...Short Story – Cultural Analysis Group Names: __________________________________ Unhappily Ever After – Fractured Fairy Tales __________________________________ __________________________________ “A & P” by John Updike (1961) 1. Describe the narrator’s (Sammy’s) attitude toward women. List the words he uses to describe the young women. Then list the words he uses to describe the older women. * Young Women: * Words/Phrases: * Attitude: * Older Women: * Words/Phrases: * Attitude: 2. Describe the narrator’s (Sammy’s) attitude toward his job. List the words he uses to describe the store, Stokesie, and Lengel. * Store: * Stokesie: * Lengel: * Attitude: 3. Do you like the narrator or not? Explain. 4. Do you think the girls meant to cause trouble by entering the A & P in their swimsuits? What evidence is there to support your opinion? 5. Towards the end of the story Sammy quits his job. What statement is he trying to make? Does he succeed? 6. In the last line of the story Sammy says he now knows that the world will be hard for him from that point forward. Do you think he’s right about his unhappily ever after? What does he realize about the world of 1961 that makes him come to this conclusion? Short Story – Cultural Analysis Group Names: __________________________________ Unhappily Ever After – Fractured Fairy Tales __________________________________ ...
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...Hwang 1 Jenna Hwang Somin English 1A 18 September 2013 Ways Women Are There were specific views on women of how they were supposed to act to what they were supposed to do with their life. It’s always been this idea that women are the “damsel in distress” in desperate need of saving from a certain “prince charming”. Throughout the years those views have altered quite a bit. Not only are they beautiful and elegant, they are now also powerful while possessing the ability to control their future. As I was growing up, Disney movies and certain people in the media molded my judgment on women in both positive and negative ways. The princesses and actresses showed me how women can be the “damsel in distress”, weak and only necessary for preparing food and bearing children; the “heroin”, powerful and independent; the “eye candy”, a distraction or an object purely for the pleasure of men; and naturally the “Lady”, the superior females who have the positive aspects of both the “eye candy” and “the heroin”. When I was a child the only movies I watched were the classic Disney movies. Those princesses were the female role models that I looked up to. They were always so beautiful with great talent. No matter how horrible the environment in which the princesses grew up, they were always humble and kind to anyone and everyone. On the contrary, some people even say that they are naïve or too nice and that they would have gotten taken advantage of easily if girls were like that in the real...
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...Christabel, Part III (in fairy tale format) Bracy the bard stood silently, stunned by Sir Leoline’s dismissive and fleeting regard for his warning, albeit a warning that came in a dream. Sir Leoline was never one to question Bracy’s sense, for his sense was always good and accurate. ‘They should not leave today, they should postpone immediately,’ thought Bracy. But that was simply no longer an option. Sir Leoline had made up his mind, it appeared, and there was no changing it. To have led Geraldine away, leaving his beloved daughter Christabel in a puddle of tears and emotional turmoil on the cold castle floor, despite her pleas, was strange behaviour on his part. ‘Something was amyss,’ thought Bracy. Sir Leoline’s behaviour was surprising, for Christabel was the one person Sir Leoline would do anything for. She was his only daughter, and the only living reminder of his dead wife that he so adored. ‘Something terrible is looming over the castle,’ thought Bracy, but he did not know what. Bracy led a wailing Christabel to her bedroom, shaking his head. Moments passed, and Sir Leoline and Geraldine were walking through the castle. Geraldine stopped Sir Leoline suddenly, sobbing quietly. She turned to Sir Leoline and looked deep into his eyes. Her eyes turned snake-like and glared. Sir Leoline did not appear to notice, but only seemed mesmerized. Geraldine began to speak, and expressed her regret for having caused Christabel to act so wildly. ‘I want nothing more than the best for...
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...first word that is selected in the archetype of the damsel in distress is another word for woman. Yet, as represented in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a man can be the character in anguish. This unique book was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. The iconic plot, inspired by the fears of the Victorian era, has served as a template for modern books and films. The novel is about a man, Dr. Jekyll, who becomes addicted to transforming into a new persona, Mr. Hyde, and...
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...The motif damsel in distress, in the French version of Cinderella, reveals that it originated from the country of France and its culture. The damsel in distress would be Cinderella. Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters didn’t appreciate the beauty Cinderella brought forth, so they made the poor girl do all of the chores and made her sleep in a sorrowful attic. The stepmother and stepsisters treated Cinderella as if she was a maid or a servant, but she was much more. You can tell that this story originated from France because Cinderella always wears ragged clothes. Therefore, she is very poor or her step family treats her as if she is. The stepmother and stepsisters feel as if they are greater than Cinderella. This compares to how France has Kings, Queens, Dutch, etc.. Monarchs of France are a higher power than the citizens...
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... We must live with it, and others must accept us as we are. It is the practice, custom and culture of marriage, as practiced by Africans, that is our discussion today. This discussion seeks to show that our practices are not foreign to Godly practices or Christian belief. A step by step exposition with Biblical references show that our traditional marriages have similarities with the Jewish traditions of old as recorded in the Bible. None of them stands in contra-distinction to the teachings of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. A man who loves a woman, proposes to that woman. In Genesis 34:3 we read the following, about Shechem who loved Dinah: “And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.” A woman also marries whom she thinks best. This we read in Numbers 36:6: “This is the thing which the Lord doth command...
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...Chassériau (1840), Edward Poynter (1869) and Gustave Doré (1869). Other popular scenarios for bondage in art was that of Angelica from the fifteenth century epic poem Orlando Innamorato, which is itself a continuation of the romantic epic saga Orlando Furioso, which is similar to that of Andromeda in that the heroine is offered as a sacrifice to the sea gods; and the damsel in distress theme. The damsel in distress theme was also used in The Perils of Pauline (1914) motion picture serial, which found Pearl White in mortal danger on a weekly basis. Depictions of bondage in art may be erotic, in which case they would tend to depict a young woman in danger and fear, and some are BDSM in style. Bizarre was a fetish and bondage magazine published between 1946-1959 by bondage artist John Willie. It included drawings and photographs using professional bondage models in bondage or sadomasochistic scenes. Sweet Gwendoline was the main female character in his works, published largely in the 1950s and 60's, and possibly the most famous bondage icon after Bettie Page. She was repeatedly depicted as the stereotypical naïve blonde damsel in distress. Bondage received a positive (if brief) treatment in The Joy of Sex, a mainstream sex manual popular in the 1970s. The publication of Madonna's book, Sex, which included photographs of bound nudes, did a great deal to improve public awareness of the acceptance of bondage. By the 1990s, references to bondage could be found in mainstream prime-time television...
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...I didn’t want to be Cinderella or Belle or Snow White waiting for prince charming. I wanted to be witty, brave, and free-spirited - I wanted to be Megara from Disney’s heroic feature film, Hercules. This always led to my friends waving their hands in my face and insisting that she is “not a princess.” So what? Not all of us need to be damsels in distress; or, as Meg puts it, “I'm a damsel, I'm in distress, I can handle this. Have a nice day.” She is Disney’s token “strong, independent woman who don’t need no man.” It just seems as if Disney spent a little extra time on Megara. She has a developed past, one that isn’t all cupcakes and rainbows, and that in itself is a lot more than most of the leading ladies can say. Her attitude packs a punch...
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...I felt that Hrothgar and Mr. Miyagi most closely compared to each other in that they both represent the mentor within their stories. Hrothgar may seem like a helpless damsel in distress, but Hrothgar has become too old to protect his people. So Hrothgar stands as a man with a history heroic deeds behind him, which makes saving him and his people so noble. He is very welcoming and rewarding to Beowulf as a father would be to his son, and in return Beowulf finds it in no way inconvenient to defend the people of Herot and their king. Similar to Hrothgar Mr. Miyagi was once a great Karate fighter and soldier, but now is just a maintenance man for an apartment building in California. Within these apartments lives a boy who together they grow...
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...“And they lived happily ever after….” The hopeful end of every fairy tale. Stories of a damsel in distress, waiting for her Prince Charming to make her the woman she knows she can be. A wife, a mother, a princess perhaps. Mothers and fathers read these stories to their children in storybooks every night before bed, leaving their daughters to dream about someday finding a prince charming of their own and indeed, living happily ever after just like mommy and daddy. However, not all “happily ever-afters” are quite so sweet. My life has been surrounded by not so happily ever afters. The adult relationships in my family have typically ended in divorce, betrayal, and abandonment, leaving the women of my family on their own. However, unlike the princesses in fairytales, these women are not waiting for their true Prince Charming to come and find them so they can be taken care of for the rest of their lives. They work hard every day to make a happily-ever-after of their own; on their own. Throughout the years of my life I have watched the women in my family create lives for themselves without their Prince Charming swooping her up onto his horse bringing her back to his castle to live a life of happiness, love, and prosperity. My mother, a single mother at the age of 21, stuck with a job that she hated and a two-bedroom that houses herself and her small daughter, managed to turn her life around. She went back to school at age 25 and started her own business, which is still successful...
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...An Analysis of Gender Roles in Disney Princess Films Jasmit Singh 213749361 Traditional and Popular Culture – 1900 9.0 Susan Niazi – Tutorial 6 Whether it’s the colours they wear, the activities they engage in or how they behave, men and women are known to play different roles in society. These established gender roles “are not innate or natural but a product of society”. Children, adolescents and adults all learn gender roles through the environment they’re surrendered by. One of the many huge influencers that help shape gender roles is media. Although “there has been a lot of change over the years in terms of what is considered appropriate societal roles for men and women, this change is not reflected in contemporary film”. The ideology of mainstream media continues to focus on the males being the heads of society, which in result, shows an unequal representation of the females. From an early age, media puts an image into young minds, informing them how males and females should think, act, behave and appear. In many television shows and films, one can easily see the distinct difference between the role of a male and a female. Often films are enforcing stereotypical gender roles where the male is seen to holds more importance in society than the female. Amongst many film producing companies, Walt Disney Pictures for decades have been enforcing stereotypical gender roles in their princess films. Though it may not be outright obvious, Disney productions play a huge role...
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...Paige Brier Amy Manley Vampire Literature and Film 28 April 2015 Feminism in Vampire Literature and Women’s Changing Roles. The role of woman in vampire literature has changed significantly over the decades. Works expanding from the traditional Bram Stokers Dracula to more modern work as well-known as Twilight. Lucy in Dracula was portrayed as being “slender with large brown eyes and full lips”, she was considered a “damsel”. Her character became the stereotype for the females in novels that followed. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer the role of women changed. The female was no longer the “damsel” but now was the warrior. In the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, by Laurell K Hamilton, Anita is one thing the vampires fear most that is why she is called the “Executioner”. But there are many similarities in the women of classic and modern day literature and film as well. The role of women in the Victorian era were to be virginal and innocent, or else they were a mother and wife. If she was not either of these she was considered impure and dirty. Bram Stoker Dracula is a prime example of this system. In future writing women have gotten a chance at significant change. Now women can be the slayer, the persuader, and the enforcer. Women have grown in brains and brawn. The main female character in Dracula, found him in his sleep and during a period of time Dracula changes Lucy into an independent woman. According to one of the prevailing interpretations of the novel, Dracula acted as a catalyst...
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...Linzy Waltke Professor Andrew Forrester Discernment and Discourse 1313 5 May 2014 Sexism Sells: The Male Dominated Video Game Industry Only 4% of video game titles released in the past 10 years feature a playable female character as the leading role, and there are even fewer female protagonists on the list of the top grossing video games (ESA). This trend of male dominated storylines is evident in other forms of media as well: movies and television shows tend to be centered around men, but video games show the least diversity in protagonists and often have regressive views on women and their position in society. Women make up 20% of console video game players and 46% of computer and mobile game players in this 20 billion dollar a year industry, meaning they are contributing a large amount of profits (ESA). Despite their significant purchasing power, they are not represented equally as characters in games, and continue to be used as a plot device or sexual being to attract the male target audience. Neither are they allowed to be a compelling character with a story arc and personal growth as we see with the male protagonist. Female characters, when included, tend to be one dimensional and only valued for typically how they fit into traditional gender roles by being submissive and innocent. This narrow portrayal of women comes from the fact that the developers of video games are predominantly men. Only 11% of game designers are women and only 3% of programmers, even though...
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...When the word “hero” is first mentioned, it is commonly thought as the kind of hero who is generally male, with a cape that chases and flows behind his back, a skin tight costume, and the mighty strength that he possesses to defeat criminals and villains. These super heroes that are seen in comic books, television shows, and movies always end up with the damsel in distress adoring them or some kind of acknowledgement; they lift their chins up, and chests forward portraying confidence and no struggles or worries when it comes to saving the day. While in reality, true heroes can be ordinary human beings where “saving the day” becomes a risk and where something valuable may get lost. Although heroes receive recognition in response to their success, sacrifice contributes more to heroism because, it portrays selflessness, courage,...
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...Gothic Literature Gothic fiction is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. As a genre, it is generally believed to have been invented by the English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary pleasures that were relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel. Melodrama and parody (including self-parody) were other long-standing features of the Gothic initiated by Walpole. Gothic literature is intimately associated with the Gothic Revival architecture of the same era. In a way similar to the gothic revivalists' rejection of the clarity and rationalism of the neoclassical style of the Enlightened Establishment, the literary Gothic embodies an appreciation of the joys of extreme emotion, the thrills of fearfulness and awe inherent in the sublime, and a quest for atmosphere. The ruins of gothic buildings gave rise to multiple linked emotions by representing the inevitable decay and collapse of human creations—thus the urge to add fake ruins as eye catchers in English landscape parks. English Gothic writers often associated medieval buildings with what they saw as a dark and terrifying period, characterized by harsh laws enforced by torture, and with mysterious, fantastic, and superstitious rituals. In literature such Anti-Catholicism had a European dimension featuring Roman Catholic excesses such as the Inquisition (in southern...
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