"Most interesting, though, is Amazon’s potential foray into the fairy-tale genre with 12 Princesses, about a farm boy who must rescue a princess and her 11 sisters from an evil fairy queen just to win her heart. Although 12 Princesses could potentially undo all of the alpha-female fairy-tale strides that Kristen Stewart’s Snow White and the Huntsman could make—with its dozen girls who all need saving by one guy—the idea of an ensemble princess project does sound promising. "
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2012/04/amazon-princess-movie-facebook-studio
Interesting article, though Snow White and The Huntsman do have certain appeal, about a heroine who is a fighter, instead of "damsel-in-distress".
That is why I didn't really like the idea of 12 helpless princesses, my rewrite fixed that issue, I made the hero and heroine ( the 12th princess) somehow equal in the roles.
Hollywood trends can be quite intriguing. We go from 'drunken adventure-comedies' to 'vampires, zombies, and were-wolves' and now we're doing 'strong female leads.' It would be interesting to see a combination of the three.
I am shocked that Julie Miller was so surprised that Amazon was wanting to get into the movie business, between Hulu, Netflix and other companies wanting to do their own exclusive content, it shouldn't be that large of a leap to believe that Amazon was next. Heck, even imdb is partnered with them, that should be a clue right there. Then we have the subscription base that Amazon has been doing for quite some time, it was only a matter of time before they opened the flood gates as it were.
I think a lot of people were somewhat dismayed by the passivity of the princesses in 12P. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with a princess in peril - I mean, someone has to be, after all. The problem was, you had 12 women and none seemed bold. I really went for more of an ensemble piece that revolved around the relationships between our farm boy and the youngest princess and a knight and the oldest and how they all contributed to the villain's near success, and how they all helped save the kingdom.
I also wanted to create something that kids as well as their parents could enjoy.
Superficially I'd agree that there's nothing wrong with a princess in peril. The problem is that most fairytales originate from a time when women were second class citizens, traded like property with no advancement in social situation beyond marriage. Men dominated. Men could hold jobs. The society didn't see any value in women beyond objects of desire and childbearing. So the stories revolved around the women's helplessness and their value as a prize to be won by the men who got show valor and cunning. So, yeah, there's nothing wrong with a princess in peril if it's also a world in which a woman can hold her own against a man (tangled) and a man can be equally objectified and held in peril. Otherwise you're perpetuating a male dominated world in which women find themselves little valued beyond their beauty. Would you want your daughter watching a story in which a weak woman had to be saved by a man that she then had to marry or one in which a warrioress was kicking ass and taking names?
I like them both, traditional tales and new age tales and have no problem with my daughter seeing a traditional tale with a helpless princess. After all, many of us grew up on the traditional story line and nothing is wrong with that to suggest that someone is less of something for liking the damsel in distress is kind of strange to me. I love the newer versions, tangled, et all, as well as the old Disney fare made for an older more traditional age I might even go so far as to say you can not have one without the other.
Just my take on the whole thing...
Women have ruled the world for years. Without women men would just roam the planet. Many a battle has been fought over a woman; many a nation has been lost because of a woman. How many criminals, killers, pirates, and mass murders have been able to terrorize society until their rain is put to a sudden stop by domestication. Women; every man has to have one; he will do anything for the right one. He will work himself to the bone; he will devote his life for a woman a family, a life. Man by himself is nothing but with a woman everything on this planet, everything in his imagination is well within his grasp. A woman’s virtue, a woman as a muse, a woman as the mother of a man’s children is worth more than all the gold , houses, land, ships and heroics any man can dream of. A woman is life, always has been always will be. Love you Mom.
Perhaps, man has yet to understand "who/whom" leads man into
many obstacles of conflict. Are we stumbling over ourselves to
help Sofia Vergara, or are men really smitten by recognition to their
thoughts?
Daniel M.
I personally HATED the idea of Yannick "winning" December at the end of the movie and promptly discarded the idea. A princess in peril is a fine plot device when she is trapped by circumstances beyond her control. If simply portrayed as helpless because she is female, something there has been far too much of in times past, is just all kinds of wrong.
My version has the princesses in strong positions (especially January, the eldest). They end up in peril because of their father's madness and the faries betrayal, not through any incompetence of their own. I also gave Franc a much more influential role (even if she is a bit ditzy).
This film has an overwhelming majority of female characters. The princesses, Franc, the fairy queen, Margaret. To have the film then be entirely driven by the male characters doesn't make sense. At least not to me.
To respond to Don jr and Daniel M.: I would highly recomend you read the book "Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps". In fact I would recomend it to everybody, especially writers. It may sound like a parody but it really does deal with hard science in a very accessible and entertaining way. It gives great insight into the evolutionary development of the human brain and the significant differences that exist between men and women on a neurological level. It really is starteling to find ot how much of "typical" male/female behavior is due to our evolutionary development.
Thanks P.R. Crowe,
I'll have something to read, until the judges select the winner(s).
Daniel M.
To Don Jr & P.R.Crowe : nice insights and thoughts
Reading about how women had been fought over battles and wars, I remember the quote about Helen of Troy ~ "the face that launched a thousand ships"
My two cents as a woman, while equality is a nice progress for us, sometimes people do went overboard with feminism. Being equal doesn't mean to discredited the others or pushing too hard. It is just the freedom of being yourself, without restrictions from society. I agree, it is different if helplessness is caused by circumstances beyond control. But it will be annoying if female characters are simply ditzy or insipid just because girls are supposed to be "cute".
