Mirror Mirror - A "Girly-Film?"

Last night I went to watch the movie Mirror Mirror, an adaption of Disney’s Snow White. After our discussion about feminism and the “girly-film” genre, I decided to see how well this film fit into that genre.  The girly-film genre reflects and reinforces the backlash against feminism through socialization.

The girly-film genre has ten common traits, five of which I have found in the movie Mirror Mirror. The first trait I found in this movie was that appearance is a crucial aspect of her identity. This is one of the main themes of the film, as this can be seen in the movie’s antagonist, the Queen (Julia Roberts). The Queen is obsessed with her appearance, as she spends all of her money, as well as taxes the villagers for their money, on her vanity. This is also the reason she hates Snow White (Lily Collins), as she is threatened by her beauty. These women’s appearances define their characters in this film, as well as motivate the Queen and her actions.

The second trait I found was that the female lead succeeds in her goal of marrying the man of her choice. Snow White falls for Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer). Although he falls for her as well, their relationship is complicated as the Queen wishes to marry him in order to solve her financial problems. Snow White also becomes the leader of the Seven Dwarves, the bandits who jumped and robbed Alcott. The Queen puts Alcott under her spell and almost succeeds in marrying him. Snow White, however, prevails and ends up winning the “man of her dreams.”

The third trait I found in common was the theme of a personal transformation. This is the most common trait in any girl film genre. This personal transformation usually implies a makeover, which symbolizes a shift in the character’s personality as well. Snow White has been locked up in a tower all her life. As a result, she is very quiet and cannot stand up for herself. When she joins the Seven Dwarves, they transform her by changing her look. They also train and teach her how to fight. This signals the personal change in Snow – that she is no longer a coward and is strong enough to face her oppression.

The fourth common trait I found was the “do-over,” in which the character resolves  a past mistake. When Snow first tries to stand up to the Queen, she fails and is ordered to be killed. However, Snow is given a second chance in which she faces off against the Queen. This time, she is ready and defeats the Queen, taking back her kingdom and saving all the villagers.

The fifth and final trait I found was the sense of glorifying the past. At the beginning of the film, before the Queen took over, it was said that the villagers were always seen singing and dancing. Once the Queen took over, there was no reason for them to do so. When Snow wins at the end, the film ends with her singing a song, in which everyone in the village joins in and starts to dance. This signals a shift back to a time of happiness – a time where all the villagers did was sing and dance.

This film shares several similarities with the girly-film genre. Although it shares a few differences, it can be said that Mirror Mirror is a “half girly-film.”