After watching Disney’s Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, and then reading “Little Snow-White” by the
Brothers’ Grimm, I was surprised to see the parts of the story that the Disney
animators decided to keep, and which were changed. The first part that really stuck out to me
was that the little house in the Brothers’ Grimm version was already neat and
tidy, which was completely different from the house in the film. The first thing Snow White sees as her duty
upon finding the house is to clean it.
While this seems like a minor difference, it signifies a mindset that
was popular at the time that a woman’s only job, and true “duty” is to clean up
after men. After all, Walt Disney did
not have to make this small change to the story, but in doing so he is
instilling “proper” family values and responsibilities.
Another difference that I noticed was that the Disney
creators decided to romanticize Snow White’s death by calling it the “Sleeping
Death” in which she was not actually dead, but in a constant state of
sleep. In the original story, Snow White
is actually declared dead by the dwarfs, and there is no ambiguity in the term
used. This makes sense, not only because
it is a children’s film, but also because one of Disney’s goals was to bring
joy and happiness to people. Since
people went to theaters to forget their troubles, it only makes sense that they
would not want Snow White, the innocent, beautiful princess to actually
die.
The last significant difference was that Snow White coughed
up the apple piece instead of being kissed by the prince to revive her from death. This not only stresses the romantic aspect of
this film, but the fact that the prince, a male character, ended up saving the
day. It sends the message that women are
dependent on men to get them out of their troubles, and that they are weak on
their own. This sexist view is
concerning, especially when it is in a children’s film, since it will influence
their own views as they grow up.
No comments:
Post a Comment