Damsel is an action/adventure movie with fictional elements that came out this year, starring Millie Bobby Brown. Princess Elodie, played by Millie, is forced into a marriage with Prince Henry because the Northern Kingdom needs supplies, and the Kingdom of Aurea needs a princess. It seems like a perfect match between Elodie and Henry until after their marriage reception. Elodie is forced to join blood with Prince Henry and then is thrown down into a pit, forced to survive solely on her wits and instinct. Within the cave, there is a fire breathing dragon trying to kill Elodie due to the royal blood she smells along her palm. The dragon in the cave goes after Elodie, because she believes Elodie is truly royal, although she is not. The dragon has a past with the royals and is trying to get revenge, albeit on the wrong person.
Elodie manages to escape, but not without a long and hard battle within the cave. As she escapes, the Queen of Aurea manages to capture Elodie’s sister, Floria, and attempts to sacrifice Floria due to Elodie escaping. Elodie, with bottomless love for her sister, goes back into the cave to save her little sister. As she manages to reach Floria, she runs into the dragon again and must take part in a battle to save herself and her sister. After Elodie manages to weaken the dragon enough, she makes a hard decision to keep the dragon alive to try to explain once more that she is not a royal. Elodie remembers the cut on her palm, which her sister has due to her being a sacrifice. After some time, Elodie manages to convince the dragon that she is not pure royal blood and ends up teaming up with the dragon. Elodie leads the dragon back to the kingdom of Aurea for revenge, and the dragon gets her revenge as well by burning the castle. Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved between the two, Elodie and her family end up returning home, but not without the dragon by their side.
The message received through Damsel seems to be about feminist empowerment and strength women carry throughout. The Queen of Aurea traps Elodie, who are both women, and Elodie must escape from the fact that another woman has trapped her within this harmful patriarchal system. In most movies, men tend to be the embodiment of power and strength all throughout. By creating Damsel, it shows that women are just as strong and can handle themselves on their own in harsh conditions. Instead of waiting for a man to come and save her, Elodie manages to save herself, which is a big hit on the feminist message the movie portrays.
Sophomore Alaena Cox believed that Damsel was a great movie for Netflix to produce. She said, “It’s definitely a good movie for those who are interested in feminism, royalty, or dragons.” Another student, Brielle Cox, said that “Although it may not be life changing to some, I liked the message it portrayed, and I found myself enjoying the movie.” Damsel is a great movie for those who support feminism, or even just enjoy a fun story with a fantasy aspect.
