Where it originated:
Snow White is a 19th century German fairy tale which has become well known across western world. The first edition was published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 and since many more adaptions and variations have been produced. In the first edition, cannibalisation and murder were main themes of the gruesome fairy-tale but since they have been changed by society to accommodate the younger generations with new themes of vanity. The first feature-length film was produced by Walt Disney in 1937 and may more adaptations have been based off of these two texts. Since these two adaptions many more versions of the original fairy-tale have been produced by numerous directors and companies.
How it has morphed and changed to take its current form or relevancy to 2017:
The reason Snow White has morphed is because today’s audience would find the original Disney animated movie (1937) laughable because
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The demographic group of Snow White has changed as children and families were the target audience for the first animation by Walt. The movies and TV shows are now aimed at adolescents or above. Over time younger directors stepped up to produce their take on the Grimm Brothers fairy-tale and since they were more connected by age to the younger demographic they could shape their product to appeal to adolescents and what that demographic would find appealing and interesting. Individual productions tailor their content to be suitable for each demographic group so that their products can be viewed by a variety of
Orenstein uses the Disney princess persona and describes it as a major turning point in the perception of fairy tales. The original fairy tales described as grim and macabre, transformed as time passes and started to appeal to many more people; the dark theme turned into a happy and pleasant princess love story that Disney is now famous for. An example, stated by Orenstein is the tale of Snow White, which originally, in short, involves rape and murder. Eventually, over
As happy as this stories summary seems, it is clearly not even remotely realistic in our society. Entering adolescence teens are less concerned with imaginary stories and more worried about meeting social and family expectations while trying to shift through an awkward phase and find their own identity. Duhamel refers to the original version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
perpetuated over the years throughout Disney’s movies. Disney is one of the largest media companies in the world. According to Forbes, the “net worth and market capitalization of Disney Company has been estimated as $103.96 billion in 2013” ("Walt Disney Company Net Worth - Celebrity Net Worth,”). From the premiere of the Steamboat Willie cartoons in 1928 Disney has transformed pop culture as we know it today. This paper is designed to look into four major issues gender identity, gender roles, ethnicity, social class throughout Disney’s Cinderella (1950) and Frozen (2013). I aim to show that in these films can be found a subtle manual for social norms, a supplier of dominant family values. I will assess certain sociological concepts that are represented in these films namely ‘The American Dream’, standardization, pseudo-individualism and the creation of false needs. As a society, the understanding of these issues are instrumental to our being since our identity is often distorted through long term norms, ideals and merits set forth through these animated films.
Everyone loves a good fairytale, and nothing is quite as magical and heartwarming as a Disney fairytale. The themes of love, comedy, and morality deem them as more than just little kids' stories, but suitable and entertaining tales for the entire family. This is known by a majority of the stories' readers. However, what one may not be so familiar with is the origin of these tales. Where did the stories of Cinderella, Ariel, and Rapunzel come from? The Disney writers certainly did not create them themselves. The differences in the originals will shock anyone familiar with Disney. And what about Snow White? There are differences between the original Brothers Grimm version of the ebony-haired, white-skinned princess and the Disney movie, believe it or not. Some major differences between both versions are the multiple ways the evil queen tries murdering her stepdaughter, the cause of Snow White's revival, as well as how the evil queen died. Why the story was altered is obvious:
Although Snow White isn’t anything remarkable with today’s computer-generated graphics, the hand-drawn film was groundbreaking at the time. The high profit from Snow White inspired Disney to relocate and expand his studio in order to facilitate all of his animation needs (Wingert). This upcoming state-of-the-art studio would open up several new opportunities for the Disney Company.
Few people can grow up within today's society without knowing the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, it has been told and retold to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story. Fairytales typically have underlying messages that can be found written between the lines, generally in terms of the key themes. Snow White discusses the themes of envy and beauty, and shows how humans' obsessions can lead to their own downfall as well as the harm of others. When focusing on the relationship between Snow White and her step-mother the Queen, it is evident that the combination of these two themes results in a power struggle in which beauty
Walt Disney Productions prestige is to never disappoint and their latest movie Frozen, is no exception. The movie centers around the lives of two sisters, kind-hearted Anna and the frightened Snow Queen Elsa. Fearless Anna sets off on a journey to find her sister, who flees to an icy mountain after she accidentally traps the kingdom of Arendelle in an eternal winter with her ice powers. Disney’s 2013 animated film reeled in its target audience and more; the film intended to appeal to children’s of all ages surprisingly enough enticed a wider audience largely comprised of non-families. Disney’s reputation for promoting happiness and the well-being of American families led to the direct success of the movie Frozen. The film met its purpose, depicting a touching storyline – showing the importance of family and undermining the traditional concept of “true love.” Furthermore, Walt Disney Productions established sufficient credibility within its viewers and audience with the use of artistic proofs such as; ethos, logos, and pathos. Disney’s tradition is to provide the audience with an educational piece of entertainment, Frozen is undeniably one of those Disney animated films worth seeing. Walt Disney Productions strategic use of rhetoric made it evident that the movie was going to be an all-time hit – some may even say “the biggest children’s film of all time” – simply because it was just that, a Disney movie.
Thus, many adults had a problem with this movie. The movie is addressed to not only children but adults as well. My adults are stubborn and don’t like things that are not how they see it. These parents have metathesiophobia. Also, those adults believe that the kids should not be watching these types of movies that shows them how to be rebellious. These parents focus on the parts of the movie that were irrelevant like how Elsa ran away. Other adults who see the positive difference between the old Disney movies and the new Disney movies encourage their kids to watch it and recommend other parents to watch it with their kids. It is parents like those who have helped changed the perspective of the medias role in our socialization. Media has always been negative towards women and the role they have in the world. But movies like “Brave” and “Frozen” are helping change those perspective in a positive way.
Snow White starts off with a lonely queen who sat sewing by her window one mid-winter night. She pricked her finger and seeing the blood so red made her wish for a child who has cheeks as red as blood, her
“Through the cheerful music, funny characters, and happy ending, the character of Snow White starts the Disney trend of a domestic woman who becomes a damsel-in-distress relying on a prince to come and save her” (Barber, 2015). The original 1812 tale of Little Snow White by the Brothers Grimm portrays Snow White as a small, naive, self centered little girl who can’t seem to listen to anything she is told, and who has to rely a prince she doesn’t even know to wake her up from the dead. Two hundred years later, in the 2012 movie version Snow White and the Huntsman, the director Rupert Sanders revisits the original tale of Snow White, but decides to change it up a bit. In this version of the tale, Snow White is a strong, independent young woman who seems to be able to do anything she decides to do. In Sander’s version, Snow White not only conquers the cruel queen, but she conquers the labels society often places on women. Unlike the Grimms Brothers, Sanders develops his Snow White's character in a way that fits with women’s empowerment that the current generation now fights for everyday.
A young girl with black hair and brown eyes sees a beautiful princess named Cinderella who has blond hair, blue eyes, and flawless skin. She believes she will never be as radiant and beautiful as the princess because they don’t look alike. Like this girl, there are many cases of Disney films having lasting negative effects on children. Disney influences children more than any other age group since most merchandise and movies are geared toward younger audiences around thirteen or younger. Walt Disney Productions have a negative effect on children through stereotypes, violent actions, and sexism presented through its characters’ physical characteristics and actions. Disney has been
The old version of Snow White contains dark and violent stories and harsh elements that were not proper for kids. However, the Snow White that is familiar today is very friendly and well adapted for children. The original story of Snow White is written by the Grimm Brothers in the 19th century at German. In several of the Grimms’ stories, it contains various odd scenes and violent parts. According to the Disney version of Snow White the queen tells the huntsmen to bring the heart of Snow in order to check whether she is dead or not. However, in the Grimm version of Snow White, the queen, which is the witch, sells a corset to Snow and makes her try on the corset and squeeze her by tightening it. Also, in the original version, it is not the prince’s
The story of “Snow White” depicts what a beautiful girl has to endure from her evil stepmother, whose vanity and cruelty know no boundaries, is there more to the story though? The Brothers Grimm give us clues here and there, about how they both have similarities. Little by little, Snow White’s character can be seen changing from the pure character at the beginning of the story, to someone that if you look close resembles the evil Queen by the end of the story. Snow White’s and the evil stepmother both share some common traits such as vanity, envy, and at times no remorse among others; in which Snow White can be compared to the Queen.
Fairy tales such as Snow White, have been rewritten and interpreted in many different stories throughout a vast amount of years. Two stories that retold the tale of Snow White were “Little Snow White”, Written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and Snow White and The Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sandors. The brothers Grimm wrote the “Little Snow White” in 1812 and explained the story of Snow White as a young child who was targeted to be killed by a jealous queen and hide away in a house of 7 dwarfs. In their home, Snow White was constantly tricked by the evil queen and killed then brought back to life by the 7 dwarfs. The story of Snow White and the Huntsman was directed in a much darker direction than the brother’s Grimm version where survival was sought for both the huntsman and Snow White. Similarities arose in both versions where Snow White had to survive a terrible ordeal that she is being placed in from being vulnerable to tricks from the queen in the brothers grimm version to surviving from her stepmother but also from the environment she encounters conflict in the Snow White and the Huntsman movie. The themes of both versions contrast each other since Snow White beauty is able to save her from different situations in ‘Little Snow White”, however, the queens obsession on being young and beautiful ultimately led to her downfall in Snow White and the Huntsman.
The appearance of Snow White has not changed over the years. She has remained to be “a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood” (Grimm 1884). Although the visible characteristics of her has not changed, the way that it was described has changed. Walt Disney described Snow White as, “lips red as a rose, hair black as ebony, and skin white as snow” (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937). She is described in the same way in “Mirror, Mirror”. Her age differs in the versions, but I feel like it all evens out in the