This paper will explore sexism in Robert Stromberg’s Maleficent (2014), a children’s film which attempts a retelling of the classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. Through an exploration of both visual elements and aspects of plot and character, this analysis traces the way in which, despite it’s implied intentions as a retelling of the Sleeping Beuty story, Stromberg’s adaptation fails to eradicate the inherent sexism of the story. Maleficent is one in a long line of recent retellings of classic fairy-tale stories, all of which seek to re-imagine fundamental issues as they are portrayed through iconic characters and plot lines. Maleficent itself is an overt attempt to engage with the questions of gender raised by the traditional Charles Perrault version of “Sleeping Beauty”, in which the extreme passivity and helplessness of female characters may seem distasteful to modern audiences influenced by several decades of feminist thought. However, despite the refocalization of the narrative through the viewpoint of Maleficent rather than Aurora as the protagonist, the film nevertheless stops short of celebrating female agency as a force for good, choosing instead to maintain the original tale’s critique of powerful women in favor of women who are passive, obedient, and pliable.
About the presenterJennifer Harrison
Jen Harrison teaches English at East Stroudsburg University. She completed her PhD in children’s and Victorian literature at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Jen’s research focuses on three primary areas in the field of children’s and YA literature: environmental studies, posthumanism, and materialism; she is an editor for the peer-reviewed journal, Jeunesse. She is currently working on an edited collection on Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as a book on YA dystopia.