Before you read this article I have to declare my hand, I am an old pale stale male, of ex farming occupation with no credentials to foist a film review onto you. The above, however never stopped me from offering my opinion on most topics.
The story of Snow White probably dates back, in some form, a few thousand years. Like most folk lore the tale carries moral guidance and warnings. In this case most of the seven deadly sins. The Brothers Grimm picked up the story and published it back in 1812. A very good background to the story and it’s symbolism and message can be found in detail at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t427pYWgef4&t=458s where Jordan Peterson analyses the story. The original story warns young girls of the evils of vanity, pride and envy, sins that the queen mother has in spades.
Back to Disney. Disney’s original, classic animated Snow White was released in 1937, nearly ninety years ago. The original is still regarded as an important classic movie, being the first full length “cartoon’ movie made. The original movie remains fairly to true to the Grimm’s story. With friends we watched the original about a month ago, all of us able to recall seeing it in our youth. My wife believes I can identify with a number of the Dwarfs, specifically Sleepy, Grumpy and Dopey.
Although the original is an excellent watch, it is now, apparently out of date. According to Rachael Zegler, who plays the title role in the new film, “The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so.” She went on to explain, “it focuses on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her - weird, weird.” Disney and Zegler set out to update the movie and to reflect their perception of twenty first century values.
I will give Disney credit that they have picked four or five of the story’s hooks and glued them into the new version, The step mother is evil, the mirror exists, the dwarfs still appear and snow white is woken by a male.
The new film’s plot is roughly as follows. Snow White’s parents ruled the kingdom with kindness and empathy, personally knowing all their subjects. The kingdom was devoid of want, poverty or misery. Everyone was happy and contented.
The plot unfolds. Snow White’s Mother is written out of the story line and the beautiful step mother marries the King, convinces him that he needs to raise an army and march off into the sunset to fight an infinitely long war. The stepmother takes over the Kingdom turns it into a hell hole and gets a soldier to hopefully dispose of Snow White.
After avoiding death, Snow White hooks up with the Dwarves, gets them organised, latches onto a male named Jonathan, who becomes her P.A. and with her guidance organises a resistance group. He is allowed to take an arrow in the chest to save her life and then later his lips are allowed to approach hers when she wakes up from eating a poison apple.
Snow White organises the peasants and through her own virtue and purity convinces the Step Mother to self-implode. Snow White takes over the Queendom and the trusty male P.A. assists her to turn the queendom, through a governance of empathy and kindness into a society that has no poverty, discrimination or want and everyone lives happy and fulfilling lives. Back to reality.
I think we might have already tried the governance by kindness and empathy in this Country and it may be, like the communist system, that we did not get it quite right last time. There is also the possibility that human nature is such that this type of government does not work.
In this day and age maybe the world needs is a bit more of the Brothers Grimm’s warnings of the evils of the seven deadly sins. Kindness and empathy have their place, but in real life may not be the full recipe for us all living happily ever after.
The film does do quite a neat expanded version of the Hi Ho song. It also appears that this film is on track to run at a large loss. Some have commented that the saying “go woke and go broke’ may apply.
Alastair Frizzell is a mostly retired farmer, who should have also learned that fighting bureaucracy to help farmers with technology is a lost cause.
1 comment:
Dear Sir. I hope you are aware, that due to the "blow back" against both Disney & The Female Lead (Actor) - who "should have zipped the lips, rather than declare that she is woke, anti society, entitled & may never make another film", that the film was removed from general showing and is available to see (at cost $$) via YouTubes Movie line up, or on an International Airline, inflight movie options.
And, yes sadly, has "run at a large loss" due to the feelings of many, who felt that a "woke" re-make by Disney (of a classic story) was "beyond the pale".
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