Dating : The new thing Disney is doing with its classic villains

Disney reimagined the story through Maleficent’s eyes. And they are doing the same with other movies, including Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmatians.

Why is this important? Because in Disney’s history, which is a common theme in Western religion, there is a demonizing of a certain feminine aspect.

The Nicean council of 325 A.D., ran by Constantine, specifically villainized Mary Magdeline’s story and the true relationship she had with the Christ figure of Gnosticism named Jesus. The fact is, in its original Gnostic mythology, Jesus and Mary Magdeline were married, had sex and bore children.

During the Salem Witch trials, it is believed that about 200 witches were killed. But somewhere between 40,000 to 60,000 were executed across in Europe within a 300 year period of time.

And just like today white, conservative males with power demonize the actualized feminine. Right now, they are creating laws to disenfranchise women in issue areas they care nothing about outside of maintaining control.

Disney included, society has misrepresented the empowered feminine, including witches and the craft. Their propaganda sources are religion, entertainment and general folklore. They’ve been mischaracterized them as evil and Satanic.

Witches are simply feminine women who use nature, alchemy and the development of the mental faculties we all have divine access to, to create change. Some of that change is healing, resources, and the vibration of love. But they’ve been painted with a broken brush.

It’s lovely to see the archetype of the sinister bitch being challenged. In the movie Maleficent, played in stellar fashion by Angelina Jolie, her perspective of events is considered.

As a kind fairy who was actually best friends with King Phillip as children, she had wings and was filled with so much loved. Her energy alone, as is the role of many types of fairies, was one of healer and nurturer of nature.

But as Phillip makes it to early adulthood, he encounters a serious conversation. His people don’t see the goodness of Maleficent and what her friendship means to him. He is backed into a political corner and it is demanded that he murders his beloved fairy and bring her wings back as proof of completion of the job.

In order to protect her, instead of killing her, he cuts off her wings and delivers them to his kingdom. But Maleficent’s wings were apart of her power.

In one of the most profound cinematic exhibitions of anger and hurt I have ever seen, as she walks back to her home, every step she took turns all of nature dark. The flowers, the trees and the grass all die with each step. The sky turns dark and so does her castle.

But even in her anger with Phillip, she does something pretty deep. In this version of the story, she always knew where Aurora was being held. When she entered the forest to kill her, she watched as the fairy godmothers clumsily struggled to keep the young princess safe.

So she used her magic to correct their wrongs and kept the Princess forever out of harm’s way. She even meets the Princess, face to face, as an adolescent and still has no desire to kill her.

She has grown to love her. In a twisted kind of way, she actually raised her. It was as if the love she had for Phillip never truly died and was instead projected onto his child.

This kind of story line means something. The dragon inside of Malicent was actually created by the damage done to her by a friend. She didn’t understand his intention was to protect her. But the viscous theft of her wings did irreparable harm to her mind and her heart nevertheless.

The evil we once attributed to the most powerful fairy in the land was instead justified heart break and rage. And even in her rage, her healing came from bestowing love on the innocent child of beloved turned enemy.

Even in “real life”, those we call evil have a perspective. Most have experienced an inexplicable trauma we would never be able to fathom. Their psyches are afflicted with pain that they they often send out into the world, like the nature that she strangled the life out of in her walk of fury.

But even in a stage of rage, and deep sadness, and mental chaos, sometimes the victim of trauma turns that pain into love. Sometimes they take their intense rage and funnel it into healing. As she watched over the baby, the sun shone bright and trees stood firm and green in the forest. Love was renewed and healing was restored even before she was aware of it.

And I simply love it.

I appreciate cinema and script writing for its ability to consider everyone’s perspective. The best films are made with that kind of depth and character representation.

It feels kind of good to see Disney help return the concept of magic to its rightful place of honor. Because it demystifies what magic really is, proper use of energy. And that is a wonderful thing.