We are the Beast: On Toxic Masculinity and Social Responsibility in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Abstract

This essay reflects on how Disney's (1991) animated classic Beauty and the Beast and the (2017) live-action remake differentially treat social responsibility, with respect to the various side characters and communities represented, for the toxic masculinity exhibited by its most prominent male characters, Gaston and the Beast. Furthermore, this essay uses Beauty and the Beast as a heuristic to understand the relationship between social responsibility, toxic masculinity, contemporary capitalism, and radical political and economic change.