So far, I have had a lot of fun with the readings and discussions of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. I have felt that an interesting question that keeps coming up is "why are some of the stories more popular than others?" There are characters like Snow White and Cinderella whose popularity still seem relevant. These characters (Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Briar Rose) do not have any really depth to them, yet people still care about who they are. I guess that the reason for there survival is the events that take place in the story. None of the women are strong and independent, but instead they represent the "damsel in distress"; they need to be saved. These stories have a hero, a victim, and enemy, adventure, magic, and love, which causes people to be attracted to them. The other reason that these tales are still popular is that there is an expectation of the outcome ("Happily Ever After"), which the female charters created.
One of my favorite tellings of the fairy tales come from the musical, Into the Woods. The Princesses, in the musical, dream of being with their princes, and they are driven by their pursuit. The two Princes in the musical are guided by their need to claim their Princesses combined with their own arrogance. The two Princes are my favorite characters in the show because of their mockery and fickleness of the Princesses and the one's they love. I think it is an insightful comment as to the desires of these Princes.
I think that you are right about how the "Princesses" in the fairy tales are portrayed as the damsel in distress. I do think that also reflects what we know of the culture of the time period as well. Women didn't exactly have equal rights as men, and while history has shown us several examples of strong, powerful women, the average woman would still be under the thumb of her father, husband or any other male relative. But modern retellings of the fairy tales reflect more of our culture: that women are powerful and strong. Even some of the Disney movies that have come out in recent years feature less whiny and weak princesses and more princesses who can take care of themselves. The princes in these more recent movies are helping out and both prince and princess are portrayed as more equal, both capable of pulling their own weight. Some of the movies that I'm talking about include Tangled and Princess and the Frog.
I agree that more modern retellings of these "damsel in distress" stories are becoming more reflective of the power that women have gotten. [Once Upon a Time spoiler alert] Many of the female characters in OUAT are from stories were they have very little power over their own lives but they have re-written them so that not only are the women more in charge of their lives but also so that there is great diversity in the women instead of this static character that appears in all the stories. Snow White who is a major character in the show is shown to be incredibly self sufficient and powerful without needing Prince Charming to save her all the time.
I think that you are right about how the "Princesses" in the fairy tales are portrayed as the damsel in distress. I do think that also reflects what we know of the culture of the time period as well. Women didn't exactly have equal rights as men, and while history has shown us several examples of strong, powerful women, the average woman would still be under the thumb of her father, husband or any other male relative. But modern retellings of the fairy tales reflect more of our culture: that women are powerful and strong. Even some of the Disney movies that have come out in recent years feature less whiny and weak princesses and more princesses who can take care of themselves. The princes in these more recent movies are helping out and both prince and princess are portrayed as more equal, both capable of pulling their own weight. Some of the movies that I'm talking about include Tangled and Princess and the Frog.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that more modern retellings of these "damsel in distress" stories are becoming more reflective of the power that women have gotten. [Once Upon a Time spoiler alert] Many of the female characters in OUAT are from stories were they have very little power over their own lives but they have re-written them so that not only are the women more in charge of their lives but also so that there is great diversity in the women instead of this static character that appears in all the stories. Snow White who is a major character in the show is shown to be incredibly self sufficient and powerful without needing Prince Charming to save her all the time.
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