A Comparison Of Cinderella And Konnikova's Cinderella

Disney is a multibillion-dollar company who has released dozens of box office hits. Many people attribute this to Disney’s renown but two authors interpret Disney’s success as a matter of psychology. Bruno Bettelheim author of “‘Cinderella’: A Story of Sibling Rivalry and Oedipal Conflicts” and Maria Konnikova author of “How ‘Frozen’ Took Over the World” describe and explain Disney’s success as a deep relation to the psyche of children. While both authors address Disney’s success in the movie industry as a matter of psychology, Bettelheim explains through a Freudian lens using core Freudian psychological concepts such as Oedipus complex while Konnikova describes Disney’s success using statistical evidence and psychological studies pertaining directly to Frozen and its viewers.

Konnikova believes it is the flaws of the character that is “the driving force,” (Konnikova, 3) whereas Bettelheim believes that it is due to some of the key characteristics that viewers can relate. The first being, “The oedipal disappointments which come at the end of this developmental period cast deep shadows of doubt on the child’s sense of worthiness.” (Bettelheim, 656) Konnikova never mentions oedipal conflicts in her article stating that only due to the character’s fatal flaws can viewers relate. She claims that “She was flawed—actually flawed, in a way that resulted in real mistakes and real consequences.” (Konnikova, 3) In saying that she was accentuating her pre-existing argument that it is the realism in the characters that allows for viewers to project themselves onto Frozen’s heroines. That is where the two authors differ because Bettelheim believes it is due to the internal schism, caused by the oedipal conflicts, that allows Disney’s younger viewer base relate to the basic rags-to-riches princess archetype,