Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Prompt #4

I think it was pretty obvious that Zipes thesis was to bring to light the manhandling Disney does in regards to the fairy tales of Perrault, Brothers Grimm, Anderson, etc. While I agree that Disney has changed the folk stories drastically, I think it is unfair for Zipes to criticize Disney's versions of the stories. So far this semester, we have read multiple versions of different stories. Take Snow White for instance. We read several versions where the details are completely different and we analyze the differences. We do not criticize the author for destroying the original story because we know that the "original" story was orally relayed several centuries ago. The fact that Walt Disney is telling his story not in print but on a screen should be judged the same in my opinion. I do however agree with one statement Zipes makes about Disney giving us false hopes for love. That's just a personal tidbit.
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3 comments:

  1. Anna FargoFebruary 4, 2009 at 8:22 AM

    I agree! Just because Disney's versions are the ones that people remember the most right now doesn't mean that he should be criticized for altering the original story.

    And as for love....well, I would've agreed with you a few months ago, but life has a really weird way of surprising you, so just wait.

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  2. MalloryFebruary 4, 2009 at 3:04 PM

    I definitely agree about Zipes's attack on Disney being quite strong considering the plethora of variations of fairy tales present even before Disney's version. I do think it is difficult, however, to judge the print medium and film genre on the same level. As Anna pointed out, the Disney films gave us images, voices, music, etc that we now automatically associate with the tales. This could not be accomplished by simple illustrations in any written version of the story.

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  3. BrianFebruary 4, 2009 at 9:14 PM

    I don't even think that the concept of love in the Disney version is any less accurate than the lovely "birds and the bees" story we get from eating a rose-leaf, in addition to a prince meeting a dead girl and falling in love. At least in Disney, they met first, however creeperish the prince was when they did meet. *Oh, hello man behind me!*

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