Snow was just never my favorite - ALWAYS happy, too naive, too fast to fall in love, and not the brightest bulb in the pack is how I saw her. But overall, nothing wrong with her. But how is she outstanding? Other than she's pretty? I just don't see too much depth to her character. I guess I just never related to her very well.
I mean, do you feel that emotionally attached to her? Not really. Is she a good character? Certainly. Not "do you relate to her" but "are you emotionally attached to her". If you have a stronger connection to a character, then you have more feelings invested in the story. You don't have to relate to her. But are your emotions controlled, even jeopardized by her in the slightest during the movie? Or are you pleasantly entertained, visually and audibly, for an hour with a classic tale?
But then again, what makes it a classic tale? Why do we love a tale like that so much when we aren't invested in the essence of the characters of the fairy tales? It's the plot. It's not the characters. The plot is such a one that's exciting and lovely and beautiful and has depth to it alone, that the characters are just pawns. But when people try to retake the fairy tales to add the element of a deep character, it takes away from the fairytale. Why? Does it mask it? What about adding depth to the characters takes away from the classic fairy tales? Is it only that we are used and are attached to the classic ones, and are so skeptical of the new takes? Even if they do well, very well in some cases, they'll never come close to eclipsing the originals.
The story of Snow White is a classic - virtuous Princess jeopardized by the villain, and the Prince must save her. We love those stories. We always have. But on the other hand we cheer for the female characters kicking butt and saving themselves, and possibly their "prince". Which is better? Is it personal preference? I guess it must be, because if you were to claim one was better than the other, you would never be able to draw your point home with someone with the opposing view, because it's their opinion vs. yours. There's not a way to tell which story is better; it is personal preference. How deep you read into them is between you and the author.
"Show don't tell" also comes into play here. Depth of character should be endorsed by the actions of the character, not by meaningful conversations and inside thoughts alone. Those are sides for the main course, if you will. But based on her actions, Snow White's character doesn't seem to be my type of heroine. If it had been one of my heroine's in her place, Snow White would never have taken any of the crap from her Step Mother in the first place, but past that, she would have been in the mines with the dwarves, whistling louder probably, and would have, after kindly helping the old woman, realized she was the witch and told her to take a hike.
The story also moves along without her. Sure, the queen is moved to such motives because she's beautiful, but the rest of the plot moves forward simply because she remains ALIVE Other than that, she did nothing. You can take her out and put a mannequin in her place, a pretty, alive (somehow) mannequin, and the story remains mostly untouched. But. Here we bring in the Prince and the Dwarves; the people who love her. Why? Because she's sweet and pure and pretty. That's all. That's all I see to it - and I'm not saying there needs to be.
This may not be what makes you relate and empathize with the character, or even like her, but it does for a lot of people. I don't happen to be one of them. I prefer Belle and Mulan and Tiana - the hardworking, selfless, go-getters. You may not think of Belle in this light, but she went to save her father, then struck the deal with a beast herself in order to save him. She then forces herself to get through each day until eventually it becomes more bearable. She doesn't pine, wasting away. She goes exploring into the forbidden parts of an enchanted castle guarded by a monstrous beast. Huzzah. The other two are a bit more obvious - saving China, working hard to open her own restaurant; pretty awesome stuff.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a post about Snow White hate. It's me trying to analyze her character.....at 12 o'clock in the morning.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the movie armed with my trusty notepad and pen.
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