In the Defense of Merida

Brave (Merida)

Whitney: My big thing about Merida is that when there IS a princess who is independent and doesn’t want a man, people start complaining about that. It’s like they can’t be happy either way.

Becky: Seriously. Why can’t we just enjoy the fact that her story doesn’t revolve around finding love? It’s a completely different type of story!

Whitney: Right. One, I’m pretty sure Merida is the youngest of the princesses. Let’s not start marrying off children, okay? And it’s so obvious that she worships her father, so she wants to be like him. She doesn’t want to fit into the stereotypes that her mom tries to push her into--she wants to be her own person! Which she’s still trying to figure out. She’s trying to prove how strong she is, but at the same time showing that she needs her parents. And don’t most people need their parents their entire lives?

Becky: Let us also point out that Merida is one of the only princesses who actually has both of her parents AND has siblings, too.

Whitney: Exactly. I think that makes a little bit of a difference. She had a happy and fulfilling home life, so there wasn’t a reason for her to find it elsewhere.

Becky: The point is that Merida wasn’t ready to get married. To find love. And that was the whole point of the story. She wanted more for herself than to be forced into marriage, and she wanted love. She didn’t want to be rushed. So maybe, just maybe, Merida is a true romantic. The main relationship we need to focus on in this story is the parent-child relationship. That is the crux of it all. Merida and her mom had grown distant and somehow didn’t understand each other anymore. Bizarre circumstances allowed them the chance to rekindle their relationship. That’s the point. It’s a movie for parents AND kids. Go hug your mom. More importantly, TALK TO HER. The end.