Snow White Sociology

Chapter 1 Introduction
I started to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when I was four years old. I was attracted by the beauty of Snow White and her kind-hearted personality which this made me to repeatedly watch this animated film. However, I was frightened by the horrifying image of the peddler in the film. At time, I was just a little kid who was indeed vulnerable to the media content. Looking at how the stepmother scheme on Snow White, I firmly believe that stepmothers are wicked. As time goes on, I was taught that every coin has it two sides. We should not trust the media blindly on their content but think critically on everything we see. While everyone is paying attention and admiring the protagonist of the fairytales, I began to develop my interest on the antagonist of the tales which is the stepmothers. While I am studying for my Bachelor Degree, I began to take an interest in film studies and look into the analysis in the film

This study is based on the framework of Representation Theory to understand how meaning is created through representation in this context refers to how stepmother is being represented in the films chosen. Representation Theory is adopted specifically through constructionist approach in which it stated that meanings are usually constructed through representational systems which are concepts and signs (Hall, Evans & Nixon, 2013: 11). Besides, Stereotype Theory is adopted to understand how a set of qualities perceived is represented in reflecting the essence of the stepmothers (John et al, 2010: 8). John et al (2010: 8) further contended that socialization, media and language and discourse are the major channel for the stereotypes to be transmitted. To certain extent, stereotype may imply discrimination by systematically influencing perceptions and judgment (John et al, 2010: