Cinderella with a Y Chromosome
Fairy tales have been communicated to one another for centuries; they all tell a story of each culture’s views by the way people convey it. There are many diverse fairy tales, but one of the most iconic, which has been around for a long time, is Cinderella. One version from the 1960s is a film entitled Cinderfella. In this comedy, Jerry Lewis plays Cinderfella, a male Cinderella. I chose this text because I feel it is a good example of Linda Parsons’ reference to how “simplistic role reversals often present a comedic rather than an empowering, realistic view of possibility and lack the subtlety that is most effective in challenging stereotypes”(139). In this paper, I will elaborate on how this version of Cinderella …show more content…
I felt that this norm was interrogated a little by the story Cinderfella. Sure, in simple terms, the princess was the good beautiful women, and the stepmother was the old, evil one. Nevertheless, in this movie, I inferred that the stepmother was not completely evil, even though she does reject Cinderfella, because she loves her own children more, she does change near the end. She looks out for the best interest of herself and her sons for the majority of the film, but she makes a transformation from evil to a more understanding person when Cinderfella gives his newly discovered fortune to her. Cinderfella gives up all that money that his father promised him to his stepmother because he wanted to thank her for putting up with him all those years. The stepmother is moved by this gesture; she had been so unkind to Cinderfella for so many years that she never expected any kindness from him; so when Cinderfella leaves the house, she expressed to her boys not to touch the money because it was Cinderfella’s money. This shows that she has developed a respect for Cinderfella, which makes her not as evil as once thought and causes the story to be more of a feminist revision.
Another part of the movie that falls under Parsons’ third norm of women are either good or bad is a piece of dialogue between Cinderfella and the Fairy Godmother, which I found a bit sexist. I have supplied that dialogue below.
Fairy Godfather: Fella, you have been chosen to rectify all the great wrongs brought about by the original Cinderella story. Through the centuries, the women of the world influenced by the Cinderella story have waited. Waited for their Prince Charming's to come galloping out of the wild blue yonders on their white horses to claim their hands in marriage.
Cinderfella: Yeah, I read that
Fairy tales have been communicated to one another for centuries; they all tell a story of each culture’s views by the way people convey it. There are many diverse fairy tales, but one of the most iconic, which has been around for a long time, is Cinderella. One version from the 1960s is a film entitled Cinderfella. In this comedy, Jerry Lewis plays Cinderfella, a male Cinderella. I chose this text because I feel it is a good example of Linda Parsons’ reference to how “simplistic role reversals often present a comedic rather than an empowering, realistic view of possibility and lack the subtlety that is most effective in challenging stereotypes”(139). In this paper, I will elaborate on how this version of Cinderella …show more content…
I felt that this norm was interrogated a little by the story Cinderfella. Sure, in simple terms, the princess was the good beautiful women, and the stepmother was the old, evil one. Nevertheless, in this movie, I inferred that the stepmother was not completely evil, even though she does reject Cinderfella, because she loves her own children more, she does change near the end. She looks out for the best interest of herself and her sons for the majority of the film, but she makes a transformation from evil to a more understanding person when Cinderfella gives his newly discovered fortune to her. Cinderfella gives up all that money that his father promised him to his stepmother because he wanted to thank her for putting up with him all those years. The stepmother is moved by this gesture; she had been so unkind to Cinderfella for so many years that she never expected any kindness from him; so when Cinderfella leaves the house, she expressed to her boys not to touch the money because it was Cinderfella’s money. This shows that she has developed a respect for Cinderfella, which makes her not as evil as once thought and causes the story to be more of a feminist revision.
Another part of the movie that falls under Parsons’ third norm of women are either good or bad is a piece of dialogue between Cinderfella and the Fairy Godmother, which I found a bit sexist. I have supplied that dialogue below.
Fairy Godfather: Fella, you have been chosen to rectify all the great wrongs brought about by the original Cinderella story. Through the centuries, the women of the world influenced by the Cinderella story have waited. Waited for their Prince Charming's to come galloping out of the wild blue yonders on their white horses to claim their hands in marriage.
Cinderfella: Yeah, I read that