Disney’s Beauty and the Beast debuted this Friday. My daughter simply adores Belle, and all the other Disney princesses.
I was a little concerned after I heard the director of the movie, Bill Condon spout that it would feature an “exclusively gay moment.” Of course, as always this set off a fire-storm among evangelicals who have voiced their disdain as well as refusing to see the movie.
I went to see it, and I thought the movie was phenomenal. The orchestration, the choreography, and the brilliance of Disney is apparent. It is a must see, and as far as the “exclusively gay moment,” it is ridiculous. If the director had said nothing, I wouldn’t have even noticed.
Frankly, I am tired of how the progressives push agenda after agenda, and how evangelicals demonize anything that is not published or produced by their own people.
This movie teaches a moral lesson — true beauty is not about what we look like on the outside but how we live on the inside. Sometimes the most beautiful people have a rough exterior, but their inner being is where we discover their true colors.
As a pastor, I am tired of our culture and society being preoccupied with sexuality. There is far more to a person than their sexuality. Sexuality is one facet of a person’s make-up; it is not the sum total of a person’s identity.
We need to appeal to people’s humanity. We need to quit pushing our agendas and start embracing our world. After all, until Belle embraces the Beast, true love — love that transcends looks, grievances, and temperament is never realized. Likewise, until we decide to embrace those that look different from us, we will always be imprisoned by our personal biases and prejudices.
Beauty and the Beast is a great family movie. And as far as the social agenda that the director says that it pushes — it might push an agenda for him, but I see virtually no difference between this movie and the 1991 cartoon version. As a matter of fact, if we are determined to find some hidden agenda within this movie, I would submit to you that the relationship between a woman (Belle) and a Beast (animal) is worth more attention than trying to read into the psycho-social dimension of a character’s sexuality. In short both of these would be absurd.
My advice: Take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the movie!