day 26 snow white

 Apparently theres a new 'live action' Disney film out at the moment which has reworked the story of Snow White to a more 'woke' and politically correct version.  Because we cant call little people 'dwarves' any more, and no self respecting woman needs to be rescued by a Prince these days 😁

I cant say Ive been paying much attention to the story, but a couple of things have popped up which I found really interesting. The first is that the movie has bombed. Partly because nobody wants to see a childhood favourite messed with but also, sadly, because of a backlash against the lead actress tweeting views on the war in the middle east.  But the second, which I really hadnt realised at all, is that Snow White was originally written with a deeper message in mind.  It was originally a story by the Brothers Grimm published in the early 1800s . They are well known for addressing quite dark and difficult topics and presenting them to children with little fluff or apology.  Disney took the story and animated it so beautifully, adding songs and turning it into one of the best selling films of the era. But they didnt mess much with the story.

Theres an apple. Theres the voice of evil whispering into the ear of an innocent. Theres temptation, There is a fall and death.  And ultimately there is a Prince on a white horse whose kiss of love brings resurrection and a wedding.  Sound familiar?  Its all very obvious once you see it.   And then of course there are numerous other moral and Biblical threads weaving through the story - self obsession, jealousy, temporary rescue, kindness. inclusion of the 'other', fellowship and love.  

Im somewhat heartened to discover that even today's worldly woke audiences are not rushing to embrace the sanitising of one of our classic children's stories. Kids have always been able to cope with a bit of ' kill her and bring me her heart!'  They have never seen the 7 dwarves as real people with Achondroplasia - and even if they have, those little people are depicted as inclusive and funny and kind and hardworking.  And yes, we probably have had a bit of overkill on the 'some day my prince will come and rescue me' over the years, but the pendulum has swung so far the other way that I doubt many little girls in 2025 will feel too browbeaten by that message.  And the truth is that actually one day our Prince will come.  Riding on the clouds, shining like the sun.  He will kiss us and we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye. Personally I can't wait!



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