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  • Essay / Comparative analysis of Perrault's Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent

    Narratives are cultural devices that represent their times, playing an important academic role in the reflection and development of the values, ideas and attitudes of their context , and even warning the public of what might happen in the future. The credits are a clear example of this where composers are able to maintain the popular themes and intrigue of a story while reinforcing key issues and values ​​of the current society they are a part of on a subliminal level to still maintain the story but also encourage the audience to think about their own actions in the world. This is seen through the numerous appropriations of Charles Perrault's popular Sleeping Beauty in the late 17th century and Maleficent, the new version of Robert Stromberg's Sleeping Beauty in 2014. Through the changing roles of the characters principals, such as Phillip,. Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty, the obvious changes in the textual purpose of the narrative, between young love and the idea of ​​feminism and the ideals placed on women, Perrault and Stormberg were able to address real issues , reflecting society and, in turn, shaping society. placing these stories as influencers in front of their audiences to help them make real decisions throughout their own lives, which is an important aspect of maintaining the importance of stories over time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First of all, the most important contrast between Sleeping Beauty in the Woods and Maleficent is the gender roles expressed. This can be seen through the different ways in which all the characters are displayed, specifically Sleeping Beauty and the Prince. In Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty, his characters are a direct creation of the roles assigned to men and women in 17th-century society, roles that would have connected and greatly influenced the individual at the time. The comparisons can be seen as evil, calling into question ideas of prince and princess form. In past stories, the princess has been depicted solely as a love interest or even as a prize to be won, as evidenced by many Disney interpretations of fairy tales like Tangled, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, whose main purpose is to find love, relationships, marriage. + and in need of protection, working in correlation with the damsel in distress form. Their main values ​​can be considered their beauty and superiority. This form is demonstrated through the sleeping beauty in the woods throughout the story and can be seen clearly through the great baptism, the idea of ​​her beauty expressed through the first "gift" given to "she should be the most beautiful person.” This demonstrated the importance of beauty in the society constructed in Perrault's 17th century context, where status, such as one's royal possessions, and one's appearance were obsessed, which promotes the idea of ​​the sociological function of myth. Perrault uses this idea to impose this idea on his own society, using the way the audience sees the princess to inspire them to want to be like that and to aim for this high expectation of beauty and status. This is further reinforced by the introduction. of the prince and the archetype of this prince, the strong and fearless protector. This is seen through the Prince, who, upon learning that a beautiful princess is waiting for him in a castle, becomes determined to be that savior she has been waiting for. These archetypes are called into question in the appropriation ofStromberg, Maleficent, due to the context in which it was published. Maleficent largely rejects the idea that women are weak and in need of a man's protection or salvation, reflecting how individuals view their world where 2014 introduced a large amount of promotion of female empowerment and rejecting the sexist ideas on which they had been built for many years, for example the Perrault version of Sleeping Beauty. This can be seen through the idea of ​​true love's kiss, where the idea that Prince Phillip was the only one who could save Aurora is challenged by the visual scene of Aurora and Maleficent showing women empowering the women. This idea presents itself as a new moral lesson on female empowerment, an important lesson to teach not only young girls but also young boys, shaping the way they see their own future and how they will perceive themselves- themselves, and do not need to rely on themselves. about the stereotypes that created these archetypes. The contrast between Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent is important in really reinforcing these ideas, where stereotypes may have retained their relevance to leave a lasting impression on 17th century audiences, but have now evolved over time with the Company. This contrast continues with Maleficent challenging the ideals placed on women for centuries before its release, showing the audience how they no longer have a role in their current society. Perrault's Sleeping Beauty was released at an extremely opportune time to reinforce notions of the "ideal" woman in society at the time they were told. A beautiful woman who could sing, dance and play music would certainly have been popular in Versailles in the 17th century. This can be seen through the opening baptism, although each of the gifts given by the fairies is constructed from metaphors and visual and auditory images to emphasize their importance, where the princess would be the "...the most beautiful person …the temperament of an angel…wonderful grace. …dance to perfection…sing like a nightingale…play all kinds of music with the greatest skill. In these gifts, the idea of ​​female curiosity is not mentioned, dramatically showing that it was not valued as a feminine characteristic but rather cautions women of the time, as evidenced by the introduction of the evil fairy's curse “…she declared that the princess should sting. his hand with a spindle, and I will die. This curse alarms the king and he hides all the spindles from his princess, but due to her curiosity, she inevitably finds the spindle which leads to her doom. This is seen as a way of warning society against women's curiosity, showing that it is not up to them to search but rather to realize the ideas expressed beforehand, thus reinforcing their importance in Perrault's society. While all of these ideals are challenged through Maleficent, female curiosity is largely affirmed rather than scorned. This is a support throughout the film, for example when Aurora is young, wandering, chasing the butterfly, curious to see what it is and to experience the joy it brings, and moreover when Aurora and Maleficent travel through the woods, letting Aurora's curiosity get the best of them. and experience new encounters, tracking shots used to show occurrences of new experiences occurring continually, without any threat to Aurora. It was important to question the negative connotations of curiosity because they reflected the current society Stromberg found himself in, a society inwhere the role of women is not limited to being a good wife or a good mother, but to explore and find their own future. This was an important lesson to teach young women, especially adolescent girls, who would experience these idealistic expectations brought on by narratives that in the past had left a lasting impression on society and needed to be questioned. Maleficent successfully challenges these ideals evoked by composers such as Perrault, not just curiosity, to reflect the society in which they evolved today, and not a society that was created and perpetuated through narratives over time and creates new realistic ideals for young women. up to par. The greatest contrast between Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty lies in the pure textual purpose communicated by the composers. Written and published in the 17th century, Perrault wrote about an important aspect of a life that he could clearly recognize and present to his audience, the idea of ​​true love and young marriage. These ideas are referenced in the written moral of the story, ensuring that if the audience was not able to understand the underlying message of the story, they would by the time they finished reading. It reads: “Many girls have waited a long time to have a brave or strong husband…young blood must when young blood will!” » This clearly demonstrates the purpose of the text, and Perrault's ability to describe this and reflect his modern society allowed Sleeping Beauty to further expand its importance. Sleeping Beauty in the Woods held significant meaning to her audience and had the power to influence and shape the society in which she maintains her relevance. Many women who read the story are inspired by its endings, the happy ending where men and women find each other, fall in love, marry, have children and live happily ever after. This inspiration leads them to want to find their own true love, giving Sleeping Beauty in the Wood the power to shape its audience's worldview and future actions. This can also be said with Maleficent, however, Maleficent displays her own textual focus, that of feminism and the idea of ​​whether someone is truly good or evil. The overall story of Sleeping Beauty features Maleficent as the Wicked Witch, the villain who sentences Aurora to death but is ultimately defeated. Stromberg's Maleficent challenged this idea, introducing a second side to the story, her side, showing the audience why she does what she does. Ultimately, Maleficent's actions are justified or explained through the actions that were committed against her. The audience shows the great betrayal she faces towards a man she thought was a friend, who abused her trust and took a large part of her identity, her wings. This betrayal is what leads to Aurora's curse, however, the idea that Maleficent is good, or like all other humans, is introduced. The audience sees the good through his connection to Aurora and his determination to protect her. Maleficent's character develops greatly "I swear no harm will ever come to you" with this young girl. Aurora Maleficent's perspective on the world has changed, reinforced by the close-up of Maleficent's face, showing the tears in her eyes. The audience is forced to consider the idea that there is more than one side to a story and is also introduced to the idea of ​​feminism and female empowerment. Maleficent no longer gives men the power to control her or fuel her anger but accepts herself as a strong woman, strengthened by Aurora's love and support for her. The textual contrast between Beauty,.