The biggest difference is between the queen in the film version we looked at in class today and the Disney and Grimm versions. In this version the queen has a name and so becomes more of a fleshed out character. Also, in this version the queen and the witch are separate and so the queen seems a little less evil because she is not the one making the poisoned apple.
Also, in the Disney film the queen does not find Snow White to be a problem until she is in her late teens or so. In the Grimms tales the queen finds her to be a threat at 7 years old. This shows that in the Disney film there is more sexualization of the characters because this time Snow White isn't a threat until she is past puberty.
Giving the queen a name and developing her as a character is probably just a modern adaptation to storytelling. When the Grimms were recording these tales, it was a simple oral tradition. When Disney was making his version of Snow White, the audiences demanded vibrant characters, and that is what he gave them.
ReplyDeleteThe 1916 film Queen certainly has more nuanced motives for her hatred of Snow White. Unlike, for example, the Disney Queen, the 1916 film queen begins ugly and therefore is even more jealous of Snow White. She makes a deal with a witch for her beauty, but this kid is born even more beautiful than her. The Disney Queen is naturally beautiful, so her jealousy comes from a different source than the 1916 queen.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite intersting that in the Grimms version of Snow White, the girl is considered a threat. This can't be a jealously connected to sexuality, but it does seem to be connected to a man. The Grimms version really does express that male attention is a major context for rivalry between women, be it in competition for a prince or male attention in general. Even though it is not probable that Snow White will have a sexual relationship with her own dad, the Queen still does not like the girl. Because the Queen wants her beauty validated, with no room for any one else to be beautiful, is evil towards her own daughter even in her innocence.
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