start to make an appearance when the captor harasses, intimidates, abuses, or threatens the hostage. And I never once saw Belle try to warm up to him when the Beast was doing any of those things to her. She tried to escape, she vehemently argued against him when he demanded she follow his orders, and even after she rescued him from the wolves, she didn’t like him. She still argued. She even turned to the other servants and basically asked “Why do you waste your time on him?” I think what people are confusing with Stockholm Syndrome is Belle’s ability to accept people, no matter what kind of background they came from. And that quality is something we see in Belle far before she meets the Beast, or has even heard of him.
She’s kind to everyone, even if later they end up lashing out at her. It makes sense that Belle would be rude to this horrible creature that kidnapped her father and only let him go after she sacrificed herself. The moment the first echoes of Prince Adam start to appear, she doesn’t necessarily fall for him.
She shows him kindness. Kindness and love are two completely different things. And blind love (like the kind that’s involved in the creation of Stockholm Syndrome) isn’t even part of the equation. She developed a friendship with him. And it wasn’t until after she was set free from him altogether that she started to fall in love with him.
Emma Watson even spoke in an article about it. If I can’t convince you, listen to her.
Now, the other thing that BatB is being accused of supporting is bestiality. And yeah, I can kind of see where you guys are coming from there. But again, there’s no way I think of that when I watch this movie.
Now, Google has two definitions for bestiality, and the first one is “extremely cruel or depraved behavior”. If that’s what you’re talking about, then yeah, that could be applied to Gaston. He was prepared to leave Maurice to get eaten alive, rallied the village into an angry mob, manipulated LeFou into following his every order, and killed a potential love rival all because he wanted Belle for his wife. Even when he was only thinking that perhaps that hole in his life was the absence of a wife. It could have very well been something else.
But if we’re all talking about the bestiality that everyone’s more familiar with, then let me put all of that to rest. Belle never slept with the Beast, rendering the term invalid. But as for simply loving an animal, I would like to remind you of several things:
The Beast was a human first. Belle was able to connect to the person inside, and in the 2017 version, the servants did tell her that he used to be a prince. Plus it’s likely that she saw the paintings and put it together.
There is a type of love called agape, and it’s perhaps the best type of love of all. It’s unconditional. It extends to animals and humans alike. It’s the respect that humans and pets have for each other, and it’s the call to help someone who’s in need. Sex or passion or kissing or any of that have nothing to do with this. To extend a hand to someone is all there is to it.
All the curse specified is that he had to love another and earn one’s own love in return. Never says what type.
You can follow this link if you still don’t understand.
But I feel like that was the kind of love that Belle felt for Adam. Then, after he transformed back into the prince, it grew to resemble something like eros, which is what people usually think of. And take note, this was only after Adam became human again.
And all in all, that’s what makes Beauty and the Beast so beautiful. It’s that a love as pure as agape is what broke the curse in the end, not love the way we usually think about it. It’s a love that everyone can feel, not just a couple. If there was ever world peace, or a world without negative feelings, then I’m sure you’d get what I’m talking about.
So yeah. There are my two cents on the matter. Sort the rest out yourselves.
yousharknotpass
jimmyeatworldofficial
tangentwithtanner
theartofmadeline
amandla
titsay
romaincrisis
