Episode 17 - Beauty and the Beast (French Folktale) & Stockholm Syndrome

WokeTales - Woke Folktales

This episode is a French folktale, Beauty and the Beast. Jeanne-Marie le Prince de Beaumont’s story emphasizes the nobility in Beauty’s act of self-sacrifice and her virtuous action making ‘Beauty and the Beast’ sort of a ‘handbook’ for young brides entering into arranged marriages with hideous older men, and if they were lucky, with a good kind heart underneath. Disney on the other hand romanticizes the abusive relationship Belle was in. Much of the relationship for the majority of the film is grounded in the power the Beast holds over Belle. Belle is unable to be seen as a fully developed woman because she is most important as a maternal figure to the men in her life, rather than as an independent woman or a peer. Her love of books is merely a plot device used to create romance between her and the Beast rather than a means by which she expands her intellect. Episode also covers history of Stockholm Syndrome. Turns out, Stockholm syndrome is a misogynistic lie by sexist men in power with disgruntled egos. It comes from a bank robbery hostage situation in Stockholm, Sweden and was invented to discredit a woman victim of violence (Kristin Enmark) by a psychiatrist (Nils Bejerot) with an obvious conflict of interest, whose first instinct was to silence the woman questioning his authority.