The Little Mermaid

[osprey_archer]

The Little Mermaid is one of those movies that people have very strong opinions about. Either Ariel is a terrible role model for girls who abandons her home, her family, and her very voice to leave the sea on the off chance of bagging a man, OR Ariel is a proto-anthropologist who leaves the sea because of her deep fascination with human culture (and also a man, but this interpretation strives to make Eric as secondary as possible).

The second interpretation, IMO, is an overreaction to the first, and it really only works if you ignore whole swathes of the story. Yes, Ariel has a prior interest in human culture, which is why she’s on the surface watching Eric’s boat in the first place, and yes, her father’s outrage when he discovers and destroys Ariel’s stash of human artifacts certainly helps drive her to Ursula to make the fatal “voice for legs” bargain, but you can’t really get around the fact that Eric is at the heart of it.

On the other hand, I also think the first interpretation is too harsh. In particular, it ignores the fact that Ariel doesn’t abandon her home and family etc: she’s driven away by Triton, and while it’s pretty clear to the audience that he regrets it instantly and would accept her back into the hold, Ariel doesn’t know that and, in that moment, might not care. Who wants to go home to Dad after he just destroyed her entire carefully constructed collection of delightful human objects?

What really struck me about Ariel is that she’s such an 80s teenager: irrepressible and irresponsible (missing her own birthday concert) and dramatic. When she runs away to Ursula, that’s the under the sea equivalent of slamming her bedroom door and shouting “You just don’t understand me!” and then sneaking out to the party, anyway. And clearly has second thoughts when Ursula reveals that Ariel’s voice is the price for this pair of legs, but at that point she’s already so deep in negotiations that it’s hard to back out.

Is any of that smart? No, but for God’s sake, the girl’s sixteen; maybe she should be allowed to do stupid things and make mistakes. Let her mess up and have trouble fixing it. Heck, isn’t that worth modeling in its own right? You can make a very bad mistake and still come back from it and find acceptance and love.

Comments

[sovay]

Who wants to go home to Dad after he just destroyed her entire carefully constructed collection of delightful human objects?

I've seen that scene in particular used as illustration of a queer/trans interpretation. I actually hadn't encountered the proto-anthropologist, romance-downplaying slant!

[osprey_archer]

I think I've seen the queer/trans interpretation of Ariel floating around too; I think the anthropologist one is the one that I remembered while I was writing this entry because it's the one that I often see specifically framed as a rebuttal to the "Boo Ariel" interpretation. Queer/trans Ariel is kind of a different conversation.

[sovay]

because it's the one that I often see specifically framed as a rebuttal to the "Boo Ariel" interpretation.

This is some serious purity culture YOU MAY ONLY LIKE THIS ART FOR THE RIGHT REASONS nonsense.

[osprey_archer]

I think this sort of interpretation is a desperate attempt on the part of the interpreter to justify their preexisting love of a beloved character who doesn't really fit the standards of purity culture. They're trying to create wiggle room to still feel their own emotions despite purity culture baggage! Maybe eventually they will create enough wiggle room to shrug it off entirely.

[kore]

Is any of that smart? No, but for God’s sake, the girl’s sixteen; maybe she should be allowed to do stupid things and make mistakes. Let her mess up and have trouble fixing it. Heck, isn’t that worth modeling in its own right? You can make a very bad mistake and still come back from it and find acceptance and love.

Fucking seriously. I grew up on Grimm's fairy tales and there are basically no chances to come back from making bad mistakes in those.

[osprey_archer]

LET GIRLS MAKE MISTAKES 2020!

[silverusagi]

I just love Ariel because I'm shallow and mermaids. :)

[osprey_archer]

Fair! Maybe we should all just embrace the mermaid love.

[littlerhymes]

You can make a very bad mistake and still come back from it and find acceptance and love.

I think that's so true. She's young and impulsive! It doesn't have to be the end of her whole life.

Now I want a 1980s Ariel AU.

[osprey_archer]

Right? Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that she gets a chance to correct her mistakes? I feel like a lot of "omg this character did something STUPID" criticism is just a weird new twist on old-fashioned purity, where a girl makes one mistake and she's RUINED FOREVER.

1980s Ariel AU, with Ariel played by Molly Ringwald. Y/Y??

[sovay]

I feel like a lot of "omg this character did something STUPID" criticism is just a weird new twist on old-fashioned purity, where a girl makes one mistake and she's RUINED FOREVER.

I feel this very strongly and guess what? I still hate it.

[littlerhymes]

MOLLY RINGWALD this is genius

[sovay]

a terrible role model for girls who abandons her home, her family, and her very voice to leave the sea on the off chance of bagging a man

I also don't understand how anyone can subscribe to this interpretation who actually listened to the lyrics of "Poor Unfortunate Souls." It's right there in the fact that it's voiced as advice in the villain song—a character with ulterior motives! a character we are not supposed to trust!—that the film does not believe Ariel should trade her voice and suppress her identity for the sake of a man:

You'll have your looks, your pretty face
And don't underestimate the importance of body language
The men up there don't like a lot of blabber
They think a girl who gossips is a bore
Yes, on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word
And after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?
Come on! They're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man

and in fact this gambit does not work; specifically it allows her identity to be stolen from her, because her voice is the recognition token of Eric's hazy post-rescue memory; silence doesn't quite equal death in this version because seafoam has been removed from the equation, but it is a textually bad idea. Loving Eric is not the problem. Sacrificing an essential part of herself to attain him through a conventionally misogynistic route is. How severely do you have to misread the film not to notice that?

[asakiyume]

I never watched the film with my intellectual-analytical brain engaged, so it's interesting to read both these interpretations and think about them.

When I saw the movie, I liked that Disney had made Ariel interested in human things generally--it gave a good context for her being interested in Eric (even though it was also clear that it wasn't supposed to be the sole reason she fell for him--it was meant to be Disney-style and now I'm in love), and her dad's behavior was definitely the sort of thing that would push someone over the edge.

Let her mess up and have trouble fixing it. Heck, isn’t that worth modeling in its own right? You can make a very bad mistake and still come back from it and find acceptance and love. --AMEN! Yes, strongly agree.

[osprey_archer]

Yeah! The interest in humans makes the progression to watching the ship seem very natural, and then of course it's Disney love at first sight.

[lokifan]

she’s driven away by Triton

That's a really good point I don't often see made. Plus like - the whole "give up your voice for a man" is canonically advice FROM THE VILLAIN and it messes up her attempt to get Eric if anything. I don't really think the film supports that.

Heck, isn’t that worth modeling in its own right? You can make a very bad mistake and still come back from it and find acceptance and love.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[osprey_archer]

It's odd that people criticize the film because Ariel gives up her voice, given that the film itself is definitely on Team Giving Up Your Voice Is Bad. The villain is the one who suggests it to her, Ariel nearly doesn't get Eric because he doesn't recognize her without her voice, and Ariel can only defeat Ursula by getting her voice back.