Fairy Tales 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I am almost positive that most of my family members as well as my friends believe that Disney is the genesis of fairy tales. Although I don’t know, more than likely my family members and friends have never reviewed the history of Disney or (comparatively) analyzed Disney fairy tales. My little sister for example, thoroughly enjoyed Disney’s Princess and the Frog. Does she care about the morphology of the tale? Of course not! She was mostly excited to see a Black princess, which I think tapped into the “modernity” theme (landscape wise) that Zipes mentions in Breaking the Disney Spell. Princess Tiana is a realistic protagonist, understanding that hard work gets you where you need to go, not just wishing. Domesticity ideals are still upheld like cleaning and the use of culinary genius. Prince Naveen, the arrogant and lazy prince perfectly fits “Disney’s enterprising hero who does nothing to help the community.” Disney’s businesslike mentality allowed his empire to manipulate an existing story and infuse conservative ideas to prevent viewers from examining the tale too closely. Disney diverts the audience’s attention with agreeable imagery and engaging characters with an easy to follow tale. Zipes refers to this as “non reflective viewing that’s adorable, easy and comforting in its simplicity.” Whatever it is that you want to call it, the Disney legacy is clearly being upheld and will only continue to thrive with nostalgic, impressionable, loyal audiences and future technological advances.

No comments:

Post a Comment