(no subject)
Must type fast... while this is still fresh in my mind:
Anu came over to interview me for a paper he's working on about the influence of Disney's versions of Fairy Tales and how they relate to the developement of body image... Some references to the original versions (Grimm's) also, but not so much because he is studying the uses and influences of fairy tales as they relate to different cultures, and as America's relationship with fairy tales revolves almost completely around the Disney versions, it is the most poignant point of reference for the study of the american psyche in relationship to the subject.
Very interesting stuff... I am always very tentative with my answers in the beginning of interviews, and it took about 45 minute before my mind could truley flow, so the interview lasted almost two hours- and was quite amusing and reflective.
The thing that is most singular to american culture's interpretation of fairy tales is the stress on beauty and innocence as the feminine ideal. In other cultures the overlying ideal reflects, of course, on the culture's ideal of the woman's role in the society. So in contries which have a history of communisn, the most singularly stressed feminine ideal is obedience and servitude, so "how hard a woman works" is the equated as her value to society.
America is the only country where fairytales have been so completely morphed to reflect our own media's ideals of feminine beauty. But I think I said that already.
The one universal theme in fairy tales, no matter from which [western or eastern block] country they originate, is the idea that a women's role in society is to play something of classic christian role of "marter", to remain somehow helpless, to not have an ingrained self preservation trait, but to leave the role of protector/savior to the "Prince Charming" character.
I have noticed that over the last 20 years, probably originating with the release of Disney's "The Little Mermaid", american fairy tales have begun to allow the "heroine" figure to own more power over her own destiny, as opposed to the very strict helpless victim/marter role assigned to the primary female characters in earlier Disney movies, such as "Cindarella" and "Snow White".
What is troubling, however, is that even though the "heroine" is allowed more control over her own destiny, she is still utterly characterized by the unhealthy american ideal of feminine beauty- the hourglass figure, waiflike presence, the woman-child, such as Mattel's "Barbie" Dolls characature of feminine beauty...
This bring me to the troubling subject of "Barbie" dolls... Mattel has changed the standard body formation of these dolls over the last few years in response to overwhelming demands by parents. Barbie's 'new' body has smaller breasts, and a more 'normal' waiste and hip configuration than the previous standard models, but, and I think this is the most offensive characteristic remaining: Barbie continues to display the grotesque appearance of "woman/child"- a doll with breasts and hips, and the face of a child. I find this very disturbing.
To juxtapose the representation of female sexuality with the facial charactaristics of a child: pouting lips, abnormally large eyes- it says something about our cultures obsession with equating youth and beauty, which is this case seems like stoking the fire for pedophilia.
I recognise an amount of irony in my statements, them coming from a twenty-five year old woman with an abnormally young-seeming face. You could literally photoshop a nose ring onto a photo of me when I was five, and it would look so similar to a recent photo as to be quite alarming, but, I feel that as this is not the 'norm', feminine beauty ought to be equated with the characteristics of true "womanliness" and not the above mentioned unhealthy juxtaposition of two seperate stages of female developement.
But back to fairy tales for a moment... We are taught again and again that beauty equals innocence and goodness, and that ugliness equals "evilness" or bad intentions. Where does that leave the woman in our society who are not "beautiful" according to our ingrained standards? And remember for a moment, that the vast majority of women are not beautiful according to these standards. We have effectively been brainwashed by our society to see the majority of women as "evil" or simply bad, undesireable, manipulative, et cetera.
These poor women! Me included! We are forcefed stereotypes which we will never be able to embody and brainwashed to continuously strive for this unnatainable goal, be it through eating disorders, plastic surgury or the use of drugs, among other self-harming behaviours.
Anu came over to interview me for a paper he's working on about the influence of Disney's versions of Fairy Tales and how they relate to the developement of body image... Some references to the original versions (Grimm's) also, but not so much because he is studying the uses and influences of fairy tales as they relate to different cultures, and as America's relationship with fairy tales revolves almost completely around the Disney versions, it is the most poignant point of reference for the study of the american psyche in relationship to the subject.
Very interesting stuff... I am always very tentative with my answers in the beginning of interviews, and it took about 45 minute before my mind could truley flow, so the interview lasted almost two hours- and was quite amusing and reflective.
The thing that is most singular to american culture's interpretation of fairy tales is the stress on beauty and innocence as the feminine ideal. In other cultures the overlying ideal reflects, of course, on the culture's ideal of the woman's role in the society. So in contries which have a history of communisn, the most singularly stressed feminine ideal is obedience and servitude, so "how hard a woman works" is the equated as her value to society.
America is the only country where fairytales have been so completely morphed to reflect our own media's ideals of feminine beauty. But I think I said that already.
The one universal theme in fairy tales, no matter from which [western or eastern block] country they originate, is the idea that a women's role in society is to play something of classic christian role of "marter", to remain somehow helpless, to not have an ingrained self preservation trait, but to leave the role of protector/savior to the "Prince Charming" character.
I have noticed that over the last 20 years, probably originating with the release of Disney's "The Little Mermaid", american fairy tales have begun to allow the "heroine" figure to own more power over her own destiny, as opposed to the very strict helpless victim/marter role assigned to the primary female characters in earlier Disney movies, such as "Cindarella" and "Snow White".
What is troubling, however, is that even though the "heroine" is allowed more control over her own destiny, she is still utterly characterized by the unhealthy american ideal of feminine beauty- the hourglass figure, waiflike presence, the woman-child, such as Mattel's "Barbie" Dolls characature of feminine beauty...
This bring me to the troubling subject of "Barbie" dolls... Mattel has changed the standard body formation of these dolls over the last few years in response to overwhelming demands by parents. Barbie's 'new' body has smaller breasts, and a more 'normal' waiste and hip configuration than the previous standard models, but, and I think this is the most offensive characteristic remaining: Barbie continues to display the grotesque appearance of "woman/child"- a doll with breasts and hips, and the face of a child. I find this very disturbing.
To juxtapose the representation of female sexuality with the facial charactaristics of a child: pouting lips, abnormally large eyes- it says something about our cultures obsession with equating youth and beauty, which is this case seems like stoking the fire for pedophilia.
I recognise an amount of irony in my statements, them coming from a twenty-five year old woman with an abnormally young-seeming face. You could literally photoshop a nose ring onto a photo of me when I was five, and it would look so similar to a recent photo as to be quite alarming, but, I feel that as this is not the 'norm', feminine beauty ought to be equated with the characteristics of true "womanliness" and not the above mentioned unhealthy juxtaposition of two seperate stages of female developement.
But back to fairy tales for a moment... We are taught again and again that beauty equals innocence and goodness, and that ugliness equals "evilness" or bad intentions. Where does that leave the woman in our society who are not "beautiful" according to our ingrained standards? And remember for a moment, that the vast majority of women are not beautiful according to these standards. We have effectively been brainwashed by our society to see the majority of women as "evil" or simply bad, undesireable, manipulative, et cetera.
These poor women! Me included! We are forcefed stereotypes which we will never be able to embody and brainwashed to continuously strive for this unnatainable goal, be it through eating disorders, plastic surgury or the use of drugs, among other self-harming behaviours.