Film & TV Lunch Club: April 2024 - Power of the Princess
Film & TV Lunch Club: April 2024 - Power of the Princess
The Princess Bride, Princess Mononoke, Roman Holiday
Hello, Spring! The inspo for this month’s theme comes from a short stint of research on ‘special days’ which ended with me reading that the last week of April is National Princess Week. As a prompt, this one has some obvious big hitters (the Cinderellas, Jasmines, and Belles of the world) but I also want to draw attention to some lesser celebrated princesses as well as those who have held a prominent place in cinematic history.
As well as being a definitive way to mark one’s ranking of nobility, the word ‘princess’ is LOADED with gender role ideals so I also want to tackle that and ensure that some of our princesses are atypical, subversive and resistant to the royal order. In fact, the archetypal princess that may come to mind when we think of a Disney princess can also be viewed as a reflective tool to see how attitudes towards women have changed since the 1930s (Snow White was released in 1937), or at least to see how Hollywood has perceived and dealt with societal shifts through the decades.
If they are ‘products of our time’, where does that leave us in 2024?
Thankfully there has been some evolution! There are still blind spots (and in some cases some serious repairing to be done), but slowly princesses are becoming more representative of our world. Tiana in Princess and the Frog is notable for being Disney's first black princess and Gurinder Chadha is set to introduce an Indian Princess to the Disney franchise in a new musical soon, but there is still an over-reliance on heterosexual romance and storytelling/directing by white men in films about princesses so some pivoting at the writing and production stage is still needed.
This is by no means a measured study of princesses (though plenty do exist) but upon reading around the subject for this post, it did strike me that when men are in a role as a prince in a literal sense they are typically positioned as the hero and are often shown to be ambitious (being prepped as successor to the throne, learning the ropes, training for greatness, etc.) whereas the Princess has a far more passive role to play within the narrative. This aligns with Vladimir Propp’s Narrative Theory which sets out a framework for 7 core character types (and teachers or students of GCSE Media Studies will certainly recognise these!), whereby the ‘Princess’ archetype refers to the sought after prize that the hero seeks - this does come with a caveat though, in that it is just an archetype and the character type doesn’t have to correlate with a royal title, but it does provide us with a clear cut idea of the archetypes we’re still dealing with!
So what we’re really looking for if we want to instil some power, is the transition from princesses going from the object to the subject. I believe that starts with some agency and ownership over their respective stories, and a narrative that doesn’t solely progress in pursuit of a suitor. And though there are clear negatives about the ‘passive princess’, I don’t think we should be so hasty to try to rid characters of a certain type of femininity altogether - there can be strength in softness and patience as well as in rebellion and brazen fearlessness, so finding a way to show the plurality, complexity and nuance of what makes a princess is key. A complete role reversal would just displace all the badly thought out characteristics elsewhere and that wouldn’t be helpful for anyone so a bit of balance and sense is necessary here!
It seemed fictional princesses and queens used to fit into one of two camps: beautiful damsels (Aurora), or grotesque and wicked fiends (Ursula), with very little room for manoeuvre in between. But in recent years, we have seen some films challenging these outdated notions and writers are getting creative in the ways that stereotypes can be subverted. For example, in 2012’s Brave, Princess Merida is a skilled and courageous archer who rejects tradition and has to overcome a wicked curse; in 2018’s Black Panther, Shuri is a princess of Wakanda who engineers gadgets and leverages technology; and in this year’s Damsel, Millie Bobbie Brown plays a princess who is forced to escape the lair of a dragon she is fed to after initially thinking she had her fairytale ending.
Fantasy and sci-fi films have also given us some memorable and important princesses. From the Star Wars saga, Princess Leia revolutionised the idea of the princess as leader, played by the hugely missed and inspirational Carrie Fisher; Wonder Woman aka Princess Diana of Themyscira is a superhero and co-founder of the Justice League; and Princess Irulan, most recently portrayed on the big screen by Florence Pugh in the epic Dune: Part 2, will return with an even bigger role if Denis Villeneuve adapts Dune Messiah and Children of Dune too.
It was surprisingly difficult (though I know I shouldn’t be shocked at this point) at how hard it was to find a film for this month’s selection that was directed by a woman! Instead, I hope you will find variety in the longlist in terms of the decades and genres covered. I am aware that the list could be more diverse in terms of the films’ countries of origin but have tried to include more than just Hollywood titles where possible - if you have any further suggestions about what could be on the list, please comment on the post.
Here are this month’s picks:
🎞 April Selection 🎞
PRINCESS MONONOKE | Official Trailer | Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
The Princess Bride (1987; Dir. Rob Reiner)
A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Stream on ITV X.
Princess Mononoke (1997; Dir. Hayao Miyazaki)
On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
Stream on Netflix.
Roman Holiday (1953; Dir. William Wyler)
A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.
Stream on Paramount+.
🎬 The Long List: Optional Extras 🎬
Other notable films suggested for the theme:
Damsel (2024) - A dutiful damsel agrees to marry a handsome prince, only to find the royal family has recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt.
The Princess Bride (1987) - A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Spencer (2021) - Diana Spencer, struggling with mental-health problems during her Christmas holidays with the Royal Family at their Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, decides to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. Kristen Stewart’s second entry as the lead in this list!
The Princess Diaries (2001) - Mia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her sixteenth year.
Elizabeth (1998) - The early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.
Princess Undercover (2005) - A crown princess works incognito for the embassy of her country in Berlin where she fells in love with a gardener who does not know who she is. As the affair blows up two lovers and one kingdom have to make the right decision.
The Young Victoria (2009) - A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) - A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodha.
Enchanted (2007) - A young maiden in a land called Andalasia, who is prepared to be wed, is sent away to New York City by an evil Queen, where she falls in love with a lawyer.
Anastasia (1997) - The last surviving child of the Russian Royal Family joins two con men to reunite with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, while the undead Rasputin seeks her death.
Strange Magic (2015) - With a battle sparked over a mysterious potion, the tough fairy princess Marianne crosses paths with the sinister Bog King. As an adventure unfolds, their fanciful forest world will never be the same.
Suriyothai (2001) - During the 16th century, as Thailand contends with both a civil war and Burmese invasion, a beautiful princess rises up to help protect the glory of the Kingdom of Ayothaya. Based on the life of Queen Suriyothai.
Chasing Liberty (2004) - Anna wants to be like other girls her age (18): date a guy etc. but she's the US president's daughter and always guarded. In Prague he breaks his promise of only 2 agents following her to a concert and she runs away with Ben to see Europe.
Death of a Princess (1980) - A journalist investigates a newspaper story of the execution of an Arab princess.
The Scarlet Empress (1934) - A German noblewoman enters into a loveless marriage with the dim-witted, unstable heir to the Russian throne, then plots to oust him from power.
🔜 Next Month 🔜
The theme for May will be ART IN FILM. On 10 May 1824 the National Gallery in London opened its doors to the public for the first time so to mark 200 years since it opened we’ll be watching, adoring and admiring art in the movies. Feel free to give me your thoughts about this post or the next one in the comments or on Insta!