Brave Modern Day Fairy Tale

The film Brave, which was released in 2012 is a non-conventional animated film set in the Scottish highlands in the 10th century. Fairy-tales were traditionally passed down orally before being written down by scribes such as the Grimm brothers. They were generally used to teach young girls how to behave in order to do well in life. The majority of fairy tales show obedient young girls who grow up with hardship, but live to marry royalty and live 'happily ever after' because they are beautiful and kind. Many modern fairy tales today are inspired by these, but do not completely adhere to the tradition. Brave is a good example of this. It had modernised the usual conventions of fairy-tales. This is through the protagonist, Merida, the lessons

I know they say that every fairytale starts with “Once upon a time…” but honestly this fairytale happened last week and it won’t be all that magical to tell you. I guess I should probably introduce myself right? Hi, I’m Cinderella. I’m just your average blonde who looses glass slippers at balls. Don’t let me fool you though. This story has absolutely nothing to do with me. I’m just the narrator.

I have an entire playlist dedicated to Disney music. Their songs and movies can make anyone smile no matter how bitter you are. Everybody has watched Disney movies back when they were a kid, and have always regarded as happily-ever-after stories. But that was not always the case. What if I told you that in the original Cinderella the stepsisters chopped off parts of their feet to try to get the infamous glass shoe to fit. But how did it get from chopping feet to turning a pumpkin into an extravagant carriage? Was it media? All forms of media have a big effect on the general conception; from the printing press and Thomas Jefferson to televised news and Donald Trump. Or did our ever changing society create this facade of happily-ever-after that is sought after so often? In the article Fairy Tales and a Dose of Reality by Catherine Orenstein she utilizes historical references and allusions to modern media and challenges the perception of fairy tales and expose them as media-manipulated, romanticized stories.

Once upon a time, there was a literary genre commonly know as fairy tales. They were mystical and wonderful and a child’s fantasy. These fairy tales were drastically misunderstood throughout many centuries, however. They endured a hard life of constant changing and editing to fit what the people of that time wanted. People of our own time are responsible for some of the radical changes endured by this undeserved genre. Now, these fairy tales had a young friend named Belle. Belle thought she knew fairy tales very well, but one day she found out just how wrong she was.

Triumphant reward in spite of unjust punishment is a universal sentiment that transcends languages and cultures. There are thousands of folktales and fairy tales that are firmly rooted in individual cultures, yet the tale of Cinderella has been told through many centuries and throughout the far corners of the world. With thousands of versions of this classic tale in print worldwide, the tale is believed to have originated with the story of Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl who is married to an Egyptian King. The story of Rhodopis, which means rosy-cheeks, dates back to 7 BC and is attributed to a Greek geographer named Strabo. The Chinese variation of this fairy tale is named Yeh-hsien. The Chinese version is traceable to the year 860 and appears in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Duan Chengshi. Yeh-hsien is a young girl, motherless and in the control of her stepmother, who befriends a treasured fish. The jealous step-mother kills the fish, but it’s bones provide Yeh-hsien with magical powers, eventually enabling Yeh-hsien to escape the control of her step-mother for a royal life. The Story of the Black Cow which is found within the pages of Folk Tales from the Himalayas by John Murray, published in 1906, the child who is mistreated by a stepmother is a male and the role of savior is portrayed by a snake, with a cow serving as the moral of the story, faithfulness. These two versions of Cinderella carry many common threads that are

Fairy Tales are not just stories that parents tell to their children, but stories with hidden valuable messages which are mostly left on a side. In the article “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” Maria Tatar clearly explains how people need fairy tales in their lives. Tatar also states how fairy tales have the ability to take the listener, especially children’s, into a journey in which they can play with their imagination so that they can discover their deepest fears and wishes. Personally I agree with the author, because of the fact that in an individual’s lives as they get older, they will try to define themselves, sometimes comparing their own life with a character from their favorite story or Fairy Tale.

The evil characters are portrayed as less “feminine” than the heroines, with curvier and heftier figures and longer noses as opposed to the slender figures and delicate faces of the princesses (Walker). In 2012. Disney released Brave, whose main character Merida was a spunky tomboy with fiery red hair, which was a step towards more realistic body types. However, after the movie’s release, Disney released a “redesigned” Merida, in which she is “sexier” with a slimmer waist and tamer hair (Perez). Merida’s creator, Brenda Chapman, supported a petition against this new design that

It was a clear tranquil London evening, warmer than you would expect in mid fall. At this late hour these streets were completely vacant, with only the street lamps and occasional shop window illuminating the road. The only sound was the pounding of sneakers frantically hitting the pavement. With every step the noise grew louder, bringing the woman closer to the street and,she prayed, safety.

Three grueling days of marching. until we arrived at a small village. To the center plaza we marched, many of the frightened and confused villagers had gathered there. The legate leading the legion began reading a memoir written by a team of scouts on the horrid atrocities the Hunnic hordes have committed. We needed their support in the fight so they would agree to supply us with the provisions that had been rapidly depleting. Just before he had finished a scout rode into the plaza bloodied and battered he warned us of the Huns and there overwhelmingly large force before finally dying of his injuries. The villagers began to panic and some fled with their belongings. The Legate tried to comfort them telling them we can ensure their safety. We fortified the town built an castra. It was all we could do. Later that evening after I took a small excursion I could see the torches and the yurts atop the craggy mountain. It also became apparent that the terrain advantage they had could not be overcome by our inferior numbers. Evan so the legate informed us we would begin marching on the hill the next morning. I couldn't sleep knowing that death awaited us the at dawn. I went to the mess hall for a hiatus. While there a centurion asked me to take his shift at night watch. I humbly complied.

If you’re a fan of medieval times, you probably know the answer to this question or at least partially so. If not, please continue reading, and I'll give a basic explanation.

Heroes are heroes for many different reasons, but they all share one important thing in common. They must go through the hero’s journey. Odysseus faced many trials, monsters, and temptations in the epic poem The Odyssey. The steps he took were all part of the hero’s journey and made him the great hero that Homer had written him to be. Today, we have a great modern hero. A large community of people look up to her for guidance through their own personal journeys in life. Laverne Cox went through a great hero’s journey to get to where she is today. The hero’s journey is evident in the life of Laverne Cox because she went through a lot at home and in her childhood, is tested by friends and enemies, and finally, receives a reward.

The lead character in Brave, Merida, is very different than other disney princesses you see on the big screen. Most of these princesses are after love, after the prince or hero with good looks who save them from the evil villain. For example, prince charming in Cinderella, or Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid. Merida has very different motivations than these princesses, she wants to control her own destiny. She doesn't want anything to do with the arranged marriage that is set between her kingdom and the other three. Merida doesn't fall in love or

1. What is the genre of this story? Are there any other possible genres this story could fall into?

As we grow up, we hear fairy tales and we read them into our lives. Every word and every image is imprinted into our minds. The fairy tales we read are never abandoned. They grow with us and our dreams become molds of the many morals and happily ever afters fairy tales display. We tell children fairy tales when they go to sleep and they read them in school and we even have them watch Disney adaptions that reinforce them further. Generally, they were everywhere while we grew up and they continue to be present while children are growing up now. But what influence do these stories have? We casually expose our children to these tales, but in some cases they can have particularly, harmful personal effects on them, although there is nothing completely or visibly “bad” about them or about the characters in them. Before we divulge our youth to these stories, we should assess their substance and see what sort of effect they may be having on them. They have received so much scrutiny and have been studied by many. Recognizing fairy tales effects on the minds of children is vital in their development. This paper will focus on the underlying messages that the average person wouldn’t recognize in these everyday stories. There’s a modern distort with fairy tales because while they still are widely popular with the youth, they influence children’s self images, outlooks on reality and expectations for their futures, especially for young women.

In the Disney movie, Brave, the main character is a princess named Merida. You see from the beginning that Merida enjoys archery, riding her horse, and doing many non-girly things. It is refreshing to see a princess in a movie that is not your typical girly girl. This can teach young girls that they do not have to succumb to the type of behavior the rest of society makes them feel they should.