“Beauty and the Beast” and Inner Beauty

     Have you seen a Disney princess movie such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Many children watch these movies and love them, including me. Well, of all the Disney movies, my favorite is “Beauty and the Beast.” I like this movie because it teaches us about inner beauty. 

     Many Disney princesses are the prettiest girl in the movie. For example, in Snow White there is an envious Queen who is jealous of Snow White’s beauty. Eventually, the Queen decides to kill Snow White because Snow White is prettier than her. Of course, Snow White is pretty as well as kind, but the movie is more focused on her outer beauty. It’s the same in Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, because the prince falls in love with the princess just because of her appearance.  

     However, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is a little different compared to the others. The Beast falls in love with Belle because of her beautiful mind. Belle’s father was captured by the Beast and, in order to bring him home, she decides to live in the Beast’s castle in exchange for her father. The Beast looks ugly and scary but, as the movie progresses, Belle falls in love with him despite his ugly face.

     Nowadays social interests are focused on outer beauty instead of inner beauty. We can easily find this narrative in the Disney movies I mentioned before. Many children grow up with the idea that princesses must be pretty  and, if so, they will get the awesome prince. Like movies, TV programs are also focused on outer beauty. Most TV stars are pretty or handsome. They also must have a nice body. So, many teenagers and ordinary people make the conclusion that outer beauty is more important. 

     Therefore, most people want to be pretty or handsome like the stars they see in movies or on TV. Some women feel the need to have plastic surgery or go on diets and men work out to have a nice body. But this mentality has caused a lot of social problems, such as bullying people who are ugly, and has created a hierarchical society according to people’s looks.

     I think we should make more movies and TV programs such as Beauty and the Beast which are focused on inner beauty. Although the main character may not be pretty or handsome, children can be taught about the importance of inner beauty.