Blog 7: Fairy tales

Do Fairy tales have a shared set of cultural norms and values? I think a majority of fairy tales have the same archetype of ‘damsel-in-distress’. Overall I do believe they do share a set of cultural norms and values, they value hard work: as we see in Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and The Princess and The Frog. Another thing we see that they value is equality these fairy tales include: Aladdin, Beauty & The Beast, and The Little Mermaid.

What are some examples of potential impact of the main character modeling egalitarian roles on younger audience? I think exposing children to roles that promote equality of all people no matter race, sexual orientation, or even class is important. This leads to an over all better society where discrimination is probably less seen. This could make a child want to emulate certain characteristics that these characters have; Curious, Hard working, Caring, Fair, and unafraid to venture into the unknown.

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The movie I chose was incidentally a fairy tale as well as shown in the image above. I chose The Little Mermaid, growing up I loved this movie, not only because of the sound track but because Ariel was curious about ‘other worlds’ and the people that inhabited them. I am like that too. Ariel also sticks up for the people on land when her father Triton looks down on them for not being mer-people. I like to believe that when faced in adversity I too can surpass it.