Study Task 3 -  Animation Analysis Triangulation

The uses of Enchantment 1976, Bruno Bettelheim

Triangulation:

Fairytales are essentially a symbolic and metaphorical guide for a child's morals, a really beautifully written tale that can incorporate lots of moral divides and predicaments that always test the characters in the story and effect the mind of the child who sides with what they feel represents them morally and emotionally. Overcoming the fear of monsters, monstrous characters and the monster within, because evil lives in all of us, it cannot be denied that is why it exists in tales, but always is deceased in the end or overcome by the good in all of us.

Breaking the magic spell

The role of most tales is to distinguish the good and bad, but what if the roles themselves are affected by a definitive icon that isn't always seen as justifiable in life, but in traditional tales is seen as almost cliché in relation to modern stories.

‘A good fairytale is like art, depending on the quality of the tale and the meaning. Art which is strong enough to enchant the mind and influence the understanding of good and evil in the world.’

-Bruno Bettelheim.

Typically, most tales feature a divide between male and female and their individual statement in the story, typically a male will be the hero and the term 'damsel in distress' is applied to the female being a plot point in the story usually, they usually need saving by a hero. Some cultural fairytales also feature a distinguish between sexes, to emphasize on an environment or setting the scene. Ambitious women in featured fairy tales are portrayed as evil from within and scheming, wielding over other women and men, examples would be the stepmother in Snow White, the stepmother in Cinderella, and the stepmother of Hansel and Gretel who left the children in the forest.

I think traditional tales aim at the male hero because naturally the male is a strong and protective figure, but that doesn't make sense because tales are meant for children of both sex, the damsel in distress will weaken the view of female figures and icons as strong metaphors in life. This concept commonly reflects on the child’s conscious life because it is the belief of the story teller, in good faith to protect their child and inform them of such icons who fight evil, the fact that evil takes many forms yet the sword of justice is wielded by a common figure. This maybe to familiarize the child of the perfect hero or possibly introduce a dominance over others as far as traditional tales would go, stating characters’ immediate importance and influence on a story and such is the reality of traditional tales and folklore.

From the Beast to the Blonde, on fairy tales and their tellers

‘To educate the mind and strengthen the initiative of a child with its social relativity and meaning through symbolic context of aspirations, they are 'endeavors to grasp the social values of transformation'.

-Marina Warner

This is the transformation from childhood into adulthood, and endeavors meaning journeys or education in the distance and experience it takes to develop, achieve, and to stimulate the mind to progress. Social values are that of experiences the child holds dear to his heart and what they represent for the child to accomplish throughout their life. 

A genre largely told by women to their children despite there being such a large amount of evil female counterparts, despite the Brothers Grimm’s tended tone in Snow White, familiar situations in fairy tales can be traced to their growth in a culture ‘There are examples, girls in fairy tales who are brave and witty, such as Gretel, who exhibits common sense and kills the evil witches.’ This relates to the chosen quote, prove strength in the imagination of the child, helping them understand their strengths and weakness comparing their emotional reactions to the fairytale told. Without understanding of the unique roles of these figures in the world around them they are accepted with increased understanding of the social reality of different people, their beliefs and how it is translated through fairy and folktales.

The Theory and History of Folklore

‘What makes the folklore attractive if the representation of reality is not its purpose? The lack of correspondence with reality, fiction as such, offers special delight.’ -Propp

This describes how humorous tales are when reality is turned inside out, this is what fascinated the child and what makes it so interesting, this is a Romantic prose.  Female characters are described as foolish or almost dreamy in attitude and willing to be influenced or taken, this element is shown through most fairy tales and is ultimately the main plot point, which I imagine is a metaphor for a boy in traditional tales to influence him on the protecting of the female character in real life.

The volume begins with sections on the “Nature of Folklore" dealing with theoretical curiosities that the child would undertake in their lifetime, the principles of folklore genres like the relationship between folklore and literature and the reflection of reality in folklore, the type of teachings folklore can describe in reality, I find this prominent for the child to understand his subconscious and expose his mind to symbolic realism ultimately answering to the kind of curiosities and experiences he is searching for.

Russian regard for moral law, Propp believed that literature was composed of discrete identifiable elements and their relation to the story as a whole. The function of character action in this book which must be perceived according to its actor ‘the subject of the action is considered part of the action itself and not its own independent element’ - Propp.

The “who” in fairy/folktales is not important because characters are basically undefined, not describing the character by gender of race and often derive their names from their social relationship or profession. This describes how in fairytales, individuals are simple and largely free from conflict, leaving the judgment to the audience of the tale, the child. This concept described by Propp is the most important element of a fairytale because in reality there is no distinction between characters and the child must understand and use intuition to determine the outcome of social elements in life.

Harvard referencing

The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention

Volume 1 issue 4 2014 page no.246-250 ISSN: 2349-2031

The Portrayal of Women in the Fairy Tales

Author, Dr Silima Nanda