We all grew up hoping to be the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairy tale. People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Arielle Schussler the author of the piece “A case against fairytales”,I am against fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not be taught Disney or original fairy tales.…
Stephanie Hanes’ “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect” first appeared in the Christian Science Monitor in 2011. Hanes aims to convince her audience that little girls are being subjected to the hypersexualization of women. With supporting evidence, strategic organization, and a specific purpose and audience, Hanes is able to produce a convincing argument.…
Many children grow up with fairy tales at their fingertips, and these fairy tales aid the development of the child. The lessons that children take away from these fairy tales consciously and subconsciously change the way that children view certain circumstances. In “Fairy Tales and a Dose of Reality,” Catherine Orenstein states that the presence of fairy tales has resulted in an indistinct view of reality. Orenstein considers the television shows and movies that portray love at first sight and what constitutes a happily ever after. As a result of this mode of media, many people have an image of what love should look like, but unfortunately life cannot meet these hopes. On the other hand, Maria Tatar claims in “An Introduction to Fairy Tales” that fairy tales “construct the adult world of reality” (307). Both Orenstein and Tatar discuss how fairy tales shape views of reality, but Orenstein develops her thought that they cause a blurry…
For generations, Walt Disney films have been a “must watch” by parents, children and their families. However, these people may not see the hidden meanings behind Disney films. Currently, children are constantly exposed to media and opinions inherently presented within television, films, radio, books and more. Disney films are no exception. The films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty all reinforce traditional gender roles, and the idea that lightness is supreme and will help when it comes to goodness conquering evil.…
Pinocchio is Disney Animated film that was made in around 1940. This story is about a marionettes quest to becoming a real boy. Pinocchio’s Creator was Geppetto, a carpenter, who fell in love with the outcome of his work and wished upon a star that this marionette he created would become alive. The Blue Fairy is the one responsible for making Geppetto’s wish come true. She gave life to Pinocchio but not as a real boy, instead he was just a living marionette who had to prove he was worthy of becoming a real boy by being brave, truthful, and unselfish. Jiminy Cricket is a representation of Pinocchio’s conscience during his quest to becoming a real boy. Throughout Pinocchio’s journey there are many examples that can be seen as an Initiation.…
things about religion and magic, but I’m not sure if I’m interpreting the reading in the right way.…
Fairytales: when someone says that word, the first thing that might come up in your mind is probably kid’s reading Cinderella. Fairytales’ simplicity and accuracy in delivering a moral to young kids and adults is wonderful. We’d give an adult a eerie look if we caught them reading a kids book on the train to themselves. The reason behind our thought is cause it’s a kids book why would an adult read it but behind all this is the difference of interpreting stories for adults and children. Stories like Juniper Tree, Snow White, and Little Red Cap include hidden messages through violence and imagery and dialogue. Fairy tales teach children how to grasp the meaning and power behind storytelling. In this paper I will discuss the vast ways in which a child and adult interpret fairytales. Its…
Fairytales. When we hear or see that calming word, we automatically think of beautiful expensive ball gowns, charming handsome Princes, pumpkins turning into carriages, and the infamous ending of true loves first kiss. When growing up, many of us had these wonderful tales read to us before bed or at school with all of our friends. Fairytales, having been around for centuries, sends all kinds of important moral messages from being a child to facing the ‘beautiful’ world of adulthood. Growing up and being placed in the adult world, we come to terms that fairytales aren’t the classic stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Briar Rose, or Cinderella that we all know and love, its much more than that. We are surrounded by Fairytales, almost as if they…
These days most fairy tales are told through a Disney filter of happiness and song. Reading the much darker original Grimm's Fairy…
Disney Fairy tales have always been used as a tool to maintain white supremacy, racial stereotypes, and internalized racism. Despite its use for entertainment; fairy tales have commonly been used as a strategy to inform and educate children about the real world. However, the information children received while watching these fairy tales are often filled with unrealistic stereotypes. This is mainly because many, if not all Disney films are used to produce a negative image for people of certain minority groups. Although Disney tries to make the stereotypical representations very subtle, they still manage to destroy any minority groups image in the growing mind of the children who…
Racism: discrimination which exemplifies stereotypical differences between the ethnic groups to which people belong. While Disney animated films are the ideal family movies, it is undisclosed to many that such racism is being portrayed. Disney’s movie Aladdin (1992), “was a high-profile release, the winner of two Academy Awards, and one of the most successful Disney films ever produced” (Giroux, 104); however, what is often disregarded is the obvious depiction of careless racism towards Arabs seen in the illustrations of the characters, the statuses into which they are placed and the lyrics of the opening song near beginning of the film. Furthermore, with the movie disguising itself as innocent and wholesome, children are exposed to these stereotypes at a young age.…
The introduction of the book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim focused on the benefits of fairytales on child development. Bettelheim talks about how important developing the child's imagination is. Developing the imagination allows children to process what they see in the world and process what they hear in stories. This gives them a good grasp on their conscience (11-12). Fairy tales allows for children to learn about problems in the real world and ways to deal with them. Bettelheim says that there is a fine line between a story holding a child's attention and not; the story must be entertaining but by arousing their imagination…
From generation to generation stories are always changing. Fairy tales like Cinderella go from mean step sisters to nice sisters, fairy god mother to a tree. After reading 5 different versions of Cinderella I had to choose which I would decide to read, above the others to my favorite child. After difficult thinking I have chosen the Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella for many great reasons. I have chosen the Walt Disney’s version because I feel it is the most fitting for children over all the others which are best suitable for older teens.…
For hundreds of years the Grimm brothers fairy tales have been captivating readers all over the world. Although the Grimm brothers would surely be pleased with how their work has become spread throughout the world since their deaths, there is one thing that they would likely hate, and that is Disney's rewriting and changing of their fairy tales original forms to children's movies with no regard for the original aspects. Disney has taken two mens life work and turned it into something those men would be ashamed to be associated with.…
Fairy tales picture a world filled with magic, love and the triumph of the good over the evil. Fairy tales are a window to other worlds where the wildest dreams can come true and the hero always lives happily ever after preferably paired with his loved one. Although some people argue that fairy tales are full of stereotypes, filled with frightening monsters and promote racism and sexism I believe that they are wrong because fairy tales provide valuable moral lessons to children, teach them other countries' cultures promote the imagination and the cognitive development and therefore they should be read to young children.…