Relaxed project ideas that involve movie watching and the discussion of female fairytale roles. Multiple movie ideas included!
Learning Outcome: Use fairytale movies to explore the strength of fictional female characters and how these strong young women overcome challenges and adversity.
Materials:
A way to watch the movie
Access to streaming network, DVD, or other means to watch the provided movies
Project Run-Time: 1-2 Meetings
note: Movies can be a great way to explore strong female gender roles. Below are four potential project ideas surrounding heroines in fantasy films. For each of these potential projects, it's important to also introduce the girls to the empowering ideas behind each female character, not simply watch the film. To aid film discussion, each movie includes a variety of links to articles, videos, worksheets, etc. to build on the viewing experience.
Ella Enchanted:
[Some fun reading material to consider]
ELLA ENCHANTED IS A FEMINIST MASTERPIECE -- https://bookriot.com/2018/04/25/ella-enchanted-is-a-feminist-masterpiece/
How The Heroine Of ‘Ella Enchanted’ (Accidentally) Became A Feminist Icon -- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ella-enchanted-feminist-nostalgia_n_597bb2e7e4b02a8434b6866e
5 Feminist Lessons I Learned From Reading 'Ella Enchanted' -- https://www.bustle.com/articles/188819-5-feminist-lessons-i-learned-from-reading-ella-enchanted
Ella Enchanted: Female Independence in Literature -- https://www.ultius.com/ultius-blog/entry/ella-enchanted-female-independence-in-literature.html
[Worksheet]
Alice in Wonderland (Live Action):
[Some fun reading material to consider]
She Can Do It: Messages of Female Empowerment in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland -- https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1110&context=engl_etds
Alice in Wonderland; Feminist Theory -- https://freebooksummary.com/alice-in-wonderland-feminist-theory-49156
A Feminist Gaze on Alice in Wonderland -- http://feministgaze.com/2016/07/29/a-feminist-gaze-on-alice-in-wonderland/
[Worksheet]
Aladdin (Live Action):
[Some fun reading material to consider]
Purposeful Feminist In Aladdin -- https://ramonamag.com/2019/07/purposeful-feminist-in-aladdin/
Jasmine — Disney’s New Feminist Heroine -- https://medium.com/@richarddodd/jasmine-disneys-new-feminist-4807866fe6da
When You Make a Princess into a Sultan: the Feminism of Disney’s Aladdin -- https://nerdbot.com/2019/05/29/when-you-make-a-princess-into-a-sultan-the-feminism-of-disneys-aladdin/
[Videos]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw5VIEIvuMI A link to the official music video for "Speechless"
[Worksheet]
A Wrinkle in Time:
[Some fun reading material to consider]
‘A Wrinkle In Time’ is an empowering feminist movie that tells everyone they have 'a role to play in this world’ -- https://www.metro.us/entertainment/movies/a-wrinkle-in-time-is-an-empowering-feminist-movie
A Wrinkle in Time Mediaversity Review -- https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2018/3/26/a-wrinkle-in-time
A WRINKLE IN TIME’S REPRESENTATION IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS BLACK PANTHER -- https://wearyourvoicemag.com/entertainment-culture/wrinkle-times-representation-just-important-black-panther
[Videos]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEEBq1vDTa8 A behind the scenes look at the amazing female director, Ava DuVernay, and the importance of representation.
[Worksheet]