Cinderella: the Song

Better late than never. I wrote this post about the song "Cinderella" in early December and kind of forgot about it. I think it's still relevant so I cleaned it up and am finally getting it out!

Earlier this week,[1] I was jamming to a Disney throwback playlist. Among the songs on the playlist was "Cinderella" by The Cheetah Girls, a fictional girl group that became a real girl group after the success of the movie franchise of the same name. The song "Cinderella" is from the first movie and served as a teaser for the movie before it aired on Disney channel. The Cheetah Girls has always been one of my favorite Disney Channel Original Movie franchises, and this song is probably one of my favorite songs from their discography. However, when I listened to the song this week, I realized something scary...

The Surface Level Message

I don’t wanna be like Cinderella
Sitting in a dark, cold, dusty cellar
Waiting for somebody
To come and set me free
I don’t wanna be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
On I will survive
Unless somebody's on my side
Don't wanna depend on no one else
I’d rather rescue myself The Cheetah Girls

On the surface, the song is your typical girl power anthem. It boast of our ability as women to do for ourselves and make our dreams come true. The chorus of the song tells of a girl who isn't afraid to stand up for herself or work for her freedom (be it financial, emotional, or spiritual). The theme is that she isn't going to sit around moping, waiting for Mr. Right to come solve all her problems. Seems like a great message, right?

Spiritual Discernment

I can slay (I can slay) my own dragons (my own dragons)
I can dream my own dreams (my own dreams)
My knight in shining armor (shining armor) is me
So I'm gonna set me free The Cheetah Girls

While I was singing the lyrics, I started to see a different angle. The bridge of the song is posted to the right, after you read it, think about the fact that Christ is our "knight in shining armor." I'm not suggesting that the author of the song meant for the song to be taken this way, but the actions of the world actually mimic this secondary interpretation.

Let's step back a second so you can see why I say Christ is our knight in shining armor. The Bible makes it clear that the relationship between husband and wife (which would include dating/courtship) is supposed to mimic the relationship between Christ and the church, which the church being referred to as the Bride of Christ numerous times (Isaiah 54:5, Matthew 25, Ephesians 5:24-32, Revelation 19:7-9). Even in the Old Testament, we see this parallel with God referring to the Israelites' idolatry as adultery and whoredom. I have a whole post on this concept called "Why "the Bride of Christ" is the Perfect Description"—if you want more information on this.

The issue is not the idea that we don't need an Earthly man to save us, but that as we change our view of marriage and the dynamics of male and female, we subconsciously change our views of Christ and the Church. The Church, contrary to popular belief, is not a building; it is the collection of believers who have surrendered themselves to God and pledged allegiance to His kingdom. So, when majority of the individuals begin to take on the idea that they are their own savior, the Church acts in that capacity by extension. We have to make a diligent effort not to let ourselves fall into the trap of thinking we don't need Christ to save us.

References

1. Actually, I wrote this post in December and forgot to post it, so it's been a few months since I had these thoughts
2. "Cinderella Lyrics". Genius; visited December 2018