Class Notes on Cinderella

- La Traviata - parallels "Pretty Woman" in movie, almost. The ending in the former has the lady die of TB, while Julia Roberts lives happily ever after.

- REQUIREMENTS - For women: tall, thin, beautiful, and in a terrible situation - have to be in distress. For men: very, very rich and powerful.

- For women - is this a temptation for failure, not being so successful that a "prince" won't come along? It's tempting because it's easy, and the temptation itself is slimy to look at and to handle. How does a girl fashion herself into a Pretty Woman? 1) Be born with genes that keep you thin - that takes care of a lot later, 2) Be social, charming, and a good hostess; do not worry yourself over things that happen outside you, or outside your range of influence, 3) Make stupid decisions, and keep repeating those; obvious, redundant mistakes get you to that all-too-necessary "Damsel in Distress"-stage. 4) Keep thinking and seeing with blinders on - don't see how much you're missing out on, don't complain, don't argue, and at all cost, be pleasant.

- For men - the pressure to be that Prince is enormous - is it still relevant today? Of course - in a huge way. Who is expected to forfeit the equivalent of three-months salary for an engagement ring? Who traditionally proposes? Who is expected to radiate dominance, machismo, and confidence in a relationship? Who controls the upper echelons of business and government, and how do those people (men) behave? Who is supposed to ask a person out on a date, when the people involved are of opposite genders? Prince Charming has money, an education, real estate, family and social prestige, and refined manners all given to him - and he knows to treat these things with a kind of humble, "aw shucks, none of that matters"-manner. Any guy who is not given all of the above at birth is not a complete person anyway, but lacking something. People in general are born lacking something, instead of born complete with the abilities to achieve something beyond themselves.

- New version: love will save both woman and guy in the relationship - they save each other, not just one saving the other.

- Extreme Makeover: families in really difficult situations get "saved" by Ty and Crew - Cinderella-for-profit

- Memoirs of a Geisha - an adaptation of Cinderella, with Sayuri as Cinderella, Hatsumomo and Mother as Stepfamily, and Mameha as the Fairy godmother. Of course, the Prince comes in the form of the Chairman.

- Taylor Swift, "It's a Love Story" - fairy-tale passivity still there.

- "Pernicious messages persist" - pop art v. art

- Sarah Bareilles, "Fairytale" - the opposite of the above song. "don't you know she's only waiting on the next best thing", "I don't care", "I don't want your fairy-tale", "I don't want the next best thing". She's self-sufficient - she's not waiting for somebody to save her.

- Tori Amos - a song where, in the music video, she's a foot and a head and nothing else. muohio.edu/englishtechnology/bodyimage.htm - love being transformative, transforming you into a whole body/person.