The woes of being a princess
Emily Hoferer
Arts & Entertainment Editor
oficionadesunihos.net
A few years ago on a regular Monday night, I was babysitting my two cousins who are 4 and 7 years old. We were having regular little girl conversations, so of course we brought up our favorite Disney princesses. I was shocked and appalled to hear from both of them that their favorite Disney princess was Ariel.
Don’t get me wrong, I think “The Little Mermaid” is a great movie, but as far as I’m concerned Ariel is the weakest and flimsiest Disney princess of them all. Even more so than Snow White and Sleeping Beauty…and they spent a good portion of their respective movies asleep!
Ariel is a 16-year-old mermaid who prefers exploring to the daily duties of being the daughter of King Triton. Her story is basically this: She falls in love with a human prince, exchanges her voice for some legs with an evil sea witch, gets into some trouble on land, and one quick Disney resolution later, she marries the handsome Prince Eric.
Why is Ariel getting married at 16 years old? Is she really old enough to make this kind of a decision? My parents would have murdered me. Plus, when I was 16 there was no one worthy of marriage because we were 16 and we didn’t know anything about life! Ariel may be a mischievous mermaid, but she has little life experience.
If I was Ariel and I got a pair of legs, I’d walk them all over Europe, or go to college or become a really good track runner and participate in the Olympics.
And what does she even know about Prince Eric? Sure, he is handsome and obviously loves his dog, but she has little-to-no deep interaction with this guy before she decides that she is head over heals in love with him.
For all she knows, Prince Eric could have commitment issues, impotency, a crazy family, herpes, illegitimate children or he could be a huge jerk and completely stupid. He did sail a ship during hurricane season. Hello! C’mon Prince Eric, you should know better.
Ariel trades in her beautiful singing voice for some legs and then pursues her man. Bravo to her for taking some initiative, but why couldn’t Prince Eric come and find her?
She could get Scuttle to help her strike up a correspondence with him and then he could find an apothecary on land and take a potion so he could sprout some gills and join her under the sea. Why does she have to do all the work?
oficionadesunihos.net
“Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for Best Picture in 1992. It is the only Disney movie to ever be nominated in that category. They won for Best Original Song and Best Score.
And how can you possibly get to know someone if you can’t speak to them? Part of developing a relationship is sharing things about oneself. Ariel can’t laugh, sing, scream, whisper sweet nothings to him and most importantly, she can’t speak her mind.
There are plenty of other Disney princesses to look up to. Cinderella defies her evil family relations, Jasmine has quite the attitude and Belle reads books!
Belle is a great princess to admire. She is not only intelligent from all her reading, but she also has enough good sense to tell a real ego-maniac like Gaston to shove off.
Never once does Belle compromise who she is. She does everything with kindness and love. She is able to look inside the beast and see the loving prince underneath the bitter, harsh, hairy exterior.
If girls are going to admire any Disney female lead, it should be Mulan.
She kicks butt, literally. Not only does she save her father from dying in the army, she saves the entire nation of China from some freaky and truly sadistic Huns. She shows true courage to leave her parents and do what is right. She is constantly determined to help her nation. Without her, they’d all be dead. Plus, Mulan goes against the grain. She is not the dainty woman her culture expects her to be. Instead of conforming to it, she goes above it and defies what a woman in China is supposed to be.
lus, she gets to go home to a hot Chinese cartoon character every night.
What do you think happens to these women when their movies end? Belle is probably teaching young children to read and love books, as well as being a loving mother and wife. That is a very admirable occupation. Mulan is a national hero, so she probably got to participate in the emperor’s political arena, wrote a bestseller and paved the way for women all over China. Ariel is probably sitting in a grand dining room accidentally eating Flounder.
Affleck’s ‘Baby’ here to stay
Brandy Williams
Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor
Newswire Official Rating:
rottentomatoes.com
Ben Affleck may be a better director than an actor.
“Gone Baby Gone” based on a novel written by Denis Lehane is about a 4-year-old girl, Amanda Creary, who goes missing from the blue collar Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.
The girl’s worried uncle hires two private investigators, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro, (Michelle Monaghan) to find out what has happened to his niece.
As the media catches hold of the abduction case, the investigators are forced to team up with detectives Remy Bressant (Ed Harris), Nick Poole (John Ashton) and the chief of police Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), who does not hide his disgust at the detectives involvement.
As clues are pried out of people, we learn that the girl’s drug addicted mom, Helene (Amy Ryan) took her on a drug run where she and her boyfriend ripped off a local drug lord.
The team fears that the kingpin may have taken the girl as ransom. Their other suspects include the local pedophile who was recently released or a psychotic killer on the loose. As the clues are investigated, they all turn up empty as no trace of Amanda is found.
As the mom’s story keeps filling up with holes, they soon find more clues that lead to brutally beaten bodies, convicted felons and drug infested slums.
This movie deals a lot with the abuse of children by adults, whether it’s through direct physical or sexual abuse, or neglect.
As the search for Amanda is given up and she is presumed dead, detective Kenzie just can’t let go. He backtracks through all the evidence, beating himself up over what went wrong. What he finds will shock you as the unexpected truth is brought out.
Producer and director Ben Affleck takes the audience on a twisty, bumpy road where we are forced to question what is right or wrong. It will make you cry, cringe and even writhe in agony as the fine line of ethics is blurred.
The cast is incredible, even Ben Affleck’s little brother (Casey Affleck) gives a stellar performance. Morgan Freeman, as always, lends a sophisticated and classy touch to any movie that he is a part of. Newcomer Amy Ryan should win an award for the most hated supporting actress as she really gets into her role, to the point where the audience is rooting against her.
This drama is rated R for violence, drug content and pervasive language. It is a definite must see movie — you will never guess how it all turns out!
Stephanie Metz
Diversions Editor
American-Indian Month
Celebrate American-Indian history month by experiencing Native American spirit, culture and history. Join the Piscataway Indian Nation Singers and Dancers as they perform American Indian dance, drum and song. The event will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 in the GSC atrium.
Halloween dance
Gentleman Organized for Achievement and Leadership will be hosting the Monster’s Ball Halloween Dance from 9:30 p.m.-12 a.m. on Oct. 31 at Cintas Center Banquet Room One. Free admission and prizes will be awarded to the best male and female costume.
Homecoming dance
Dance the night away at Xavier’s Homecoming Dance from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3 in Cintas. Tickets for the James Bond theme dance are selling out fast, get them at the SAC office in the GSC for $5.
'Into The Woods'
Support the XU Music Dept. as they present “Into the Woods” a musical at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1-2, 2:30 p.m and 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, and 5 p.m. on Nov. 4 in the GSC Theater. Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for general admission.
Scholarship brunch
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will be hosting the Rebecca Sewell-Cummings Scholarship brunch, where one lucky student will win a book sholarship at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Vernon Manor. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for others and may be purchased in the OMA office.
