Damsel in Distress : Snow White Essay Example
Damsel in Distress : Snow White
Snow White, the first Disney Princess, was created during the Great Depression in 1937 (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Being the first Princess, she portrays the traditional social structure of women during the 1930s. Snow White is soft spoken and submissive, sweet natured, temperate, and obedient to the men in her society. Not only is she the ideal women in her personality, but she represents the classical idea of beauty with lips as red as rubies and skin as fair as snow.
The movie begins when the Evil Queen who is seen in some parts as an old, ugly woman dressed in black clothes and is relatively shorter than Snow white is consulting the magic mirror in order to confirm that she is in deed the most beautiful woman in all of the land. Although she is the mother figure in this story, she does not portray nurturing characteristics. The story is giving women mixed messages saying not to obsess about looks but be beautiful. When the mirror reveals that Snow White is more beautiful than she, the Evil Queen is enraged. This portrayal of the Evil Queen confirms the importance of beauty and youthfulness. As the Evil Queen ages and the normal effects of aging begin to take place the Evil Queen feels as though she is less valued and less powerful. This places an exaggerated emphasis on youthfulness and beauty and sends the message that without beauty you can no longer be powerful. The Evil Queen is consumed by beauty, which is a contradiction of what the expectation is of women. Women are expected to look perfect at all times and be refined and beautiful, but if they obsess about their appearance they are viewed as being vain or perhaps being ugly. This makes it very difficult for women to make sense of what is expected of them. The idea of beauty is central to the story because the most beautiful is the one who prevails, and the Evil Queen who is not as beautiful is the one who loses in the end.
Snow White is the main
Snow White, the first Disney Princess, was created during the Great Depression in 1937 (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Being the first Princess, she portrays the traditional social structure of women during the 1930s. Snow White is soft spoken and submissive, sweet natured, temperate, and obedient to the men in her society. Not only is she the ideal women in her personality, but she represents the classical idea of beauty with lips as red as rubies and skin as fair as snow.
The movie begins when the Evil Queen who is seen in some parts as an old, ugly woman dressed in black clothes and is relatively shorter than Snow white is consulting the magic mirror in order to confirm that she is in deed the most beautiful woman in all of the land. Although she is the mother figure in this story, she does not portray nurturing characteristics. The story is giving women mixed messages saying not to obsess about looks but be beautiful. When the mirror reveals that Snow White is more beautiful than she, the Evil Queen is enraged. This portrayal of the Evil Queen confirms the importance of beauty and youthfulness. As the Evil Queen ages and the normal effects of aging begin to take place the Evil Queen feels as though she is less valued and less powerful. This places an exaggerated emphasis on youthfulness and beauty and sends the message that without beauty you can no longer be powerful. The Evil Queen is consumed by beauty, which is a contradiction of what the expectation is of women. Women are expected to look perfect at all times and be refined and beautiful, but if they obsess about their appearance they are viewed as being vain or perhaps being ugly. This makes it very difficult for women to make sense of what is expected of them. The idea of beauty is central to the story because the most beautiful is the one who prevails, and the Evil Queen who is not as beautiful is the one who loses in the end.
Snow White is the main