Beauty and the Beast
DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTION remake of classic tale Beauty and the Beast has been one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2017. Such an enduring, enchanting tale could hardly fail to bring in the big bucks, and so it was little surprise that, in its opening weeks at the box office, it became the biggest film on the planet. Emma Watson is simply stunning as Belle, charming yet intrepid, and the Beast is expertly played by Dan Stevens, shaking off any remaining traces of cousin Matthew (Downton Abbey). Gaston, played by Luke Evans, is delightfully detestable in his vanity, and you cannot fail to be enchanted by the inhabitants of the Beast’s castle. It’s full of singing, emotion, and the CGI brings the most wonderful magical feel to the film. It is one of the most enjoyable things I have seen in a long time.
The opening sequence introduces us to the Beast. Glamorous, rich, attractive, he has it all going for him. His castle is the most elegant, his servants the most loyal, his parties the most lavish. He will only surround himself with the most beautiful people. Yet quickly we see what brings the curse: the shallowness, the emptiness of the
Beast. All he wants is more beauty. He, along with Gaston, epitomises obsession with beauty and vanity. As a result of the curse, which strips away his physical beauty, Beast becomes hopeless; who, after all, would ever marry a beast?
It is easy, in our society today, to be drawn into a similar pit of shallowness. The media glorify those who glorify themselves. Celebrity culture is full of attractive, air-brushed people, in whose mould we must be formed, if we are to be of worth. We don’t match what we see on TV, in magazines, even in those around us, and we become extremely harsh on ourselves. But this is not the ideal of beauty that God has for us. Jesus himself was not a man who would have been considered beautiful (Isaiah 53:2). First, He wants us to know that we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27) and, because of that, we have incredible worth. Not only that, he has made each of us, individual and unique, from our conception, designed in every small detail, so that we may glorify him (Psalm 139: 13-16). As David himself knew, God does not judge us based on our physical appearance; he sees through the outward mask, and looks for what is in our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). In 1 Peter 3:3-4, the apostle exhorts women (though this is equally applicable to men) to stop focussing on their hair, their clothes, their accessories, “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious”. In a world that continually seeks to batter us down and to make us feel worthless, remember that by Christ’s blood you have been bought, and that on Judgment Day, for those who are in him, you will stand dressed in his righteousness, as the beautiful bride of Christ, and that is worth infinitely more than all the praise of men in this world.
N.B. As you may be aware, there was some outcry regarding Disney’s first so-called “homosexual” scene. This scene, in the version shown in cinemas, was less than 3 seconds showing two men dancing together, but the hype surrounding it may form your decision to not view this film, which is a perfectly acceptable response. If you have more concerns about this, the article below asks some interesting questions:
