Cinderella Research Paper

Cinderella is the quintessential representative for stories that focus on the ideas of rags to riches; a chance that things will be alright, similar to the American Dream which was an ideology that was prominent at the time. It’s also a story that display good lessons about life such as how life isn’t always fair, and that even good people can fall under difficult circumstances, but despite this, good choices in those difficult conditions make the experience better later on. It helps to understand the concept of hope, especially to children that have a harder time grasping the visualization of the topic. Such visualization is shown through the characterization of the main protagonist Cinderella, and how she, despite being in such a desolate situation, had made hopes and dreams to escape the problems that she has by wishing.

This is further explored through lyrics in some of the more famous songs that go along with this version of Cinderella, such as “A dream is a wish your heart makes”, “In dreams you will lose the heartaches”, Whatever you wish for, you keep”, “Have faith in your dreams that someday your rainbow will come smiling through”, or even “No matter how your heart is grieving, if your keep believing, that dream you wish, will come true.” Furthermore, Cinderella displays the power of choice that they have in their attitudes, especially in a trying situation.

When Cinderella is show to be a good person, acting only out of the purity of their heart, and with a cheerful disposition, it gives a certain schema for what the children that are watching this should act like. But there lies the

problem. Due to how the movie is set up, a lot of these meaningful parts of the fairy tale is muddle in the ideologies that was still prominent at the time of its composition. Some of the more prominent ideologies include things like patriarchal society, and the inferiority of women, which currently has been ratified by legislation in the United States, with advancements that are provocated by the Feminist movement that focus on the acquisition of equality in both men and women. It is subconsciously hinted through the animation, in the character’s personality, what they represent, how they treat one another, and even their overall images that they are depicted as, especially when given context to. Despite the good underlying messages of good life advice for young children, there are too many stereotypes, social norms and anti- feminist feelings that distort these references, causing different associations being made. In result, Cinderella becomes a fairy tale that advocates for the inequality of people due to their genders rather than a life lesson to take after when dealing with a strenuous condition.