Upon recommendation, I just watched The Princess Diaries for the first time. I was told it would be a great mentoring film to use as my example for Paul's class.
As I was watching, I was under the impression that although the Queen (Julie Andrews) would be an obvious mentor for Mia (Anne Hathaway), I believe her best friend Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) and the security guard and the Queen's love interest Joe (Hector Elizando) make better mentors. I do believe that the Queen had some mentoring moments... but Mia and Joe stand out more vividly as mentors.
Lilly spends time expressing to Mia that she could make a difference by being a princess rather than giving up. Lilly's main expression to Mia was that of voice. Lilly was a "hippie" child who wanted to make a difference in the world but felt her voice was weak. She encouraged her friend Mia, and Mia supported Lilly.
Joe quoted Eleanor Roosevelt in saying, "No one can make you feel inferior unless you consent" -- to Mia when she felt embarrassed and upset about her new look and her friend Lilly's jealous remarks. Joe also encouraged Mia often and commented on her being fit for her princess role.
Mia counted on these two individuals and also made them proud and respected them throughout the movie. The queen became more of a mentor and less of a coach toward the middle of the movie. Initially, the Queen was more of a coach. The day she finally allowed the dual mentorship to take place was when she cancelled her appointments to allow "her granddaughter to show her around San Francisco." At that point, the Queen learned from Mia how to remember being young and carefree and how not to take herself so seriously. The first royal dinner was a complete mess but Mia managed to brush it off and her grandmother began to see her as an individual who was a lot like herself. The culminating mentor moment was when both women made each other proud: At the International Ball, the queen was proud of her granddaughter despite her attire, and Mia was understanding and grateful for her grandmother's help and love.
Some may say that Mia's father may have also been an inspirational mentor in addition to her mother, Caroline Goodall (Helen).
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