The
clock strikes midnight and the facade of Cinderella being the best fairytale
disappears. In 2004, the Disney princess movie Cinderella (1950) was remade into A Cinderella Story, creating a realistic and relatable modern-day
version of the tale. The idea of finding a “Prince Charming” is placed into a
technologically involved, high school environment.
The
original Cinderella focuses on the
rags to riches story of Cinderella transforming from being overburdened with
housework to being a princess, leaving her stepmother and stepsisters behind.
For the Walt Disney studio, it was important for Cinderella to be successful both monetarily and with audiences
because after World War II, the studio was disconnected from its overseas
audience. Additionally, they had released a series of failed movies, leaving
the company $4 million dollars in debt. Luckily, the tale was well-liked, and
over the years, has earned back $85 million dollars, and sparked many
re-releases, sequels and adaptations.
In
1950, the popularity of Cinderella
began even before the movie’s release because the story was known as a
folktale, dating back to a Greek story in 7 BCE. The story as we all know it
was already circulating in ballet, theater and children’s storybooks in the
late 1940s. The story was relevant to many women in the post-WWII context
because of the dream of release from domestic housework and finding a Prince
Charming. Though the story was not original, the music was, earning nominations
for three Academy Awards. This demonstrates its popularity in the sense of
being widely favored and regarded as a sense of high art, worthy of a
prestigious award.
Though
being widely favored, the story has anti-feminist undertones because Cinderella
needs her prince, and therefore the help of a man, to escape her wicked
stepmother and the constraints imposed on her. The 2004 remake however, has
feminist undertones and transforms the idea of fulfilling a dream away from
finding a handsome prince to finding independent success and accomplishment.
The dream in the movie becomes attending Princeton as well as being able to
stand up for what one believes in.
The
plot of A Cinderella Story follows
the original in how the protagonist, Sam, is left with her stepmother and
stepsisters after her father’s death, but places her life in the context of
high school. It trades housework for a job at her stepmother’s diner and
equates royalty with popularity. Similar to how the stepsisters in Cinderella fought for the prince's
affection, they fight for the popular football captain's attention.
This
remake is highly technology focused as instead of losing a shoe, she loses her
phone, and only meets the Prince Charming figure, Austin, because of their
previous online friendship through text. Additionally, Sam was not waiting for
him to save her, but acts on her own accord to stand up to her stepmother, quit
her job at the diner and move out. Following this act of confidence, Sam
confronts Austin and claims that she will not wait for his affection. Popular
feminism emerges with this moment in the movie. There is no large feminist
action, but a memorable scene that commodifies and markets female empowerment
in a heteronormative society with expectations of women needing men to save
them. The cheesy “I believe in myself and don’t care what others think”
narrative in this scene is powerful, but could never contribute to larger
societal changes, relating to Sarah Benet-Weiser’s argument that “popular
feminism, however, isn’t sufficient to, say, structurally challenge patriarchy-nor
does it claim it be” (Benet-Weiser, 2015). Instead, it is about individual
actions, and perhaps this scene would inspire young girls watching the movie to
stand up for what they believe is right, both in relation to feminism and in
general.
A Cinderella Story incorporates important lessons
relevant both at the time of the release and still relevant today. Not only are
there ideas relating to self-confidence and risk taking, but there are warnings
about internet usage and not exactly knowing who is on the other end of
communication. Additionally, the evil stepmother persona is furthered by her
apathetic attitude towards climate change as the movie is placed within the
context of a drought, but she prioritizes green grass over water conservation.
With rising concerns of climate change, this is an example in which the
historical context is incorporated into the movie.
A Cinderella Story is an interesting modern-day
remake, and while Walter Benjamin would argue that any mechanical reproduction
diminishes the aura of the original, it seems that A Cinderella Story creates a new aura. A Cinderella Story has its own aura because it is not a direct
remake. There is no change through augmentation or distribution, but instead,
it places the narrative of Cinderella
in a relatable context. The aura of Cinderella
is, however, affected through authenticity since the remake was compared to and
criticized as a commercialized representation of the original. The new aura has
also been compromised with the rise of additional adaptations, titled “Another
Cinderella Story”. The use of the word “another” both prescribes to it being a
version of the same story and notes Stuart Hall’s concept of intertextuality.
Intertextuality posits that each version needs to be understood within the
context of the others that exist. A
Cinderella Story is contingent on understanding Cinderella, while Another
Cinderella Story is contingent on understanding the two previous. This
highlights an intersection between aura and intertextuality where perhaps the
existence of intertextuality for a piece of art means that the aura has been
diminished in some manner.
Both Cinderella and A Cinderella Story hold culturally and historically relevant ideas
with differing adaptations on what it means to fulfill a dream and have
fairytales come true. In today’s age of technology, losing your phone feels
like losing a limb, but in 2004, it was just like losing a glass slipper.
Reference
List:
Banet-Weiser,
S. (2015, January 21). Popular misogyny:
a zeitgeist. Culture Digitally. https://culturedigitally.org/2015/01/popular-misogyny-a-zeitgeist/
Benjamin,
W. (1969). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In Walter
Benjamin, Illuminations. (pp.217-51).
Schocken Books.
Dyhouse,
C. (2021, April 19). What the Rise and
Fall of the Cinderella Fairy Tale Means for Real Women Today. Time. https://time.com/5956136/cinderella-story-meaning/
Geronimi,
C., Jackson, W., & Luske, H. (Director). (1950). Cinderella [Film]. Walt Disney.
Hall,
S. (1997). The Spectacle of the ‘Other’ (pp. 223-290). In Hall, S. (Ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and
Signifying Practices. Sage Publications Inc; Open University Press.
June,
B. (2019, May 25). Fairytale Fun Facts:
Cinderella. Brandie June. https://www.brandiejune.com/post/fairytale-fun-facts-cinderella
Rosman,
M. (Director). (2004). A Cinderella Story
[Film]. Clifford Werber Productions
Susman,
G. (2015, February 15). Disney's
'Cinderella': 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Beloved Fairy Tale Classic.
Moviefone. https://www.moviefone.com/2015/02/15/disney-cinderella-facts/
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