Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: IF THE SHOE FITSCinderella story to mainstream audiences 65 years ago, and the film company has kept the tale current in a variety of adaptations including 2014's Into the Woods and this spring's live-action Cinderella film.In fact, Disney had been responsible for keeping the Cinderella story alive through its various adaptations, commercializing and materialistic motives (Ashbrook, 2015).The excitement in the classic fairy tale was reignited in 2015 when Disney debut a live-action adaptation of their classic animated film.Jack Zipes, a fairy tale scholar commented in NPR that the reason this story remains so appealing to a diverse audience is because the Cinderella character is relatable (Ashbrook, 2015).She experiences social situations, including class struggles and family dysfunction that viewers have experienced in their own lives as well.This is seen in situations where individuals are not able to freely speak their mind, or when individuals in authority restrict access of power to their subordinates.This Cinderella-like concept was seen when all individuals were children as well.In these situations they were not taken seriously when they expressed their ambitions and they were forced to do chores around the house.Also, traumatic events and dysfunction in a family setting is one factor that every individual would understand, even if the dysfunction is not to the extreme level that Cinderella experienced (Ashbrook, 2015).These are some of many reasons why the Cinderella story has maintained its luster over generations.While many audiences adore the timeless rendition, there are individuals that criticize the story as well.According to McVeigh (2015), Americans are more open to Disney's recent portrayals of "strong, feisty heroines" that young children are able to look up to.Disney's latest Cinderella (2015) did not "pass the role-model test" as past Disney heroines Rapunzel and Merida had (McVeigh 2015, p. 1).The test included characters making decisions to craft their own destinies through confident, assertive actions as opposed to Cinderella's relatively passive IF THE SHOE FITS 4 reputation.Instead of criticizing Cinderella's true actions, the actress playing Cinderella was criticized by her very small waistline, which could give girls an unrealistic vision about what a princess and woman should look like.While beauty image is not the theme of this paper, it is important to note that modern audiences have become sensitive to visual messages that dictate how a perfect woman should be portrayed.Ornstein (2011)'s book Cinderella Ate My Daughter addressed issues of society's expectations of girls.In this book, Ornstein (2011) said that before girls are even born, as soon as their sex is officially determined, girls are put in a different category than boys: pink onsies with a pink nursery is made, dolls are given as the girls grow up, and if, for whatever reason, a girl enjoys playing more hands-on games than "princess" on the playground, boys question their entertainment choices and thus force young girls to become "girlier."As these girls grow up, they're faced with an expectation that they have to be perfect and feminine like a princess.Some positive messages that McVeigh (2015) conveyed from the newest Cinderella film was that "children learn about themselves, other people, and the world in general based on what they see and hear.Kids absorb lots of messages from media sources, such as TV commercials, cartoons, and books."As Birthisel (2014) summarizes, children's texts, including princess movies, can have a socializing effect and reinforce for children certain ideologies based on gender and power.Sometimes the underlying messages are subtle… but over time those media messages can change how kids think and behave" (p.2).Crocker (2015) reiterated that Cinderella in Cinderella (2015) saw the world as it could be, which could be a life theory that kids could absorb into their own lifestyles as McVeigh (2015) explained earlier.Despite the opinions of the newest Cinderella adaptation, the variations and adaptations have substantially changed since the first recorded variation of Cinderella in 850 A.D. It is
Author: Heather Dupont
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W802800773