Response to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I decided to write this response before reading the Brothers’ Grimm original version, so that I could write about my thoughts on the movie without being influenced by outside works.  Watching the movie, the original Disney full feature film, I was surprised at how closely it resembled modern Disney films.  It followed, or more like set, the path for how all fairy tales would be structured in the future.  There was a clear hero and a clear villain, with no ambiguity as to who was who from the very beginning.  Although Snow White was the main character, she appeared to be weak and vulnerable from the very beginning, when she first ran away from the prince into the castle.  The prince, who represented masculinity, was the good guy who saved the princess in the end.  And, of course, all the princess ever wanted was a man who would be her “true love.”

It is interesting comparing the role of Snow White to modern princesses, like Rapunzel in Tangled.  While current films have tried to expand the roles of females in their animated films, Walt Disney did no such thing with the original Snow White.  Snow White’s first reaction when she entered the dirty cottage that belonged to the dwarfs was to tidy it.  In her plea to the dwarves to let her stay, she promises to keep the house clean and cook for them.  In other words, what Disney is trying to say, is that the only she was good for was to look after the home of the men she was living with.  She was also extremely vulnerable, as she decided to eat the apple, despite the suspicious circumstances.  The other main female character is the queen, who is the obvious villain.  There is no compassionate side to her, and she is seen only as a ruthless woman who will do whatever is necessary to obtain what she wants.  Adding to that, she becomes even crazier once she transforms herself into an old lady, resembling a witch.  This symbolizes and draws from a dark period in American history, during the Salem Witch Trials, when women were falsely accused of being the source of evil in society. 

The scene when Snow White takes a bite of the apple may also be a reference to the bible.  The queen tempted Snow White to take a bite of the apple, which would be the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  This could be compared to the snake (Satan) tempting Eve to take a bite of the forbidden fruit, and then convincing Adam to do the same.  In both examples, the female is to blame for what happens next. In this analogy, Snow White’s “Sleeping Death” would represent the death and pain that mankind now suffers as a result of this sin, and the prince’s kiss that brought her back to life would be Jesus dying on the cross for all of humanity.  There are subliminal messages in this film, which may be why adults are just as fascinated by it as children are.