One thing that I wish we could have touched on more in class on Wednesday is how many Disney movies- Snow White, the Little Mermaid and Cinderella to name a few- are descended from classic fairy tales with not-so-happy endings. For those of you who don't know, in Snow White, the prince does not kiss Snow White to wake her. Instead, the prince becomes so enamored with her beautiful lifeless body (necrophilia much?) that he insists on taking her coffin back to his kingdom. On the way, a servant trips and drops the coffin and Snow White throws up the apple lodged in her throat. The Little Mermaid dies at the end of her story and in Cinderella, the two stepsisters cut off parts of their feet in order to fit in the glass slipper.
I find it interesting how the Western world's perception of types of stories are appropriate for children has changed. Such gruesome and sad stories would never be told to children in this day and age. At the same time, the messages that the "Disneyfied" versions of these stories promote are hardly any better. Parents tend to just assume that because something is Disney, it is family friendly when as we discussed in class, these films often carry subtle messages of racism and sexism and all in all give children a pretty distorted world view.
Another thought that I had was the idea of the "happily ever after" Disney-type fairy tale (as opposed to, say, those of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen) and how it is marketed to women even after they outgrow their Disney years. The romantic comedy seems to me to be the grown woman equivalent to Disney fairy tales. Indeed, both promote, however subtly (and in several cases not so subtly), that women need men. Even the ones that seem to promote female empowerment, such as He's Just Not That Into You or even Sex and the City, promote this ideal. Carrie going back to Mr. Big time and time again is just as bad as Belle falling for the Beast who has taken her hostage or Ariel giving up her voice to get the guy.
I would really just like to see more positive female portrayals in the media. I think that there are some movies and TV shows that are getting it, but as the romantic comedy suggests, we really haven't evolved much past the not-so-female-friendly Disney movies. As Donatella Versace said "I am not a great believer in fairy tales. Every woman should have to fight hard for her own happy endings."
Another thought that I had was the idea of the "happily ever after" Disney-type fairy tale (as opposed to, say, those of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen) and how it is marketed to women even after they outgrow their Disney years. The romantic comedy seems to me to be the grown woman equivalent to Disney fairy tales. Indeed, both promote, however subtly (and in several cases not so subtly), that women need men. Even the ones that seem to promote female empowerment, such as He's Just Not That Into You or even Sex and the City, promote this ideal. Carrie going back to Mr. Big time and time again is just as bad as Belle falling for the Beast who has taken her hostage or Ariel giving up her voice to get the guy.
I would really just like to see more positive female portrayals in the media. I think that there are some movies and TV shows that are getting it, but as the romantic comedy suggests, we really haven't evolved much past the not-so-female-friendly Disney movies. As Donatella Versace said "I am not a great believer in fairy tales. Every woman should have to fight hard for her own happy endings."
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