Analysis of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Elemental (2023)

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the comparative analysis of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Elemental (2023), focusing on character archetypes, social values, and media reception.

Sneewittchen (1812)

The original Brothers Grimm story that served as the basis for Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Disney’s Folly

The derogatory name Hollywood used to dismiss Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs before its release.

Empedocles’s classical Greek elements

The mythological framework of fire, water, earth, and air used in Elemental to allegorise the immigrant experience.

Ember Lumen

The protagonist of Elemental who challenges patriarchal expectations of being a 'dutiful daughter' to pursue self-actualisation.

Wade Ripple

The male lead in Elemental who disrupts masculine norms by prioritising unashamed emotional vulnerability.

Jonathan Frome

The researcher whose data indicates that only $20\%$ of early media reviews criticized Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Emerson Snow White tabletop radio

Consumer paraphernalia used to anchor public perception of the 1937 film as a requirement of patriotic citizenship.

Laura Mulvey’s “male gaze”

A feminist lens used to reject Snow White for commodifying female value through aesthetic perfection and passivity.

Tokenism and queerbaiting

Common criticisms from queer communities regarding the minimal screen time of the non-binary character Lake in Elemental.

Bowen’s Family Projection Process

A psychological framework used to explain Ember’s anxiety while striving to fulfill an inherited legacy for her father, Bernie.

Somatisation

A process where psychological distress manifests as physical symptoms, such as Ember turning purple or exploding during panic attacks.

With a Smile and a Song

A song from Snow White that illustrates the sanitised emotional landscape of the 1930s by having the protagonist mask her fear behind a pleasant demeanor.

Climate justice and systemic equity

Social values reflected in Elemental through the metaphor of a broken canal gate flooding the marginalized Fire Town.

Individualist resolution myth

The narrative trope where complex systemic issues, like discrimination, are solved through interpersonal romance rather than structural change.

Filial piety

A value regarding a daughter's devotion to her family which the character Ember Lumen negotiates against her personal ambition.