Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland from the Journal of Feminist Therapy.

The main points of the thesis are:

The film examines gender roles and young adulthood.

There is a strong feminist overtone to the movie.

Expectations are made of Alice which fit stereotypical gender roles of the time. She's supposed to marry a rich man. She wants nothing at all to do with him, though. Her would-be husband wants her to be the stereotypical submissive wife.

When the White Rabbit indicates he's late it indicates the time for her marriage and child-bearing is getting late.

The Red Queen represents women in power as to be feared and cold-hearted. It matches the original story quite well. The White Queen, on the other hand, matches the stereotype of the proper woman being nuturing, beautiful, kind and loving

The Red Queen's leadership style matches that of many male leaders.

The White Queen represents a more balanced female character.

Alice proves she can face her fears and defeat the Jabberwocky. She refuses to fit into the small box that women were supposed to be in.

My comment: Here is where the movie has a very important difference from the book. In the books Alice returns to her home and we never hear of her again. In the first movie Alice returns home and begins to live life on her own terms. She has more problems in the second movie but again triumphs,showing the power of a woman who refuses to submit totally to the male dominate approach.

Main Index

Main Alice in Wonderland index page