Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

First of all, watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was such a joy for me! Truly, I reveled in each moment--and it was kind of surprising to me. My brother and I tried to do a similar thing to this Magic Movie Club a couple of years ago. I say "tried" because we only watched one movie before we let life get in the way, but that movie was Snow White. To be perfectly honest with you I remember being kind of bored. Clearly I was not as enlightened as I am now. Watching the movie at that time, however, sparked something in me and Snow White has grown to become my favorite Disney Princess.

One of the Three Posters that Accompanied the
Theatrical Release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937

Artwork by Gustaf Tenggren

I love Snow White for a myriad of reasons. One is because she is the epitome of western beauty. (She has inspired me to wear sunscreen whenever I go out of the house, so as to maintain a pale complexion.) She is also a domestic goddess which is basically the one thing that I aspire to be but am farthest from. As in I don't cook or clean--ever. And I am so for traditional gender roles! Obviously I think that women should be educated, get paid as much as men, and be able to make our own decisions. I also don't particularly like the idea of women being property. (Now a days we call that 'human trafficking'.) That being said, I think that women need to earn their independence and rights not by acting more like men, but by elevating the things that make us women to a higher standard in the eyes of the world. Snow White does that. She is feminine and gentle and cleans in a dress, but she is not submissive or oppressed by men. In fact, the only person in the film who treats her without respect is the Evil Queen who, is herself, a woman.

The other reason that I think that this movie is really great is because it is so obviously trying to teach children. There is a whole song describing how to 'wash up' for dinner!! Snow White also says a little poem about being afraid and letting your imagine get away from you. Perhaps if I had watched this as a youngling I wouldn't be afraid of the boogieman--still, to this day.