Beauty and Beast

The motion picture I choose, Beauty and the Beast, was made by Disney in 2017. The protagonist of the movie is a prince who is imprisoned as a beast but is set free by pure love. The idea of symbolic contact focuses on the associations between members of the society. The fundamental tenet of the symbolic interaction approach is that people interact with symbols on a daily basis. These symbols are culturally derived public items that have meanings that are formed and upheld through social interactions (Rock 29). The theory holds that symbols provide a way for language and communication to form reality. Reality is mainly the social product where mind, self, culture and society emerges from depending on the symbolic interactions for existence.

The illustration of the beast in the film is the best example of symbolic interaction within the entire movie. The first scene of symbolic interaction is the attitude of the Beast at the beginning which is primarily scary and mean because he believed to be a monster. The society made the prince act like a beast since he looked like a monster hence all people were afraid of him. If the public did not view monsters and beasts as scary and mean creatures, then the Beast in the film could not have acted in a manner he did when the movie started. The scenario depicts that monsters symbolize things that are harmful, inhuman and cannot bring good to the society.

The second scene that portrays symbolic interactionism is when Belle chooses to be incarcerated by the Beast so that to take her dad’s place. In the prison, Belle is requested to have dinner with the Beast with the hope that she could fall in love with him so that to eliminate the curse that makes the prince seem like a monster. At the first place, Belle declines the request and sits in her cube protesting the dinner since she fears to be associated with the beast (Wise et al. n.p). After refusal, Beast admits that the girl will never have him since she will always view him as a monster. The scene illustrates how symbols in the society affect the relationship between human beings.

Thirdly, Maurice who is Belle’s father is viewed as different and crazy since he does not adhere to the community norms. Belle’s father is always occupied and works to introduced distinct things rather than working the usual job which makes people call him the crazy old Maurice. The community has established the thought one must be fanatical if he or she acts in a manner that varies with the set traditions. Also, Belle is viewed as strange because she liked reading but not getting the guy which was considered to be odd (Wise et al. n.p).

Conclusion

I have liked the assignment because it has helped to realize the application of the symbolic interaction notion. Before analyzing the movie using the theory, I did not recognize how much we experience symbolic interactionism in daily things such as television shows, movies as well as real life. From the task, I have realized that people in the society associate with one another based on the set symbols that are used to shape the culture and traditions. Based on the assignment, I conclude that we relate to each other or view things the way they are based on meanings assigned to them by the society.

Work Cited

Rock, Paul. Making of Symbolic Interactionism. Springer, 2016.

Wise, Kirk, et al. Beauty and the Beast. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2017.