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A Cultural History of the Disney Fairy TaleThe Classic Era (1937–1959)

A Cultural History of the Disney Fairy Tale: The Classic Era (1937–1959) [This chapter provides an outline of the primary characteristics of Depression and post-war society in the United States, including political changes, gender roles and cultural shifts. This provides the contextual backdrop for Disney’s first three fairy tale films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Hand et al. 1937), Cinderella (Geronimi et al. 1950) and Sleeping Beauty (Geronimi 1959). The analysis posits that each of these films features a progressive ‘rags to riches’ heroine, trapped within their current setting and desiring of a new life beside a man they love. Alongside the underdogs (dwarfs, mice and fairies), they fight anti-American forces in pursuit of their happily ever after: the American Dream. Most importantly, however, these fairy tales are anti-royalist. They reject the conservative, oppressive impositions placed upon their heroes and heroines by the ‘old’ generation of royals, in favour of a new, progressive approach to marriage. This constitutes a Disney fairy tale which is liberal in outlook, emphasising choice and freedom, but that functions solely within the nostalgic framework of the patriarchal order.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Cultural History of the Disney Fairy TaleThe Classic Era (1937–1959)

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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
ISBN
978-3-030-50148-8
Pages
19 –46
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-50149-5_2
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[This chapter provides an outline of the primary characteristics of Depression and post-war society in the United States, including political changes, gender roles and cultural shifts. This provides the contextual backdrop for Disney’s first three fairy tale films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Hand et al. 1937), Cinderella (Geronimi et al. 1950) and Sleeping Beauty (Geronimi 1959). The analysis posits that each of these films features a progressive ‘rags to riches’ heroine, trapped within their current setting and desiring of a new life beside a man they love. Alongside the underdogs (dwarfs, mice and fairies), they fight anti-American forces in pursuit of their happily ever after: the American Dream. Most importantly, however, these fairy tales are anti-royalist. They reject the conservative, oppressive impositions placed upon their heroes and heroines by the ‘old’ generation of royals, in favour of a new, progressive approach to marriage. This constitutes a Disney fairy tale which is liberal in outlook, emphasising choice and freedom, but that functions solely within the nostalgic framework of the patriarchal order.]

Published: Nov 22, 2020

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