ipl-logo

Snow White And The Seven Dwarves Analysis

1414 Words6 Pages

Capitalist Imagery in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves There’s no doubt that Walt Disney has benefited from capitalism. Even post-mortem, his private company thrives and is one of the handful of large private companies that monopolizes the market for all-ages animated movies. Disney movies are associated with a sort of pure and timeless magic, any implication that they push a sort of agenda is usually overlooked. Yet there are obvious capitalist overtones in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The romanticization of physical labor and portrayal of the working class as free-spirited, lazy, and incompetent, and the positive portrayal of traditional Western gender roles only proves this. To begin, please consider the way the Seven Dwarves are introduced. The scene containing the song “Heigh-Ho” (Disney 1937) seems slightly out of place, yes it fits the fantastic, whimsical imagery, introduces and characterizes the Seven Dwarves as light-hearted and jolly, and is filled with humorous and pleasing imagery. Even then, it leads to questions that are never answered. The dwarves work in a …show more content…

To maintain the aesthetic, Snow White is not allowed to break a sweat or struggle, and happily brings a dust covered, filthy home to a shining ideal by giving the bulk of the labor to her animal friends. There is a sharp contrast between Snow White, who is treated as a hard working individual despite delegating work to others, and the Seven Dwarves, treated as lazy despite performing hard physical labor. More value is placed on Snow White’s abilities as a leader and to direct how labor is performed than is placed on the dwarves’ ability to actually perform labor. Again, we see the value of the dwarves effectually being “dwarfed” by the capitalist lens we are shown the narrative

Show More
Related
201 Words | 1 Pages

Moreover, how will we allow children to work in this environment if we will not work ourselves? Anecdotes seen throughout

Read More
752 Words | 4 Pages

Hine shows the acts enacted by the child workers, top help regulate and subjugate the parts and motors for the industrial machine, (Doc. 8). These motors, would tediously be replaced and worked upon, as the child workers used the necessary equipment to do the job, however most horrid and unsafe in design. The equipment used by the children, would have unsafe part, which would be harmful for limbs and the necessary body parts to live a daily life, and until later have no safety laws to restrain the uses on unsafe work equipment. Continuing on Hine’s photograph the children standing on milk cartons, waiting as the day goes away, they work hard and strong as their brittle bones begin to decay from the strain of the perilous hours, low control over labor makes the pain grow everlasting

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

"The Snow Walker " is a tale of adventure and survival. A story about how the main characters are going to survive in Northern Territories of Canada after a plane crash. Set in the 1950s, it features an arrogant white pilot, Charlie Halliday, who was bribed with walrus tusks into taking a sick Inuit girl to a big city hospital. He is an ignorant racist. At the opening scene of the movie, we can see how he scoffed at being called "Brother" by an Inuit.

Read More
1155 Words | 5 Pages

As one of the most influential entertainment producers, Disney dominates the global market for ages attracting the countless audience around the world. However, Disney’s most famous “‘princess’ fairy tale stories” (Barker, 2010, p. 492) are criticized for racism and sexism. In 2007, Disney confirmed production of the film, The Princess and the Frog, featuring the first African-American Disney princess, Tiana. For Disney this film was the response to the accusation of racism and sexism represented in its animation. Also, it was filled with African American parents’ anticipation and excitement who longed for a non-stereotypical black woman on the screen (Breaux, 2010, p. 399).

Read More
1343 Words | 6 Pages

From its onset with its first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Disney has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon today. But over the years, various parent groups, scholars and film critics have accused Disney for creating shallow, stereotypical princesses whose ultimate aim was to find her 'prince charming ' and live happily ever after. In her article, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?” in the New York Times, Peggy Orenstein expresses her concern over the effect of princess figures like Cinderella on young girls ' perceptions of themselves and how they should behave (“What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”).

Read More
1425 Words | 6 Pages

For example, the woman who testified before a parliamentary committee to abolish child labor described her working hours, saying that her job required her to work “From 5 in the morning till 9 at night, when they were thronged” (Document 7). These long hours do not permit time for receiving an education, spending time with their families, or getting to play as children should. Also, the woman includes in her testimony that the children were thronged while they worked, which means that, if the children did not perform as demanded, they were treated harshly. These children were expected to do copious amounts of work, equal to what an adult was capable of doing, while receiving much less pay and much more chastisement if they did not perform as well as expected. For example, the testimony of Elizabeth Bennett states that doffing was, in fact, a laborious employment, ultimately not affecting the workers’ poverty.

Read More
464 Words | 2 Pages

They would have no nails; —they had worn them off pulling hides; their knuckles were swollen so that their fingers spread out like a fan”. These workers pretty much risked their lives each day they showed up to work. This job was more of a torture place rather than a job. Sinclair states, “There were the beef-luggers, who carried two-hundred-pound quarters into the refrigerator-cars; a fearful kind of work, that began at four o’clock in the morning, and that wore out the most powerful men in a few years”.

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

Although the owner 's gave some information on their perspective about the changing role of women, the worker 's perspective is more credible because it also identifies the social issues of working conditions and wages, education, and wealth and living standards. First, in Britain, Parliament debated the problem of children working in mines by using excerpts from a testimony in 1842. James Pearce, a young 12-year-old boy, was part of one of the excerpts in the testimony. He said, "About a year and a half ago I took to the girdle and chain; I don 't like it; it hurts me; it rubs my skin off; I often feel pain. I get 15d.

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Unequal pay was a huge factor back in the industrial revolution; Employers chose to have young children work for them because labor was cheaper. Kids were often looked down upon as employers and that they weren’t worth as much as adults. “[From] 1908 - 1912 Lewis Hine worked as the photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). During this time he documented child labor in American industry in an effort to support the NCLC’s efforts to end the

Read More
1723 Words | 7 Pages

The misunderstanding and mistreatment the outcast characters, Lennie, Candy, and Crooks, have to endure in order to have the possibility of partaking in buying the farm, far exceeds that of all the other workers. Yet, the chance of achieving the American Dream, or in the case of Of Mice and Men, a plot of land and small farm, was a much more likely possibility for the men who fell into the norms of society. The depiction of the American Dream creates the idea that everyone stands an equal chance at being successful, but with societal roadblocks for people with mental disorders, crippling injuries, or who belong to a racial minority, there are minimal opportunities for these groups to achieve the American

Read More
885 Words | 4 Pages

1940 in America brought us Bugs Bunny in “A Wild Hare,” president Franklin Delano Roosevelt for a third term, the discovery of Stone Age paintings, and And Then There Were None. Over the Atlantic in Victorian England circa 1902, Lord Salisbury retired from being Prime Minister, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria were coronated, the Olympic Games were held, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published The Hound of the Baskervilles. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are two top examples of mystery thrillers.

Read More
663 Words | 3 Pages

The Hobbit Literary Analysis Would you be able to step out of your comfort zone for the sake of adventure and a promise of treasure? This was the predicament Bilbo Baggins is unexpectedly presented with one sunny afternoon. Thirteen dwarves appear at his door and put forward their offer. Bilbo is a little apprehensive at first but soon comes to the realization that in his ordinary life of a Hobbit in the Shire he will never get another opportunity like this again. When reading The Hobbit, being able to step out of your comfort zone is a major key.

Read More
1260 Words | 6 Pages

Hero’s Journey Essay Literary Analysis of The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien What happens when one day a cloaked figure asks you to join a group of heavily bearded men in search for treasure in a dragon’s lair? Bilbo is fortunate enough to experience such a peculiar invitation, but the Baggins side of him is quick in refusal. Yet off he still goes from his warm and fuzzy hobbit hole in the Shire to the desolate land of Dain, where he learns to prove his worth amongst his hot-tempered Dwarf companions. Along the way, allies are made, secrets kept and human desires put into play, eventually culminating in the concluding battles where Bilbo plays a pivotal role in the management of order in the fellowship.

Read More
1140 Words | 5 Pages

Queen Elsa The Disney movie, Frozen is the story of two sisters, one of whom was born with magical powers of ice and snow, trying to save their kingdom. Like with most fictional Disney characters, Queen Elsa’s, powers are both a gift and a curse, and they are the epitome of Elsa’s being; without her “gift” she would not be the character that represents the overall theme of overcoming such intrapersonal turmoil. Of the six domains of knowledge discussed in personality psychology, Elsa’s personality in the first half of the film (until she runs away to the mountains) can best be described in terms of dispositions which remain consistent, and social/cultural adaptations from living in Arendelle, Norway in the mid-19th century. Queen Elsa’s

Read More
1262 Words | 6 Pages

Folk tales have been used again and again to continue the traditions from one generation to the next. In “Snow White”, the Brothers Grimm, show the power and struggle of the characters, and the differences between the lower-class and the upper-class. In “Snow White” Grimm and Grimm illustrate that the lower-class is struggling for a better life, even if they are always working and not having an equal economic situation. This is shown through the seven little dwarfs when they always work, but, unfortunately, the higher social class did not care about them. Using a lens of Marxist Literary Theory, I am going to critique the political power and economic struggle between the upper and the lower class in “Snow White”.

Read More

More about Snow White And The Seven Dwarves Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document