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Showing posts from October, 2022

Brave as the Heroine's Journey

I believe that the 2012 film Brave  is an almost perfect example of Maureen Murdock's Heroine's Journey. Brave  tells the story of Merida, a princess in Scotland who refuses betrothal, turns her mother into a bear through witchcraft, and then resolves to bear the curse and bring her family back together.  Merida's separation from the feminine isn't one left up to interpretation. She is shown as a character who hates her mother for everything feminine about her. Merida constantly argues with her mother and sees her as someone who brings her down. She doesn't want to be like her mother and tries to do everything she can to take her mother's power over her away. Merida doesn't want to be masculine, she just wants to be independent. In a contest among young princes in neighboring kingdoms to determine who will receive her hand in marriage, Merida demands that she join the contest so that she can stay single. Her rejection of a husband is really a rejection of th...