Posts

Blog Entry 5

Image
There are a number of key differences and similarities between the original tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by the brothers Grimm, and the Disney version of the story. In the brothers Grimm version of the story, Snow White does not meet the prince until the end of the story, when she is woken from her coma by coincidence. In contrast, Snow White meets the prince within the first five minutes of the Disney film. Another key difference between the two versions of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is shown when the huntsman takes Snow White into the forest and attempts to kill her. In the brothers Grimm version of the story, when Snow White realizes that the huntsman is about to kill her, she tries to convince him not to, while in the Disney version, she is passive. This difference is a strong indication of Walt Disney’s conservative values, as passivity is a characteristic that has been forced upon women in many cultures throughout history, including our own. In addition to th
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog Entry 4

Image
If the proposed definition of success in this context is lack of financial obstacles, then it is possible to attain success through marriage. There are many cases of this throughout history, and our society and culture has created many different tales centered around the theme of “rags to riches” due to this. The movie Pretty Woman , for example, features the story of an escort and a wealthy businessman who fall in love with each other and end up together. This tale is repeated in many variants of the same story due largely to the fact that our society judges a person’s individual success by the amount of wealth they accumulate. Additionally, this story is valuable to our national culture because one of the most important elements to the film Cinderella is the “underdog story” which we enjoy because it is a core component of the “American Dream” which many of us are raised to believe is attainable if we work hard enough.
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog Entry 2

Image
Both the book The Brothers Grimm by Jack Zipes, and the movie "The Brothers Grimm" directed by Terry Gilliam, attempt to accurately depict the lives of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, yet there are numerous differences in the way the brothers lives are portrayed and the stories they recorded between the two versions. In Zipes's version of the Brothers Grimm, the brothers are much more studious and focused on their work, while in Gilliam's version they are much more boisterous and like to party. In one scene in the movie the Brothers Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm are at a bar, and both become very inebriated, which had negative consequences for them. In contrast, Zipes book discusses in detail how both brothers studied for years at university and led very austere lives, as they had been raised Calvinist. In addition to the inaccuracies in the portrayal of the brother’s lives, the way that the brothers Grimm recorded their stories in the movie was very different from the way the
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog Entry 1

Image
Throughout my life, I have found fairy tales to be a fascinating subject. As one of the most historically valuable and socially impactful forms of literature, they are an essential part of global culture. So, as I was considering the wide variety of Full Year Seminars for the coming school year, From Grimm to Disney  instantly jumped out at me. Though I have read several fairy tales and seen many movies based on them, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of their meaning, and be able to analyze them more accurately and concisely by the end of this course. Out of all of the fairy tales I have seen, the tale of little red riding hood is my favorite, because of the different ways it can be interpreted and the possible reasons that the Brothers Grimm had for writing it.
Post a Comment
Read more