Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Snow White and Gender Lens

We watched Snow White the other day in class and one lens that is very noticeable throughout this movie is the gender lens.  Snow White is portrayed as a very weak character who is always needing guidance or help out of situations.  She is given this assistance because she is beautiful and fits the stereotype of the typical weak female character.  For example she has the 7 dwarfs who save her numerous times in the film getting her out of trouble.  Snow Whites innocence and almost stupidity overshadow the dwarfs efforts when she eats the very intriguing and mysterious apple given to her by the witch.  The cinematic element of color effects how we see the apple.  The apple is bright red and red is tied with temptation.  The apple is also shiny with a perfect outer shell making the apple very intriguing and impossible for Snow White to resist even though the dwarfs say not to eat it.  When Snow White was placed in her glass case after eating the apple she had to once again be saved.  In this instance the prince makes his way to Snow White to kiss her and wake her up.  When the prince approaches the glass case we notice it has light shining on it drawing a lot of attention to Snow Whites beauty.  This cinematic element really puts focus on her beauty and how she must be beautiful since she has all these men going out of their way to help her. She is a very beautiful who fits the typical stereotype of a woman who always needs saving and needs a man by her side to stay safe.  Her image also shows that you must be beautiful to receive that help because the Queen, a character not portrayed as beautiful, never receives this same attention from men.

2 comments:

  1. I also noticed the gender lens a lot while watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I had focused more of the stereotypical traits such as cleaning and cooking she took on, but I really like how you pointed out her beauty and how it is magnified in the film through the cinematic techniques. The way she is adored by every male character in the film and how she is envied by one the powerful female, really shows how society today often acts. Snow White is depicted as an ignorant, gullible girl. All the round shapes, such as her hair and bow, enhance her beauty and kindness in the movie, but her actions, portray her as a very simple minded thinker. The example you used when she was strongly intrigued by a shiny red apple I think show how she acts on her emotions and not really thinking about what could happen. I also thought it was interesting how Snow White’s beauty alone was enough for the price to come and save her. This I feel is very true in today’s society because in some ways I think superficial looks are becoming more important because of media telling women how to look and if you look that way you’ll be happy and find your price charming.

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  2. I agree with you Tal with the innocence and almost stupidity that is portrayed by Snow White. There were a few scenes where I got upset watching as Snow White had to always be saved by someone else. One scene in particular that would fit in with your blog would be when she runs off to the woods. As she is running through the woods, she becomes more and more frightened to the point where she collapses in the middle of the woods. Instead of figuring out a solution to her problem, she just sits there waiting to be saved. Like girlfriend, pick your girly ass up and do something! Don't just sit there! That’s just what through my mind at the time. She then was saved by the animals, like really animals? Really girl, Bambi had to come save you. I just found that particular part upsetting as a female viewer because I know that would never happen in real life. I know that it is a fictional fairy tale, but does she have to be so helpless and naive?

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