Reading Response: "Breaking the Disney Spell"

While I can understand why many dislike the arguments put forward in Jack Zipes' piece "Breaking the Disney Spell", I actually found that many of Zipes' key points resonated with me. From the very beginning of his argument, I enjoyed Zipes' use of rhetorical questions to challenge the meaning of the so-called "Disney spell". Although the background information on the history of oral and literary fairy tales was not overtly pertinent to Zipes' main argument, I truly liked learning more about the evolution of fairy tales over time from a communal oral tradition to an elitist privilege in the 19th century when they started to be written down as literature. Another facet of Zipes' writing that was enjoyable was how he drew parallels between classic fairy tales and modern Disney film. Parallels such as the patriarchal social structure, rural life, and rags-to-riches stories were all interesting examples that characterize both Disney films as well as classic fairy tales.

One particular aspect of Zipes' piece that I didn't love were the exaggerated metaphors that Zipes makes between Walt Disney's early films such as Puss in Boots and Snow White and Disney's own personal life in regards to dealing with cutthroat film industry. While I admit that the metaphors did make logical sense, they just came across as ridiculous and it was somewhat clear that Zipes was grasping at straws in that aspect of his argument. 

Finally, I thought that Zipes was effective with his use of numerical lists to make his points. I'm a logical person that likes to see various arguments written out in an outright manner, so it was nice to see Zipes make use of lists to reinforce his main points. 

Overall, I think Zipes wrote an effective piece that delves into the deeper meaning of the "Disney spell". My favorite quote from this piece is when Zipes argues that "the power of Disney fairy-tale films does not reside in the uniqueness or novelty of the productions, but in Disney's great talent for holding antiquated views of society still through animation". This quote highlights the true power of Disney films in that they are able to not only transcend time periods but also accentuate traditional values in society that everyone can get around and support.