How Alice In Wonderland Is A Feminist Movie

I recently watched Alice in Wonderland, the new version with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Anne Hathaway.

I must admit, Johnny Depp was a big part of the reason I wanted to see this movie. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that Alice was a young feminist woman coming into her own and realizing her true potential.

[spoiler alert]

She started out not knowing what to do with her life. Her family was pressuring her to marry a boy who she really didn’t like, and she was seriously considering it.

But then she saw the white rabbit and told the boy to hold on a moment with that proposal because she just had to follow the rabbit to find out what it was doing.

Once in Wonderland, she didn’t know if she was the right Alice and she didn’t think she could ever slay the beast that they all seemed to expect her to. But in the end she realized who she was, that she could do whatever she wants, and that she doesn’t need to be pushed around by anyone. She slays the beast, says no to the proposal, and joins her deceased father’s business partner in China to expand their business.

As the official video, by Avril Lavigne, says, she may have fallen down the rabbit hole, but she’ll “get by”, “survive”, “won’t cry”, and she’ll “get back on her feet again”. In the end, she will survive and thrive and become a strong independent woman — “take a stand until the end” and “don’t you try to stop me.”

Contact the author here: mack@morningquickie.com