A Tale Imagined by Disney

Notably exempt from the essay is Tatar’s refutation or concession of the influence of modern novels and stories on young readers. Clearly, if fairy tales have a lasting power over children under 14 years old, then other genres are capable of having the same impact. However, her avoidance of the subject suggests societies shift from aged fairy tales to futuristic novels has the same impact on children. Furthermore, the “beauty, horror, marvels, violence, and magic” of fairy tales can now be found in fantasy novels, like The Hobbit(55). Therefore, the necessity of out of date stories with words abandoned terminology would decrease as younger generations grow older. Also, research studies have shown that individuals that are exposed to violent books and stories tend to be more aggressive and angry because literature is more interactive. As a result, more parents could be reducing their children’s exposure to fairy tales from authors like the Grimm brothers as a precaution. Thus, there could be underlying justification for the lack of interest in fairy tales. Although Tatar failed to include concessions in her work, she did

Storytelling has been changing rapidly in recent years. Stories have been told orally, through books, and most recently movies. These stories provide an escape from reality for children and adults alike. Many fairy tales were originally thought to be enchanting and were meant to please a child’s endless imaginations and presents different teachings and morals (Moore 175). In the society seen today, many aspects of life are changing and fairytales have not been adapting consistently to these changes. The biggest contributor to fairy tales today, is Disney. Disney utilizes their popularity by shaping and dominating the world and creating notions of happiness and utopia (Zipes 17). While children find joy in these tales, Disney inserts their

In Tatar’s article, An Introduction to Fairy Tales, she draws us in by describing childhood books as “sacred objects.” She takes a quote from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. describing how the stories give lessons about what a child subconsciously knows - “that human nature is not innately good, that conflict is real, that life is harsh before it is happy - and thereby reassure them about their own fears and their own sense of self,” (Tatar 306). She describes how many adults long for the simplicity of enjoying those stories in their childhoods, only to realize that they outgrew them, and instead have been introduced to reality. The original stories were more for adults rather than for children. Nowadays, stories have been adapted to be more suitable for children. Fairy tales may allow a kid to wonder due to their charm, but they also can

In the modern world, children’s literature, fairy tales, and fiction books influence our childhood and early development. In the 1500’s and 1600’s no children’s literature for entertainment existed, they had educational books. As babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, my parents and teachers read us books after books. It is proven that reading to young kids is important for their imagination, vocabulary, and communication skills in early life.

In the essay “Fairy Tales and Modern Stories”, Bruno Bettelheim argues that fairy tales can provide children more reassurance than realistic stories. Bettelheim used examples like “The Little Engine that Could”,”The Swiss Family Robinson” and “Rapunzel” to show how realistic stories and fairy tales both affected children’s thinking. The author claims that modern stories don’t compare to fairy tales, because they can’t provide an outlet for children to work through their problems and emotions. Bettelheim explains that fairy tales give children the reassurance and hope that there's a better future that is waiting for them. He argues that fairy tales can have a more impactful effect because it can offer “escape” and “consolation” for troublesome events in their lives. He even claims that modern stories fail to give the reader “encouraging

The Prince stereotypes the role of women being in need of a destined lover. He is the one that identifies Cinderella as the one in the dress, though excluding behavior, her appearance dazzles him for two nights at the ball. Most importantly, he’s not the hero of the fairytale, but readers can interpret the fairy godmother as the savior of Cinderella’s demise. The role of magic comes in part with the acceptance of achieving the imagery of an elegant woman, impressing the Prince who gains interest in her. The

There are numerous genre’s in literature, but their level of importance and influence on an individual will differ. Exposure to books and stories is especially important for children because it is their opportunity to acclimate themselves to written language, and in turn create their own visuals for the toneless words. Maria Tatar writes, “Why Fairy Tales Matter: The Performative and the Transformative” to demonstrate how fairy tale’s written language can spark a child’s imagination as well as empower them. Through personal insight from distinguished writers— Richard Wright— Tatar builds her argument for the benefits of fairy tales— particularly the violent stories. The writer organizes her essay in a concrete fashion by using each paragraph to build on a proposed idea or to present a belief, but does not use contemporary writers personal anecdotes or heed to her own advice of avoiding childish fairy tales.

"Fairy tales have long created potent cocktails of beauty, horror, marvels, violence, and magic, drawing in audiences of all generations over the course of centuries" (Tatar 55) writes Maria Tatar in her essay "Why Fairy Tales Matter. " This innate power is probably the reason why, still today, fairy tales are as meaningful and effective as they were centuries ago, when the brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault first wrote them down. Thus, as fairy tales are powerful weapons to condition the minds of their readers, it is only natural that literary critics have decided to analyze them in great detail. For example, both Maria Tatar and Vanessa Joosen assert that fairy tales play a vital role that tales play in children's empowerment: the first one arguing that the language in traditional stories gifts children a newfound virtue, the second claiming that the tales' retelling are cardinal for the development of critical thinking.

“Fairytales tell children what they unconsciously know, that human nature is not innately good, that conflict is real, that life is harsh before it is happy and thereby reassure them about their own fears and their own sense of self” (Tatar). Many adults wish they had grown up in a fairytale family or childhood seeing this as idea,l but in reality the fairytale family is very similar to our modern mixed families and rings true with the pattern of abuse and change that so many children face in our society. Audiences tend to overlook the abuse and neglect that Cinderella endures at the hands of her evil stepmother and stepsisters and focus on the happily ever after ending with the handsome prince and the glass slipper. However, the struggle

At one time or another almost every child has read a story about mystical beings, dashing heroes, and evil villains, all acting out a story in a mysterious place, in a time long, long ago. Fairy Tales, while almost purely of a fictional content, offer us a glimpse into the culture and social staples of a certain society. The classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, by the Brother's Grimm, depicts two young siblings abandoned in the forest by their parents during a time of a great famine. The Simpson's has long been a fundamental element of many adolescent children and is a modern, and somewhat skewed, version of the classic fairy tale. These two mediums of expression, however different they may be, give us concepts and facts about

This scene here is a perfect example of how this movie teaches viewers that being ugly is a sure sign of punishment, while in contrast obtaining beauty is a reward. This also encourages hegemonic heterosexuality because the enchantress tells the beast that he will be rewarded solely if he loves and is loved by another woman. This is noted as well and shown when some of the other characters in the movie speak of Belle as “the girl who could break the spell”. There are also notions of very heterosexual dating advice given by some

Fantasy allows children to stimulate their imagination, develop abilities, clarify emotions, and understand the difficulties in life, while at the same time suggesting solutions to problems. However, it is impossible for “realistic” stories to do the same. These lifelike stories are often uninteresting, complicated, meaningless, and do not provide their readers with psychological contentment. As a result, authors like Bruno Bettelheim deeply express the importance of fairy tales for children and kids alike. Therefore, in my estimation, a child might be comforted and experience growth and awareness through the viewing of fantasy stories like The Wizard of Oz due to the

In her article “Onceuponatime”, Andrea Dworkin maintains the fact that fairytales promote unrealistic, sexist guidelines for children to shadow: “Fairytales are the primary information of the culture. They are our childhood models, and their fearful, dreadful content terrorizes us into submission…” Fairytales are meant to serve as a vehicle to entertain children while teaching them valuable lessons. Her overall point is that a large percentile of fairytales are promoting gender equality and should make parents think twice before filling their children’s minds’ with sexist point of views. Throughout the piece, she exposes the multiple flaws that fairytales present when creating the fate of the characters; from the one dimensional princes to

Disney’s Coercive Portray of Man’s Role Towards Woman by The Character of Beast Jeanne-Marie’s Beauty and the Beast and Disney’s popular counterpart both claim for a more profound value than superficial attractiveness through Belle’s romantic story. This is reflected by the character of Beast, which both stories depict as an ugly creature that needs to love and find love by other ways than what appear beautiful to sight. However, Disney represent this character significantly different than in the classic tale, making an ideological difference in the story and certainly transmitting opposite views about the masculine role in a couple relationship. In this Essay, I argue that Disney’s changes to the original character of the Beast in Jeanne-Marie’s tale, demonstrate an oppressive, interested and unequal relation with Belle that may motivate to have this view, and expectation, of men with woman in a relationship; which contrast with Jeanne-Marie’s kind Beast character. This

Fairy tales have passed from generation to generation, almost as a rite of passage, throughout western civilization. Whether it is the tales of the Grimm Brothers’ or modern Disney versions, fairy tales have permeated society for ages. The question is whether they are merely stories told to children for entertainment or something more. Every tale offers children morals to live up to such as not trusting strangers to being kind to animals. Are morals all that are provided though? Fairy tales seem to have a much more lasting effect on a child’s psyche than simply a lesson learned.