Comparing Walt Disney's Snow White And Stereotypes

1985 Words4 Pages

Imagine watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as a child and seeing the evil queen snacking on Snow White’s lightly salted internal organs. On the outside, Disney princess movies seem harmless; they inspire young children, play catchy songs, and make dreams come true.
However, there is much more under the surface. For decades, Disney has censored old stories and folktales and turned them into their own princess movies, all while reinforcing the stereotype that women need men.
Snow White was not always the innocent and singing young girl that the world knows. In the original german tale, the story is morbid. Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs features Snow White, a prince, an evil stepmother, a magic mirror, and seven merry dwarfs. …show more content…

Walt Disney’s version is simple: a young mermaid falls in love with a human and trades her voice to Ursula the evil sea-witch for true love. The prince falls in love with Ariel, even though she is mute, and marries her. She gets her voice back and they live happily ever after (“The Little Mermaid).
Andersen’s is quite different; although Ariel trades her voice for legs, it is a painful process that was not expressed in the Disney movie. Rather than magically removing her voice, the sea witch physically cuts out her tongue. After receiving her legs, the little mermaid walks painfully to the palace and has twenty four hours to make the prince fall in love. Although the prince lets her in and befriends her, that is as far as she gets. The deal stated: she has twenty four hours to marry the prince, and if he marries anyone else she will die and transform into sea foam.
She is stuck perpetually friendzoned to the one she loves, while the prince marries his betrothed.
After her sisters discover her fate, they make their own deal with the sea witch. They trade their hair for an sharp dagger; if the little mermaid plunges the knife into the prince’s heart before

More about Comparing Walt Disney's Snow White And Stereotypes

Open Document