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The 17th March was officially the day that thousands of children, both young and old, got to experience the magical fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast in a live-action revamp of the 1991 animated classic. Luckily for me a friend of mine was just as eager as me to see the newest Disney film and by 12pm we were surrounded by children and adults equally as excited as us.
Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, although an incredible film definitely worth the 127 minute watch, caused quite the uproar prior to its release. When it was announced that there would be a ‘gay’ character amongst the much loved talking homeware and poor provincial villages it seemed the world just could not handle it! How dare Disney do such a thing?
So here’s the truth, spoiler alert- the so called ‘gay’ character is LeFou, played by Josh Gad, the best friend to bad guy Gaston. Although in the Disney original LeFou was portrayed as pretty much obsessed with a man who ate 5 dozen eggs and strutted around the little village in the tightest trousers in Disney history, it seems that in the new film his fondness for his friend is just too much. Not to mention at the very end when he, shockingly, dances with another man for all of about 10 seconds. The gayness is so absurd I’m surprised it’s even been allowed to be rated PG rather than 12A!
Of course to us logical thinking individuals this ‘gay’ character is nothing to bat a lash at. However the uproar has been real. Parents have even gone as far as to say that they refuse to let their children see the new fairy tale because of how ‘disgusting’ it is. Well to that I say get a fucking grip. Shall we evaluate some of the more pressing themes that the film holds other than a gay character?
Beastiality- Belle literally ‘falls in love’ with an animal. I understand that the whole message behind the film is to look past appearances and see the beauty within, but, at face value she falls in love with an animal. And you’re not trying to tell me that he’s been locked in the castle for years without any human contact and he’s not going to try it on with her. Beastiality- fine. Being gay- no way.
Slavery- Not only is Belle in a beastiality relationship but she is also a slave. She is taken away from her father and locked away in a tower with no human contact. Granted she is allowed her own room and is given the chance to wonder the castle, but she isn’t free to do what she wants in the outside world- she isn’t even free to go to the west wing for fuck sake! It’s nice to know that parents don’t approve of being gay but they approve of letting young children believe that it’s okay to imprison women.
Stockholm Syndrome- Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Belle you then realise she had actually fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome. She thinks she is in love with the beast, however this is still the man that enslaved her and took away her freedom- the textbook example of a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. And once more we see how parents allow their children to view an abusive relationship as a positive but a perfectly healthy one between two people of the same gender as negative.
So for all those parents who don’t want their children to see the Beauty and the Beast remake because of this gay moment- get a grip. Wake up and realise that there is nothing wrong with being gay. Letting your children see two heterosexual characters kiss is the same as seeing two homosexual characters not even kiss. And if you want a real reason to not take your kids to see the film go back and read the three options above and pick the best one.
Congratulations to Disney on the re-make of Beauty and the Beast. Not only is it a fantastic film, but it is incredibly refreshing to see such an influential company supporting gay rights in the form of their characters, and showing them to an audience who need to learn that love rather than who you love is what’s important.