Recently, Disney let Beauty and the Beast out of the vault to help build hype for the live-action reboot (which comes out in March and I am beyond excited to see.) Of course, I just had to have my own copy, so when I got off work a few weekends ago, I bought the 25th Anniversary Edition, set up the Sing-Along edition, and settled down for a relaxing, nostalgic evening.
However, while belting out some of my favorite tunes, I realized that, to my horror, I could not stop making comparisons between the fantasy world I was trying to escape to and the all-too-real world I actually live in. One of the biggest epiphanies I had while watching: Gaston is basically Donald Trump.
I know, it seems strange to compare the two. One is old, the other is young. One is a Disney villain, one a presidential candidate. But stick with me; below, I list and explain the three main similarities I observed between the two.
1. Both objectify women.
Gaston only wants to marry Belle because she’s the most beautiful girl in town, not because of her brains or personality. And do I really need to enumerate all of the times Trump has made degrading comments about a woman’s appearance?
2. Both are extremely concerned with their appearance of manliness.
After being rejected by Belle, Gaston nurses his wounded pride while his buddy LeFou and the other bar regulars sing about how strong, hairy, and good at fighting he is. Trump has taken exception when reporters have mentioned his smaller-sized hands and couldn’t help but mention that . . . certain other parts of him . . . are most definitely a paragon of manliness.
3. Both instill fear in their communities of people who are different than the norms.
The Mob Song was what really drove this comparison home for me. Despite Belle’s insistence that, despite the Beast’s ferocious appearance, he would never hurt a fly, Gaston continues to convince the villagers that leaving the Beast alive—let alone actually welcoming him into their community—would mean certain death to their children. In addition to this, there is a stanza in the song sung by the villagers that goes, “We don’t like what we don’t understand/In fact, it scares us/And this monster is mysterious at least.” And a few lines later: “We’re fifty strong/And fifty Frenchmen can’t be wrong!” This potent, toxic mixture of ignorance and nationalism can be seen in the basis of nearly all of Trump’s policies, comments, and support base. Taco trucks, China, Muslims, immigration—all are scary and unknown, and should be treated with extreme otherness, because they’re probably dangerous.
While Gaston plays a major role in Disney’s classic, and Trump has played a large role in this election cycle, I hope that the United States reacts to Trump like Belle did to Gaston and his marriage proposal—reject him.
