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But They Still Lived Happily Ever After – or at Least, Happily

Disney’s contemporary ‘postmodern’ fairy tales
  • Michelle Anya Anjirbag EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 13, 2024
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Abstract

This paper examines three films that mark Disney’s foray into postmodern fairy-tale narratives to determine if these attempts to move beyond or complicate Disney princess or fairy-tale narratives are successful. Drawing from fairy-tale studies and age studies, it particularly examines how gendered narratives and stereotypes operate within these narrative spaces, looking at the figures of the princess, the godmother, and the stepmother in Enchanted (2007), Godmothered (2020), and Disenchanted (2022). Through this study I aim to discover if Disney’s contemporary postmodern fairy-tale narratives open up more potential for women in various roles as they age, or if they reiterate various age-related gender stereotypes.

Zusammenfassung

Der Beitrag untersucht drei Filme, in denen Disney Abstecher in das Gebiet postmoderner Märchennarrative unternimmt, und fragt, ob diese Versuche, über die in Disney-Filmen übliche Prinzessin- bzw. Märchennarrative hinauszukommen bzw. diese in Frage zu stellen, gelungen sind. Unter Bezugnahme auf die Märchenforschung sowie die Age Studies untersucht der Artikel insbesondere, wie genderspezifische Erzählungen und Stereotype in diesen Erzählräumen funktionieren und nimmt dazu die Prinzessin, die gute Fee und die Stiefmutter in Enchanted (2007), Godmothered (2007) und Disenchanted (2022) in den Blick. Ich möchte mithilfe dieser Untersuchung feststellen, ob die zeitgenössischen postmodernen Disney-Märchennarrative Frauen, während sie älter werden, mehr Möglichkeiten in diversen Rollen eröffnen oder ob diese Narrative lediglich verschiedene altersbezogene genderspezifische Klischees wiederholen.

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Published Online: 2024-11-13
Published in Print: 2024-11-26

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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