Classic literature will always be remembered and retold over the generations as life lessons and morals that we try to live by. These morals are often used to help children learn these guiding values and morals. These lessons are presented to us as fairy tales and movies or cartoons for children. We never realize or ponder, “where did that moral come from?” or should I say, “who originally created this fable and life lesson that I am watching unfold in a Disney movie?” A fable is short and witty written piece and is deeply riddled with certain messages or lessons using, but not limited to, tales of animals. Fables were for adults but through time have been woven into everyone’s’ childhood. Fables, ghost stories, and urban legends are modern day fairytales or fables. Just as “The Grasshopper and The Ant” and “Tortoise and the Hare” were spread by oral tradition, urban legends and morals are spread in the same manner; thus creating contemporary folklore often with a moral sting in the tail. While it’s true that urban legends are still told while sipping hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows at a campfire, others are spread through classics movies like Walt Disney animation.
Aesop was a Greek storyteller born in approximately 620 BCE. Tradition says he was born a slave but developed a real talent for fables that were used to teach truths in a simple and understandable way. While Aesop was well-known for his abilities, it is almost certain that many of the fables
Using different opinions and perspectives in her analysis proved that she is not biased for or against Disney. While there were many aspects of the novel that I agreed with, there were also some that I did not. I did not fully agree with the chapter “Analyzing the World According to Disney”. Wasko talks about how Frances Clarke Sayers, children’s literature expert, claims that “ Disney falsifies life and is not really related to the greater truths of life” (Wasko 126). I think that statement is being too harsh as Disney does teaches kids some good life lessons. Without a doubt, children deserve some fantasy and excitement in their lives. Regardless of what other people believe, I see Disney films as a way to escape and teach lessons to not only children, but also adults as well. Our society today is constantly being exposed to the harsh realities of life, and many can tell that the world of Disney is a utopia. In addition, Sayers explained that Disney’s adaptions of classic fairy tales make it so that there is nothing to make a child think or feel or imagine (Wasko 128). I completely disagree with this statement. After talking to many people, everyone claimed that after watching a Disney movie, they wanted to be one of the
There are a number of fairytales, either from Grimm’s Brothers or Hans Christian Anderson, that portray numerous social issues that we still face in modern days. Social issues could include racism, equality between men and women, and ethnocentrism. These are social problems we face daily, and we have yet found solutions to eliminate\ the plentiful social issues. As said, fairy tales and children’s book always show hidden messages on problems that humans face every day. A very famous short story, which is known also by its movie, has an abundance in social issues that people face to this day. This short story is called “The Little Mermaid”, by Hans Christian
Disney movies have been the leading outlets for child education and social learning. Due to such power of influence controversies have been raised which include the following, but not limited to, gender roles and stereotypes, issues of independence, and misrepresentation. Many people argue that despite the morals and messages that occur within such films there are still underlying messages that deal with beauty standards and norms. However, others may argue that Disney is evolutionary and evolved the imagery of male/female standards. The controversy then becomes: are Disney films doing more harm than they are good? Due to certain themes brought on by such movies, it has left younger audiences with both positive and
I have an entire playlist dedicated to Disney music. Their songs and movies can make anyone smile no matter how bitter you are. Everybody has watched Disney movies back when they were a kid, and have always regarded as happily-ever-after stories. But that was not always the case. What if I told you that in the original Cinderella the stepsisters chopped off parts of their feet to try to get the infamous glass shoe to fit. But how did it get from chopping feet to turning a pumpkin into an extravagant carriage? Was it media? All forms of media have a big effect on the general conception; from the printing press and Thomas Jefferson to televised news and Donald Trump. Or did our ever changing society create this facade of happily-ever-after that is sought after so often? In the article Fairy Tales and a Dose of Reality by Catherine Orenstein she utilizes historical references and allusions to modern media and challenges the perception of fairy tales and expose them as media-manipulated, romanticized stories.
Many children grew up hearing stories about fairies and dragons. The stories involved a Knight in Shining Armor and a princess in need of being saved. The knight would then risk his life to save the princess in danger. These stories affected these kids and gave them imagination. Without some of these stories, kids would have grown up not having an imagination or dreams. Dreams gave kids joy and made them want to become a princess or a prince who slays dragons. In Shrek Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio make fun of fairytales through parody, irony, reversal and exaggeration.
Triumphant reward in spite of unjust punishment is a universal sentiment that transcends languages and cultures. There are thousands of folktales and fairy tales that are firmly rooted in individual cultures, yet the tale of Cinderella has been told through many centuries and throughout the far corners of the world. With thousands of versions of this classic tale in print worldwide, the tale is believed to have originated with the story of Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl who is married to an Egyptian King. The story of Rhodopis, which means rosy-cheeks, dates back to 7 BC and is attributed to a Greek geographer named Strabo. The Chinese variation of this fairy tale is named Yeh-hsien. The Chinese version is traceable to the year 860 and appears in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Duan Chengshi. Yeh-hsien is a young girl, motherless and in the control of her stepmother, who befriends a treasured fish. The jealous step-mother kills the fish, but it’s bones provide Yeh-hsien with magical powers, eventually enabling Yeh-hsien to escape the control of her step-mother for a royal life. The Story of the Black Cow which is found within the pages of Folk Tales from the Himalayas by John Murray, published in 1906, the child who is mistreated by a stepmother is a male and the role of savior is portrayed by a snake, with a cow serving as the moral of the story, faithfulness. These two versions of Cinderella carry many common threads that are
Growing up, most people read fairytales such as “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood”. These stories set up some sort of expectation for what life will be like. However, fairytales are just as messed up as life. DreamWorks created the movie Shrek to make fun of fairytale’s social prejudge and idealism. Shrek uses reversal and irony to create a satire about the flaws of fairytales.
Legends are probably the first element of folklore and tradition that we learn about as children. It is the legends that brought us closer to the history of our nation, taught us what is good and what is bad. The children’s life should be filled with fairy tales and stories, and our role as caretakers and later parents is to share with these magical legends our loved ones, especially now that the world has entered the era of animated cartoons.
What I love most about fables is that each one of them comes with a moral, the positive or negative interpretation of a story that always leaves a life lesson. The reaction generated from a fable’s moral depends on the individuals’ knowledge about life; each person will interpret a moral differently because each one has lived a different life. Fables are also carried on from generation to generation and have a purpose that is to entertain. These short stories are made up with animals or inanimate objects representing humans. Fables are used as a teaching tool for young children and even for adults. “According to some scholars Aesop could have been African American because of his many references to animals.” (“Aesop” Encyclopedia of World Biography, par 2). There are many hypotheses on what or who Aesop could have been. There was also a rumor that he was a slave and got free because of his extraordinary story telling abilities (“Aesop” Encyclopedia of World Biography, par 5). A fable is simply a synonym of allegory. Over the years fables have maintained their position as a helpful tool to many teachers around the world to help students. Fables continue to be very appealing to the public. They soon begun to disperse around the world and started being translated in many languages. Considering my age, one of the fables that we, teenagers, have to keep in
Fairy tales read to young children not only served as a form of entertainment for the child, but they also taught children the difference between what is good and what is bad. The Three Little Pigs is a prime example of the morals and lessons that children were taught while reading a fairy tale. The fact that the tale is equipped with adventure and the ability for animals to talk causes children to immerse in the text while acknowledging the consequences of laziness of the first two little pigs and the result of evil for the sneakiness of the big bad wolf. The tale does however teach children the benefits of hard-work when at the end the third pig lives happily ever after in his sturdy house made of bricks. Comparing three different
Many young children grow up watching Disney films. Many parents do not think that these movies could have a negative impact on their children. Henry Giroux, who wrote the book, “The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence” is a firm believer that Disney films have a negative impact on the children that watch them. For several generations Disney films have been a huge part of children’s lives, but many parents do not realize how these films can negatively impact their children. Disney films can teach young children stereotypes, how to deal with life events such as death and they can learn negative ideas and values from these films.
From the moment the world introduced us to television, we have been bombarded with images of fantasy and “happily ever after’s.” Perhaps the most well known corrupter of reality lies within the Disney franchise. Disney’s, The Little Mermaid, follows a typical fairy tale format in which all goals and dreams are achieved. Its counterpart, however, moves to the beat of a different drum. Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Little Mermaid, portrays a more serious plot much different from Disney’s loveable adaptation. One may conclude that the most these two stories have in common is their titles, but a deeper theme runs throughout both of these fictional plots. Despite these two stories’ conflicting agendas and the
Fairy tales have existed for years, some starting as oral stories for decades before ever being recorded on paper. These tales continue to hold an importance in the present such that they reflect the changes in time and progression of thought and ideas. Over time, many fairy tales are retold for various reasons including reforming them to be used for new audiences to make the story more relatable or to convey a different point of view to various specific audiences. This can be seen in various renditions; Andrew Anderson’s Shrek can be compared to Steig’s “Shrek!” and Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” and evaluated as a retelling of either based on specific criteria. Although some may argue that William Steig’s “Shrek!” appears more closely similar to Anderson’s Shrek, as evaluated from the presence of similar characters, general plot structure, and targeted audience, the movie Shrek is more closely a retelling of Charles Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood.”
Fairy tales are timeless entities that will always be relevant in people’s lives. Fairy tales and stories offer entertainment, advice, and moral examples. The creation of fairy tales is important in the development of social norms. Children everywhere would read fairy tales and learn from them. As a result, these fairy tales are translated into multiple languages and allows people with different backgrounds to understand and relate to the story. People take these stories and adapt them to life around them. Within these adaptations of the same story, it is normal to observe slight differences that contribute as evidence in identifying the culture or societies in which these stories come from. Whether it is the slang of the dialogue or the change of location, modern producers and writers are known to take these classic stories and adding a significant twist to adjust to their cultural agenda. The movie, The Princess and the Frog, is a modern example of writers and directors creating a modern twist to the popular story of the Brother Grimm’s The Frog King. The Princess and the Frog and The Frog King both encode the mores, values, and beliefs of the cultures of the societies from which they come because, even though they both have similar plot ideas, the differences of the location and the differences of the overall specific plotlines attribute to understanding how their own specific cultures influence the adaptation and the actual story.
Once upon a time there lived a lanky little rat named Rudy. Rudy’s fur was very dull and felt like needles. She lived in a tiny village where all the animals knew each other. Every afternoon she would meet with her friends at the riverbank to tell stories of their morning. One day Rudy scurried to the riverbank excited to share with her friends a cheesecake she had baked just for them, but when she arrived at the meeting spot, no one was there. Worried and confused, Rudy hurried in to town to look for her friends there. Just as she reached the main road, her body froze as she watched the most beautiful creature strolling through town. Rudy looked around and noticed she was not the only animal in the village mesmerized by this beautiful