...Fairy tales have dominated a majority of my childhood, and even to this day, they are still constantly in my life. When I was young, my mother read and showed me countless stories, and I would always dress up as my favorite princess and reenact the fairy tale. In particular, the lasting impressions fairy tales have on me are mainly through the works of Disney. It is through Disney in which I first learned about fairy tales, as well as witnessed my favorite stories come to life. However, Disney aren’t the originators of the stories. They adapt stories from Charles Perrault, Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and many more. Despite that, when the term fairy tale is mentioned, almost everyone would immediately associate it to Disney. Thus,...
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...Most of those who have seen the classic Disney movies like Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs have experienced an innocent version of the gruesome and dark tales that are the Grimm fairy-tales. In the beginning of their journey, the brothers had no intention of becoming story-tellers. The article “Grimms' Fairy Tales” states that the brothers found that the best way to allow someone to share the sounds of their dialect was to share the stories that had been passed down to them; the brothers kept a record of the stories they heard and had a book published in 1812 called Kinder und Hausmarchen, which translates to “Tales of Children and the Home”. Fairy tales during the brothers' time didn't have the same purpose as the ones today do. Bayer explains that during the Grimms' time, fairy tales were told to teach lessons and to pass on cultural values and wisdom to younger generations, not to entertain them. Because the purpose of these tales wasn't to entertain, the story-tellers weren't concerned about frightening their younger audiences (“Grimms' Fairy Tales”). Norton states that the tales were told around the fire to children and adults alike. Norton also tells us that, because these stories were dark and provocative, society decided that the nature of the tales had to change. Society had to protect their children from the gruesome nature of the Grimm fairy tales. Society may take the bulk of the blame for the changing tales, but, in the beginning, it was the brothers...
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...Disney and the American Princess: The Americanization of European Fairy Tales [pic] Marina Alexandrova Student number 3021874 MA Thesis, American Studies Program Utrecht University Course code 200401064 23943 words 12 August 2009 Contents Title page………………………………………………………………1 Contents……………………………………………………………….2 Introduction……………………………………………………………3 Chapter 1: European Fairy Tales and Values about Gender and Class………………………………………10 Chapter 2: Disney Animation and American Culture…………………24 Chapter 3: Disney Animation and (Gender) Commodification…………………………………………..55 Conclusion…………………………………………………………...73 Bibliography…………………………………………………………78 Introduction Among the various aspects which define contemporary life, popular culture – and in particular, American popular culture – is undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting. Throughout the twentieth century, people around the world have enjoyed film, music, animation, and written works by various authors and artists. One of the most famous and significant American entertainers of the lot has been Walt Disney, introducing millions of children and adults to his world of limitless (or so is widely believed) imagination and magic, from the earliest short cartoons produced in the 1920s, to full-length feature animations such as Snow White and the Seven...
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...ever learn to love a beast?” Quoted from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. It best describes what Beauty and bell has to choose in both the film and the fairy tale. The story Beauty and the Beast was first created back in 1756 by Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont. The fairy tale was modified and recreated by many authors after her. However, one of the most notable adaptions to the original Beauty and the Beast would be Disney’s film created in 1991. It is said that Disney “sanitizes and simplifies“ fairytales to make it more appropriate for a child audience. When comparing Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast to Disney’s the differences are obvious, and the fairy tale is loosely represented in the film. The Disneyfication of...
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...in 1937, Disney has cornered the market on princesses. One primary topic that critics have discussed in Disney’s films is the way princesses are portrayed. The roles of the female characters are especially drawing the interest of academic critics. Jack Zipes, author of Breaking the Disney Spell, believes that the Disney princesses have regressed. On the other hand, Libe Zarranz, author of Diswomen Strike Back? The Evolution of Disney’s Femmes in the 1990s, and Rebecca Do Rozario, author of The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia, The Function of the Disney Princess, believe that the Disney princess has progressed. Another aspect of Disney’s movies that catches the eyes of critics is the moral simplification in the films. They believe that the morals from the original fairy tales are being manipulated and simplified in the Disney films. A. Waller Hastings, author of Moral Simplification in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and Finn Mortensen, author of The Little Mermaid: Icon and Disneyfication, both agree that Disney’s simplification of morals is giving viewers the wrong depiction of life. Disney’s portrayal of women and simplification of morals are giving viewers the wrong impression of life and women. Many critics call the process of simplification in Disney movies, “Disneyfication.” Disneyfication is especially shown in The Little Mermaid. In Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid, Disney retains elements of Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale. A. Waller...
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...Fairy tales, whether written or visual are used as a medium to teach children morals, life lessons and social etiquette. From interpretations, a fairy tale can be defined as a story that has fictitious and folklore characters which displays the message for every action there is a reaction whether it be positive or negative. These fictitious characters influence children and help them to understand the messages so that children can be socially accepted (Hohr). The origins of fairy tales can not be narrowed to a specific time line but they were once old wives tales which were passed on from generation to generation which writers have modified to become or claimed as their own. Although fairy tales are useful to teach children morals fairy tales are inappropriate for children because of the psychological effects, presentation of the content and morals. This has given reasons for the modifications of fairy tales although these modifications are believed to be better both traditional and modern fairy tales are in somewhat way unsuitable for children. The early versions of fairy tales are not filled with the sanctified, altruistic images seen today but are filled with gory and sadistic images. In an attempt to understand these reasons for modifications of fairy tales we must understand the journey which the traditional writers took. Thomas O'Neil senior writer at the National Geographic and Maria Tartar the chair for program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University both go...
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...Joseph Reyes February 3, 2016 rjoseph@andrews.edu English Composition II Tangled When talking about Disney fairytales, what is the one thing that most people in America assume will happen in the movie? It would be that a “Prince Charming” will come and save the Princesses in whatever predicament that they are in. For instance, in the Disney Fairytale Snow White. She dies by an evil witch’s spell and the her “Prince Charming” comes and saves her with true love’s kiss. The trend of these movies has continued throughout the years, until a recent changed in one of their recent movies. In the Disney fairytale Tangled, it utilizes the same stereotypes where the main character, Rapunzel, has beauty, she can sing, she has an evil mother, she cleans up around the house, has an animal friend, and the list goes on. Yet the movie itself also pushes against the fairytale expectation. They say that most fairytales focus on the woman of the movie, and that the male figure is barely present. In Tangled, however, there is a focus on men who are much more developed then the typical Prince Charming character. While the roles of women have significantly changed in fairy tales since becoming popular, the roles of men have stayed the same. The heroes of these fairy tales appear to be rich and powerful but what they do lack is personality. For example, in the movie Snow White, the Prince comes out of thin air but he’s handsome, and rich, and his character hadn’t even been developed. The...
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...Joseph Reyes February 3, 2016 rjoseph@andrews.edu English Composition II Tangled When talking about Disney fairytales, what is the one thing that most people in America assume will happen in the movie? It would be that a “Prince Charming” will come and save the Princesses in whatever predicament that they are in. For instance, in the Disney Fairytale Snow White. She dies by an evil witch’s spell and the her “Prince Charming” comes and saves her with true love’s kiss. The trend of these movies has continued throughout the years, until a recent changed in one of their recent movies. In the Disney fairytale Tangled, it utilizes the same stereotypes where the main character, Rapunzel, has beauty, she can sing, she has an evil mother, she cleans up around the house, has an animal friend, and the list goes on. Yet the movie itself also pushes against the fairytale expectation. They say that most fairytales focus on the woman of the movie, and that the male figure is barely present. In Tangled, however, there is a focus on men who are much more developed then the typical Prince Charming character. While the roles of women have significantly changed in fairy tales since becoming popular, the roles of men have stayed the same. The heroes of these fairy tales appear to be rich and powerful but what they do lack is personality. For example, in the movie Snow White, the Prince comes out of thin air but he’s handsome, and rich, and his character hadn’t even been developed. The...
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...changes were added by Disney to make a more interesting movie, or to forward a sexist agenda. A multitude of sexist messages are present in Disney movies teaching young girls that they are expected to fill a submissive role in society. The fairy tales are symbolic of women’s lives being shaped by male influences. Over time, the sexist message in Disney movies has become less apparent, but it has never disappeared; it is merely buried within a classic fairy tale that the “magic of Disney” has transformed into a sexist lesson. Naturally, these movies must not have a traumatic affect on little girls. Parents are not actually harming their daughters by allowing them to indulge their fairy tale fantasies. Not according to Jack Zipes, leading expert on fairy tales and German professor at the University of Minnesota, the movies have “a type of gender stereotyping . . . that has an adverse effect on children, in contrast to what parents think . . .. Parents think they’re essentially harmless – they are not harmless” (Giroux, “Roared” 103). Maria Tatar, Harvard folklorist, also sees harm in the movies since “[Disney] capitalizes on the worst part of fairytales” placing the focus on the material world and removing the cunning and intelligent roles that the females once played (Healy). However, these messages surly must not be intentional, and they are open to interpretation, right? Not according to Mary Beech, director of franchise management for Disney Consumer Products, who...
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...REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY IN DISNEY CARTOON PRODUCTION: An Analysis of Selected Examples The purpose of this essay is to explore how media, especially Disney cartoons, affect gender, particularly young girls and how the representations of females within the media affect the viewers through stereotypes or ideals to live up too. THE INTRODUCTION (the explanation of media influences and basic notions of women representations in Disney Production) A good deal of feminist writing in the field of culture has been concerned with the representations of gender and of women in particular, and it is claimed that these representations of females reflected male attitudes and constituted misrepresentations of “real women”. Meehan (1983) analyzed the stereotypes into which women are commonly cast on television and the analysis showed that “good women” are, or are expected to be submissive, domesticated and home-centered while “bad women” are rebellious and independent. She concludes that “American viewers have spent more than three decades watching male heroes and their adventures, muddied visions of boyhood adolescence repete with illusions of women as witches, bitches, mothers and imps “. All researches about the media influence give the same conclusion that the mass media is a powerful resource through which viewers develop their identity and come to understand the role that gender plays in the real world. Disney is one of the largest...
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...Matt Williams Splitting Hairs in Disney’s film Tangled Cinderella tells us that a dream is a wish that your heart makes, and following suit dreams play a large part in the newest Disney princess film, Tangled. In the end of the film Rapunzel holds Flynn and they admit their deep secret that they had become each other’s dream, and an “awww” moment ensues. The question to ask is “Where do these dreams come from?” and “What do these dreams mean?” Taking this second question, the implications of Rapunzel and Flynn’s dream impact more than just the world of the film. The Disney Princess films have been studied within an inch of their lives by a great number of scholars in a great number of fields. One common study takes the ideas of gender development and combines them with the Disney Princess films. However, the implications of gender do not stop here as gender identity can still be impacted as the viewers age. Interpretation of the princess films has been a huge aspect of their scholarly application as the behavior of the princesses, and princes, can be interpreted and compared with gender stereotypes and norms to assess the impact their portrayals can have on the viewing audience. The film Tangled is often seen as Disney’s take on a modern princess, and Rapunzel and Flynn have a great deal to contribute to both gender development study and media interpretation of gender. Gender development is a field of study which has been impacted in a number of ways by modern theorists...
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...Jonathan Sadie Homeira Foth ENGL 7 May 9th 2013 Disney’s “Sterilization” aka “Poison Candy” What would you say if Disney had something to do with you falling in love with your spouse? What about if Disney had something to do with all the relationships your have today? Most people would think this idea is absurd, yet it isn’t too far from the truth. We all grew up on Disney movies which poses the idea that these movies are a form of mass communication. The stories that where imprinted in our minds when our mind was more like sponges than an independent activist. Just like bed time stories that unleash children’s imagination before a night’s sleep will these same stories unleash a preconceived notion of action in real life. To have a favorite Disney movie is like having a favorite experience imbedded into our subconscious to tell us things such as what is “handsome” or “pretty”. Without noticing, many standards of today are set as we watch our first movie. So the big question is if Disney’s altered perspective of life is helping us live it. The proliferation of educational data that has been created regarding these seemingly innocent cartoon films provide a unique perspective that will influence what films we choose to show to our children. Disney’s sterilization process creates negative effects on children by painting an unrealistic picture, creating dependency issues, inhibiting a good coping system, and lacking confidence in the young. Disney’s interpretation of real...
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...Tungalag Ganbold English 314 Julie Booche April 4, 2012 Villains in Fairy Tales Research paper All children love to listen to fairy tales. When we were young, we ask our parents to tell us stories. People are not sure why fairy tales are so interesting and why every children love them. While it is entertaining, it is also moral lesson to young children. They learn from the fairy tales about good and evil. They learn how to distinguish good and evil, wise and foolish, and moral and immortal. Children learn many lessons from the characters of fairy tales and it is very interesting to see that they love heroes in the fairy tales and do not like the bad guys in the stories. When I was thinking about the research topic, the one thing pulled my attention was why there are villains in almost all fairy tales. It is very interesting to think that all fairy tales have villains. In this paper I am going to talk about who the villains in the story are, why authors talk about villains in their stories and what readers learn from them. I will use mostly about fairy tale villains such as my favorite fairy tale’s villain, Cinderella’s stepmother. When we read the stories, we can tell who the villain in the story is. They are usually described as stepmothers, witches, monsters, sneak, thief, robber and traits. For example, in the Cinderella story, Lady Tremaine is a villain. In the article “Top 10 Most Evil Disney villains”(Antonia) the author described the Lady Tremaine as self centered...
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...Sexton are all infused with twisted fairy tale characters, feminist themes, dark emotions, and death. Each of these poems contains literary devices that construct and present the overall meaning and characterization of the fairy tale characters. The poems are distorted versions of the original fairytale stories in which the authors attempt to portray as dark with haunting tones of sorrow and desperation using imagery devices. In “Cinderella” by Sylvia Palth, the poem begins with a description of the setting, in which she tries to portray as a ballroom. This poem captures Cinderella and her prince dancing together at the ball. She uses the words “scarlet heels”, “green eyes”, and “silver” to give the reader a sense of a romantic atmosphere. The second stanza...
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...When it comes to your childhood you think back on all the things that made it great and what shaped it as a lasting memory. I look at the things I ate, the things I played with, and the movies I have watched. Of course, Disney has played a major role in the way we look at life and what we think it should be from the fairy tale wedding, prince charming and the glass slipper. We never really look at the detail and the time that goes into the movies, which our children love until this day and age. This is paper is to go into detail about the ever so classic “Cinderella” (Jackson, 1950). This is to break down the basis about the genre and the technique components of the movie as well. | | Ilene Woods | (Voice of Cinderella) | | | | | | Helene Stanley | | (Model for Cinderella and Anastasia) | | | | | Eleanor Audley | | (Voice of Lady Tremaine) | | | | | Luis Van Rooten | | (Voices of the King and the Grand Duke) | | | | | Verna Felton | | (Voice of Fairy Godmother) | | | | | Don Barclay | | | | | | | Claire DuBrey | | (Model for Fairy Godmother) | | | | | Rhoda Williams | | (Voice of Drizella Tremaine) | | | | | James Macdonald | | (Voices of Jaq, Gus-Gus and Bruno) | | | | | Betty Lou Gerson | | (Narrator) | | | | | Lucille Bliss | | (Voice of Anastasia Tremaine) | | | | | William Phipps | | (Speaking voice of Prince Charming) | | | | | Mike...
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