Everyone Needs Beauty Sleep The general introduction to fairy tales has been written and read a hundred times. Being spared from this is a blessing when one already knows that fairy tales are ever changing. Above all stories, Cinderella has gone through the most revisions, retelling and overuse. Gail Carson Levine decided to do yet another when she wrote Ella Enchanted. While the plot markers are indeed a Cinderella story, this version contains a girl’s journey that resembles Sleeping Beauty’s.
So many girls have this fantasy of being Cinderella and having a “fairy tale” life, but what version of Cinderella and what types of fairy tales are these girls looking up to for their idea of an ideal life? In Marcia Lieberman’s essay “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” she opposes the views of another scholar, Alison Laurie, who believes that fairy tales are something that radical feminists would approve of because the stories, “suggest a society in which women are as competent and active as men, at every age and in every class.” Lieberman argues that it is popular fairy tales--the ones that we all know and the ones we read to our children--that actually acculturate the masses of young girls in society, therefore the lesser-known stories cannot
Carlos G. Zamora 09/26/11 Period-3 A Maid in Manhattan, what would Yolen say? “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” This was said by Walt Disney, who made a fortune out of selling stories of dreams and happy endings to many American children. One of these stories was Cinderella. In this story, he planted the idea that, “When you wish upon a star, all your dreams can come true.” Although Disney may have earned a large amount of money and fame with the story, the story is not his. The story of Cinderella has been told in many languages and ways for years.
In this story Panttaja says it is both mothers that are wicked. Panttaja states the real mother “plots and schemes, and she wins” (Panttaja 660) when it comes to fulfilling the wishes of Ashputtle. But actually the two mothers have the same goal in mind; to have their daughters married off and have a joyful life. To be able to do this, the real mother puts a charm on the prince to make him fall in love with Ashputtle instead of anyone else. The prince did not dance with anyone else all night and would always say “she is my partner” (Grimm 630).
The Princess Paradox Critique Alexandra Heinrich May 2012 English 120 In the article “The Princess Paradox” By James Poniewozik the author explains how “modern day” Cinderella stories have came a long way from what they once were. Although, no matter how hard we try, the Cinderella story will always end the same and our young girls will always want to be a princess, no matter how the princess is portrayed in the fairy tail. In this article, Poniewozik explains the changes that have occurred in the princess stories throughout the years, and the way that they have changed from one story to the next. He shows how the fairy tales and ideal women in movies went from being just a few years ago the “girls-kick-ass culture” to now the much more elegant fairy tales. A few years ago there were movies such as his examples “Charlie's Angels, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the Powder Puff girls” Where women were very fierce and self defendant.
Although Schechter and Orenstein seem to share these similar feministic views on princess culture, it may seem to be that Schechter carries a more liberal, open minded view on princess culture and Orenstein has a more radical closed minded view on princess culture. Schechter begins by talking about her trip to Disney World with her three daughters, who are seven, four and four, and her husband. The trip was planned especially for her three daughters which meant as much princess exposure as possible and as Schechter states, it consisted of “The girls packed their favorite princess costumes, and agonized every morning regarding which costume they would wear to the parks. We stood in lengthy lines to meet princesses, we watched princess shows, we ate at a special princess character dinner, and I even saved up all of my Disney credit card points for the princess make-overs at the “Bibbiddi Bobbidi Boutique” in Cinderella’s castle” (Schechter 1) Schechter talks about how all her friends are feminist who despise the princess culture and do not want their daughters to even come in
She writes, “Whirling happily in my starchy frock, showing off my biscuit-polished patent-leather shoes and lavender socks, tossing my head in a way that makes my ribbons bounce, I stand, hands on hips, before my father. “’Take me, Daddy,” I say with assurance; “I’m the prettiest!”’ (51). Her young confidence comes from others’ perception of her in her frocks and polished shoes and her sassy attitude; it’s that reception from others that is detrimental to Alice’s confidence after her accident. As Alice states, “It was great fun being cute. But then, one day, it ended.” (52).
As Carters other tales within her collection are darker, this can be seen as light relief. She cleverly places Puss in Boots in the middle of her collection making this story a light relief for readers. Her ending is also a very classic fairytale ending as everyone lives happily ever after “for tabs and I smile all day long” making this story of Carters a light relief. However, Puss in Boots is not just a story for readers to feel relief; Carter has made sure that her story has a
And so, the actor becomes a catalyst; he or she brings ignition that spark in every human being that longs for the miracle of transformation”. The contribution is so important, because the audience relates to the human ingredient. I enjoyed watching the main character played by Halle Berry pull the audience in from scene one by her true attitudes and emotions of this drama genre. Halle Berry, became the character, she made me believe
Growing up, I thought my mother looked just like Cinderella and had the same pretty voice. I was excited to watch this movie again, with my daughter, because I thought it would bring me back to my childhood. I must admit that while watching it for absolutely different reasons, and taking notes, it was hard to enjoy it as much. Without immediately referring to the sheer passivity of the heroine, Cinderella, I’ve found that this story not only gender-stereotypes, but sets societal norms right out there on the table for you, and agrees and supports every one of them. Cinderella is not the role model I want for my daughter.