Decoding Disney 101-11 -- Spring 2019

On a personal level, I appreciate the darker tones of the Grimms' Fairy Tale version of Snow White. While I understand this is by no means the original telling of the tale it ostensibly as close to traditional as I will likely ever experience. I am a fan of the gorier and less colorful telling of the story as in many ways I feel as though these aspects ground the story more in reality. I realize this is a bit of an oxymoron, being drawn to more realistic fairy tales, however, I have always wanted to believe in the supernatural and part of me is drawn to a tale that not only holds more validity in my mind due to its traditional context but for its more real and less idealized view of the world. On the level of substance thoroughly enjoyed the freedom to imagine my characters and perceive the world of Snow White in the way only a book facilitates. While I had a few issues with the tale as a whole overall, I really enjoyed the story. The depiction of the dwarves as much more serious and real entities was really interesting as opposed to the jolly singing men from the Disney version that I remember. I also enjoyed the creativity of the queen's murder attempts as it felt as though she was very vested in her beauty. Finally, the part I enjoyed most was the darker ending, the tale felt much more real when instead of forgiving and forgetting, as is the case in most Disney movies, Snow White instead chose the path of vengeance and killed the stepmother who tormented her for so many years. I feel as though I can identify more with the story as in the same situation tormented by a step parent for years and surviving multiple murder attempts by the said stepparent if I were given the same power and position that Snow White was I can not say with certainty that I would not do the same. The only issue I had with the story was with some of the plot holes, and while this story cannot be held fully accountable due to its fair tale status and age, I do feel as though they could have easily been addressed. Small details like how snow white recognizes her stepmother after she has been disguised or what kind of neighboring kingdom has power enough to openly kill the queen of the close by nation somewhat detracts from the story. The final point I would like to touch on is the presence of certain themes and images universal to fairy tales. Images like the pricking of the finger while spinning thread or numbers such as seven repeatedly popping up show through to greater and more widely held superstitions of the time that transcended authors of fairy tales. This last point interests me the most in fact as the driving force behind these common themes, images, and numbers would be a fascinating topic to delve further into. All in all the story was fascinating, whether due to its dark tone or the presence of universal fairy tale imagery.