i’ve always thought this scene was a sort of rape or violence on tinkerbell, and if those words are too extreme then at the least bit this is definitely a violation of tink. though she is peter’s faerie (yeah, i spell it like faerie, don’t hate, neopetzzz) she is almost subservient to him in addition to being his companion, especially with the arrival of wendy, john, and michael wherein she becomes more of a tool and means of magic and is demeaned into not a magical creature, but simply a potion of some sorts to humans.
this scene especially disturbed me—i never liked peter pan sans his youthfulness (note i love peter pan, not peter pan the character)—especially because he is taking tinkerbell’s identity, a faerie with pixie-dust magic who survives solely on other’s faith in her (an otherwise unbelievable and illogical creature), a faith so seemingly misplaced in a realist world that people letting themselves believe in what they believe is unbelievable is magical itself.
peter pan is known for his boyish youth and his struggle for what it means to grow up and become an adult yet from what i’ve seen his playfulness and biological age is the only thing keeping him from being an adult in terms of normative ideologies that being an adult means to take care of yourself independently—which he does and more, by catering to others. however, what does it mean to be a man compared to being a boy?
so i bring up this question: to what extent does a brief scene such as this, the objectification of a faerie, reflect upon the mentality of being a boy and objectifying your personal faerie and being a man and objectifying women?
in other words, how is tink’s identity formed through peter pan’s actions and to what effect does her distinction of being a faerie—a different species—create deviation from discussions of women in relation to men?
sidenote: i know, i just ruined your childhood.
I always felt like there was something I didn’t like about their interaction, but I think this gets pretty close to explaining why I felt that way.
I also like The Little Mermaid. She wants to change who she is and the way she looks so that she can fit into a society that she sees as better. Also, in order to do this, she gives up her voice and the way she expresses herself. I haven’t read the novel, but I know there’s commentary there, too. Still love the movie, though.
