One of Zipes main arguments is stated explicitly in his claim that Disney’s “signature has obscured the names of Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Carlo Collodi.” (332) He argues that both children and adults today automatically perceive the fairy tale genre to be connected with Disney and that this association violates the history of fairy tales. For example, Zipes notes that Disney abandons the narrative focus for the opportunity to show off technological advancements of the film genre.
I do agree that Disney has a monopoly over fairy tales in today’s world -I had never come across the Grimm version of Snow White and automatically think of Disney’s take on the tale. However, I do believe that there are some holes in Zipes harsh take on Disney and his work. He admits that, “the literary fairy tale had long since been institutionalized, and they (the Grimms), along with Hans Christian Anderson, Carlo Collodi, Ludwig Bechstein, and a host of Victorian writers from George McDonald to Oscar Wilde, assumed different ideological and aesthetic positions within this institutionalization.” (335) With this statement, Zipes acknowledges that other known figures in the literary field of fairy tales have taken the stories and put their own spin on them. If so, what makes Disney’s “signature” so much more detrimental to the tradition of the genre? In fact, since the films and merchandise of the Disney corporation have become such an important part of American culture, could they perhaps serve a positive function to the history of fairy tales by bringing more attention to the genre and its traditions?
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I agree with the "Disney as a variation" idea. I disagree only with the function of history aspect at the very end. Disney doesn't really bring much focus to the genre's traditions. To Disney, I assume, there is HIS story and I think by using his stencil (damsel, prince, happy ending) we lose the tradition of the genre.
ReplyDeleteI like the proposed question at the end of your post. I think that the only thing we can thank Disney for doing is raising an awareness of the classical titles and tales that many people in a more mainstream form have now learned about in a film version. But Disney has strayed from the traditions of the original fairy tales.
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