Foster (6-9, 11, 14) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)
"Slavic folktakes, those darlings of the Russian formalist critics of the 1920s, don't have a lot of currency in Paducah. But thanks to Disney, they know "Snow White" from Vladivostok to Valdosta, "Sleeping Beauty" From Sligo to Salinas."
Now I understand that I cannot connect all literature with a Disney movie, but I honestly believe that many Disney animations have a lot of complex thought put into them. Whether or not a child can understand them, there is more the "Beauty in the Beast" than a talking clock and dancing silverware. Now I have to admit that I am a total Disney dork. I am currently 18 years old, and can kick anyones butt in Disney SceneIt, and prefer going to Disney World to laying out on the beach. This chapter in Foster, on taking fairytales and folk stories and using the elements to compare literature was not only interesting but fun. I think that sometimes we tend to take literature overly serious. I feel that taking something we loved as children (and in my case still love today) and use it to explain the literature we are currently reading, it will take the edge off of the stresses that drive us crazy as we analyzing how novels are compared to shakespeare and the bible. And not to say that analyzing the bible and Shakespeare are not of interest to us, I just feel like refering to Disney movies and fairy tales is more FUN!
Comments (6)
HA Bethany, I love you and I love your blog. I too found it so much fun to read about how Disney movies connect with literature because I love Disney movies as well. But, it was rather interesting how folktales and fairytales are used a lot in the literature we read today.
Posted by Margaret Jones | January 31, 2007 10:21 PM
Posted on January 31, 2007 22:21
lol I agree I think it makes reading literature alot more fun when we can identify something in the story with something we love like the Disney movies.
ps
Disney sceneit rocks
Posted by Jara White | February 1, 2007 7:10 PM
Posted on February 1, 2007 19:10
I definitely agree with you there. Pretty much anything Disney is good. It definitely does make it more interesting if we can relate literature back to Disney.
Posted by JenniferPrex | February 1, 2007 10:26 PM
Posted on February 1, 2007 22:26
I also love Disney, and I do think that Disney and other pop culture literary forms have their place in life, and even at times in the classroom. But, it is important to realize that they serve very different purposes. The main difference, as discussed tonight in Dr. Jerz's wonderful Lit Crit class (yay for probably the hardest lit class I will ever take) the big difference is...you guessed it...MONEY! The reason Disney created versions of all those famous fairy tales is to make money. Authors who want to write because they love literature and language aren't writing to a specific market, they aren't writing in order to sell books. If I wanted to know how to do that I would be a business major. I am in English to read those classics.
Ok enough lecture. But, as I am a fan...does anyone have the Disney version of Scene It? I actually played the TV version for the first time over break, which was fun, but I was AWFUL at it because I never watched TV. If you have it, we should get together to play ;0)
Posted by Lorin | February 2, 2007 3:04 AM
Posted on February 2, 2007 03:04
Oh - if there is a Disney SceneIt party I'm in. I also agree with you Lorin - the entertainment industry isn't about entertainment, its about money.
In the case of Disney's money however, they've taken it to a global scale - not only through EuroDisney etc. but also through the spread of the original story. Gold star, but also - big bucks.
Posted by Diana Geleskie | February 2, 2007 10:40 AM
Posted on February 2, 2007 10:40
Awww...Disney! Disney should definitely play an important role when making literary interpretations and is more fun than other comparisons!
Posted by Bethany Bouchard | February 4, 2007 8:44 PM
Posted on February 4, 2007 20:44