Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Zipes and Disney
One of the main arguments in the article by Jack Zipes is that Walt Disney sought to impose his image of a perfect society onto the tale that was being animated. He outlines the use of oral tradition and folktales and gives a brief background of Disney's animation history. To support his claim he uses the example of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In this example Zipes outlines many changes that occurs in Disney's version, that was not present in the version by the Brothers Grimm. One of the biggest arguments that Zipes makes is that the role of the prince is greatly enhanced by Disney and that "the prince, the only one who can save Snow White, and he becomes the focal point by the end of the story."
This argument about the prince is what I would like the focus my response on. Disney wanted all the credit for his animation, taking sole credit for the works that had his name on it. Also, as stated earlier by Zipes the animator wishes to impose the greatness of his ideal world. In this sense I take the emphasis of the prince as a metaphor for the self aggrandizement of Walt Disney. Disney sought to increase the role of the prince, just as he was increasing the role he played in the creation of these fairy tales. However, I have a few problems with some of the assertions that Zipes makes. The main problem is that the role of the prince was already increasing (and deviating from the Grimm's version) before Disney came along. A perfect example of this is the silent film version of Snow White. The prince plays a very important role in this version. He is the reason Snow White is sent to be killed, and he brings her back to the palace where she is revived (although he is not directly responsible for her being revived he is insturmental in the chain of events that cause it to happen.) My point is you can already see that there is some major digression from the Grimm's version well before Disney. Also, to hold judgement on him for trying to display his vision of how society should be is also unfair. As we have read in previous articles, for example the article about the role of children, fairy tales are a way to reflect on a society's values. So, while it is true to say that Disney is trying to paint the world with his utopian image, while accurate, is not a fair assessment, because that is that has always been a major component of fairy tales.
This argument about the prince is what I would like the focus my response on. Disney wanted all the credit for his animation, taking sole credit for the works that had his name on it. Also, as stated earlier by Zipes the animator wishes to impose the greatness of his ideal world. In this sense I take the emphasis of the prince as a metaphor for the self aggrandizement of Walt Disney. Disney sought to increase the role of the prince, just as he was increasing the role he played in the creation of these fairy tales. However, I have a few problems with some of the assertions that Zipes makes. The main problem is that the role of the prince was already increasing (and deviating from the Grimm's version) before Disney came along. A perfect example of this is the silent film version of Snow White. The prince plays a very important role in this version. He is the reason Snow White is sent to be killed, and he brings her back to the palace where she is revived (although he is not directly responsible for her being revived he is insturmental in the chain of events that cause it to happen.) My point is you can already see that there is some major digression from the Grimm's version well before Disney. Also, to hold judgement on him for trying to display his vision of how society should be is also unfair. As we have read in previous articles, for example the article about the role of children, fairy tales are a way to reflect on a society's values. So, while it is true to say that Disney is trying to paint the world with his utopian image, while accurate, is not a fair assessment, because that is that has always been a major component of fairy tales.
No comments:
Post a Comment