I love the show Once Upon a Time for many reasons. I love it is a fantasy show that brings fairy tales to life. I love how it goes back and forth between worlds. I love the depth of story telling. But most of all I really love that the main leads in the show are women.
They are three very strong, capable, crafty, and wise women. Emma, Snow, and Regina are all passionate, loving, and fierce women who I think can serve as great cinematic role models for young girls. These three women (like all the characters in the show) aren't perfect. They have flaws and a lot of them. But I like that we get to seem them work out their flaws, face their fears, make mistakes and learn from them, and see them transform right in front of our eyes. I like how the character development focuses on facing your past, resolving conflict, building trust, healing wounds, and building relationships.
Emma is just plain bad ass. She can spot a liar a mile away, she is honest, brave, and wants what is best for others. It's why she gives up Henry in the first place - knowing it was better for Henry. As the series unfolds she discovers her true identity and gifts, letting go of the fears and doubts, letting walls break down and opening herself up to believing in people. I can so easily identify with Emma because like her, I have a difficult time trusting people when I feel I've been hurt. But seeing her open up on the screen to Henry, to her parents, and to other characters can be a form of inspiration for myself. Of course her style greatly appeals to me and has been the reason I wear my leather jacket just a little more often. Emma is a role model for those who have not had life easy but are asked to chose to forgive, to chose to be present, to chose to believe for a little more magic in their lives, and to chose to fight for those they love. Emma is a survivor.
Snow breaks the typical mold of a Snow White character. Growing up, Snow White was my least favorite Disney movie. For one the evil queen/witch was scary as hell and for another Snow White was plain annoying. But Snow in OUAT is brave, wise, crafty, and not afraid to follow her own heart. She fights for her family at all costs, even sacrificing her own happiness or her own safety in order to protect those she loves. Snow is a role model for those who are often seen as soft and weak but the truth is, their gentleness and compassion is their greatest strength. People like Snow are anything but weak. Girls can look to Snow to be both wise and friendly, compassionate and courageous, and gentle and fierce all at the same time. She is a protector.
Regina proves we should never judge a book by its cover. Yes, this woman has a lot of issues - a crazy mother, a broken heart, an obsession for revenge but underneath all of that is a woman dying to be loved. Regina speaks to the part of all women that do irrational things in order to earn the love of those around them. Regina is our model of often how not to be behave and act in tragedy. But what I respect most about her is her love for Henry. I don't ever doubt she cares about her son and would do anything for him (sometimes we wish she wouldn't). Regina isn't afraid to take action (and many times its the wrong choice of action) and she's not afraid to do what needs to be done. She also sacrifices, and will do the dirty job so others don't have to be in darkness. Regina is a leader.
OUAT creates strong female leads and I love it. I love that many of the supporting female characters are also developing their own sense of identity. Belle is learning how to be heroic, Wendy risked her life to save Bae, Aurora discovered how to take risks, and so on. In so many Disney movies (especially growing up) I felt the fairy tale characters revolved around a man and feeling incomplete without one. I feel the show is taking a twist on that and allowing their women to develop a healthy sense of their own identity - their own strength, their own wisdom, their own fears and frustrations, and their own personality to create dynamic characters. OUAT is showing that women are survivors, are protectors, and are leaders as well as compassionate, nurturing, and gentle.
On a related note, I do recognize the three main OUAT female leads are white and that as a white woman it is easier for me to identify with the characters on the show. Seeing how great it has been for me as an adult, and for younger girls to have these dynamic role models, I wish the creators would do the same for other women of color. Mulan's story has been forgotten about for a while, and the only black female character was killed off rather quickly, and we haven't even seen a Latina woman. Seeing how they do a good job of empowering women - it is necessary to give women of color role models they too can identify with, since since that is missing so much in our media today. But I shall expand on that in another post.
