A while ago I read an article on how the princesses I grew up watching (specifically from Star Wars and The Princess Bride) are taking on roles that feature them as generals. In the case of Carrie Fisher, she portrays the same character from the original Star Wars films now carrying the title of “General Organa” as opposed to the title of “Princess Leia” she carried in the original movies. And what of the other? I admit, I had to look up the character she played because I was unfamiliar with the source material, but Robin Wright portrays the character of Antiope in the recent DC live action movies, where she acts as sister to the queen and general of the Amazons.
Mind, I do not think screenwriters completely try to pretend that these characters were always viewed as the military leaders they appear as in these recent movies, at least not in the case of Star Wars. My interpretation of a small piece of dialogue during the opening scene of The Force Awakens was that it served as a nod to the original viewers of Star Wars when it came out in 1977. Essentially one character comments on how his general will appreciate the service another is doing, to which the other, an older man, says that he always knew her as ‘Princess’ when he first met her. The transition from constantly being referred to as ‘Princess’ to becoming ‘General’ might have given the character more agency, at least to the screen writers, but even in the second film, shot practically forty years prior, the character seemed to command more authority than a typical princess, at least from a military point of view.
Now onto Robin Wright’s characters. Unlike the previous example, Wright did not portray the same character transitioning from princess to general, but rather in a different role. That does not diminish from the achievement she had obtained. When I first saw her on screen, she was built up to be a princess, and seeing the same woman years later acting as a general is not just entertainment; I believe it is a symbol of the different phases of life. When we are young, we grow up with stories of princesses and monsters, and in classic stories the princesses are often helpless, just as young children are. But what happens when those monsters return to meet a princess who grew up to be a military power? Suddenly the dynamic has shifted, and I see it as a fitting metaphor for the young women of today.
By now, I imagine most reading this blog are wondering why the word “mostly” was included in the title. If not, I am happy to remind you of that. Again, I fear I must jump back to the world of Star Wars, though not to any of the movies this time. Rather, a character introduced in one of the newer Disney + series, later going on to appear in another. Fennec Shand was built up to be a sort of anti-hero within that universe. A strong character to look up to as a force to be reckoned with. How then does she qualify as a princess of my childhood? The same actress, Ming-Na Wen lent her voice many years ago in the movie Mulan as the star, and so became a Disney princess, personally my favorite of them all.
There is an author I follow on YouTube because of videos that she puts out on a weekly basis. One such video is about giving female characters more agency in stories, and one of the pieces of advice she has is not to make the character a princess, but rather a queen. While queens are traditionally viewed as more matriarchal and supporting characters, that is not always the case. Mary Queen of Scots took up the title of queen when she was little more than an infant. Over the years, there have been a number of role models for young women to look up to, though perhaps only recently have the role models been in positions with the same type of agency. While I am glad to see that modern projects such as Reign and Mary Queen of Scots have started to bring to the public’s notice strong women from the pages of history, I am frustrated by how many lesser-known women have yet to get their moment to shine. Give me a drama about Boudica, a Celtic queen who led an uprising against the Romans. Give me an adventure movie on Grace O’Malley, the pirate-queen of Ireland who negotiated with Elizabeth I face to face. Let Hollywood start portraying historical figures with the same regard they give to these fictious universes.