Translation of the Little Mermaid

[Seven]

I agree about the Disney Princess thing; they're doing more harm than good for young girls. 'Princess' is a fetish at this point, and they're glamorizing the facade of the princess life, which was very trivial and hardly existed in reality. However, they are not entirely to blame. After all, just like everyone else, they're just a company trying to make a profit. The time the princess movies came out, sexism was greater than today. You can see the progression though as each cnew movie is a little less damsel in distress and more pro-woman. so really, they're only selling what is already in our heads, what we currently believe about women.

Everyone likes the princess fairy tales because they're usually the most rounded and happy. they have this little value of "if you're good, you're beautiful. and if you're beautiful, even if you struggle at first, you'll meet prince charming and lead a good life." Of course, nowadays we see meeting in prince charming does not mean necessrily a good life, but they're going off the 'true love' thing, which is a nice thing to believe in. I personally like most Disney movies for their classic animation styles, music, and the general sweetness to them. You just have to watch them, understanding that this was scripted years ago, when women were not considered capable, and the stories were based off things made centuries ago, when woman were considered objects.

Anyways, Disney couldn't use the true ending of the little mermaid, as it contradicted it's trademark moral of 'love conquers all!' You could say the true story still supports this (as the mermaid gained an immortal soul instead of just turning into sea foam when she died), but it's not as apparent. of course they wanted to market something that makes it obvious to kids, "hey, good guys always overcome bad guys and live happily ever after."

what I found interesting though, is how the sea witch said the the mermaid's grandmother also fell in love. but they never said what became of her. did she die? did she marry her love? was he also a prince? is this just a never ending cycle?

[Rojo]

Disney should make a film where the badguys win...

[Asila]

As interesting as that would be, Rojo, I can't think of a scenario that Disney would be able to franchise! Even though Dreamworks pretty much did just that when they made Shrek. Actually that was just what they did! They made the ogre, who is the classic bad guy, win that one. Even the dragon, another creature that is considered monstrous in western folklore, had a part in Fiona's rescue at the end.

Another question for you, Rojo...Why did the Russian little mermaid cartoon remind you of Pan's Labyrinth? Was it because the heroines in both story basically sacrificed themselves in the end?

As for the Disney princesses and how much they annoy me, I do understand that they were created in a different era and that values where different back then, with gender roles being much more defined. However, that doesn't mean I have to like it. It probably doesn't help that those same shows used to bore me out of my mind when I was young. I like most of Disney's movies, but Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella are all identical as far as the plot is concerned. Though I have to admit that Malificent in Sleeping Beauty rocked (I thought she made a magnificent dragon) and the singing mice in Cinderella were very cute. But I can always return to this argument at a different time, since it's one that agitates me consistently. If you met the girls in my family, you'd know why.

However, I have an insight regarding your question, Seven. I think that we were allowed that tidbit of information regarding the mermaids ancestry as a sort of forshadowing. I know it's vague and subtle, since we were never told how that past romance ended. But it is there. It is the setting that gives you the answer. Let me explain...

Don't you think it odd that it was the sea witch that told the mermaid of that story? And don't you think that they sea witch, who we are expected to label as a treacherous character, would leave an unhappy ending out of the account so as to ensure that the mermaid would accept what can only be seen as a sacrificial bargain? I also think that, had the mermaid's grandmother found happiness upon the shores, the sea witch would have ariticulated that. Such a revelation would only make the mermaid more sure of her decision, a good thing as far as the sea witch would be concerned, since she seems to take pleasure out of the misfortune of others. Think of how she swindled the mermaid's sisters at the end. I bet the miserable old fish knew that the girl wouldn't accept the spell.

And even if you choose not to read so much into the intentions of the sea witch, the setting, as I previously mentioned, adds the ominous cast. The sea witch's cave was not a soothing place. It was shadowy, the colors consisting of bright, anxiety inducing shades of red. (Research has shown that while blue is a relaxing color to most people, red actually makes people more anxious. Personally I like red, but hey, I'm crazy) Red is also a color associated with evil, perhaps the reason the sea witch was red and black while the mermaids were a pure, enchanting white. Symbolism at it's finest. So, the brief reference to the mermaids grandmother would take on negative conotations in this setting.

Now, if the mermaids, who were pure and angelic in appearance, had referenced that tale, we would have been sure it ended happily, even if they'd been just as vague. It's all about atmosphere.

Whoa, I actually sound intelligent! I'm impressed! Or perhaps this entire page is just a rambling, incoherent mess and I have descended so far into madness that it looks like a collection of well-thought paragraphs when processed through my twisted mind...

[Rojo]

Becuase it was kinda like Pan's Labyrinth in that sense, but it's more the fact that it was in a different language, but it touchs you more than anyother English film could.

[Asila]

I hear people say things like that all the time about English films or English songs and I disagree. Have you ever tried listening to an English film or song and actually listen to the tone of the voices intead of just the words themselves? Most people don't, and so I keep hearing things like "Japanese music is so much better than American music, because of the atmosphere that American artists fail to incorporate into their work."

I have a theory on this. I think that since ours is a high context culture, meaning that we focus a lot on speaking with clarity, (versus low context cultures, which speak vaguely and turn listening into an art form) we fail to pay attention to things like tone, expression, or atmosphere. The only time we do so is when we can't understand the words, and so have no choice but to listen to the tone and the way the words are spoken because that is all that's left.

I can think of many songs and many movies conducted in the English language that are just as powerful as any foreign work. If I may make an example of my favorite band, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance sings with a great deal of passion and fervor. There are many other songs in the alternative rock genre that are powerful as well, and I have a huge movie collection, out of which I know I could give you a long list of titles, but for now I'll just list V for Vendetta, 28 Days Later, Silent Hill, War of the Worlds, 8 Mile, and Signs.

Sorry to blab so much, Rojo. I didn't sound like a rude know-it-all, did I? I'm usually afraid to say something even vaguely intelligent since I know how irritated people can get with college kids, and I just happen to be one at the moment. Really, though, there is so much good stuff that is done in the English Language! I love foreign films, but I appreciate our stuff just as much.

[Rojo]

...


I think they should make a film called
"Small Dog, Big Cat"
I have no idea why.

[Seven]

Those were pretty interesting points about the color scheme. I mean, we all know that dark and red colors are usually used for evil characters, but we still don't really think about it when we're watching stuff. There is one other thing though, the Sea Witch was the only obese person--all the 'good' people were slender. Do you think they're trying to say fat people are evil?
...I guess that means 60% of America is evil....

I also agree with you on the language point. It's true that there is a sort of romantacism that surrounds foreign languages (it makes everything seem exotic), but it's a falesy to say it's better just because of being in another language. After all, in Russia, the Russian wouldn't sound exotic. It's funny, a lot of people have this conception. If you go to any Asian country, you'll see that ANYWHERE you go, English words (usually misused or misspelled) liter the signs, music, and all other facades of their culture. I think people are just naturally attracted to languages they don't know--it makes everything seem more mysterious I guess. As Asila said, you really do stop thinking about the context and pick up other things.

Though I admit, it does annoy me when people rant about Japanese being the coolest thing (especially language wise) ever and try do everything Japanese.





....Especially since Spanish is best hands down.

[Asila]

I'm always thinking about color and the symoblism attributed to it, because I don't understand why most people see it as they do. I mean, for me, blue is a bad color and red is a good one. I like red because it soothes me, and I dislike blue because I find it dull and depressing. I don't know why my mind is so inverted in this sense, but it's fascinating to me that everyone else is backwards. Or normal, I suppose. I'm actually the weird one here, even though in my mind it is I who is normal and everyone else who is peculiar.

I'm backwards when it comes to white and black, as well. White is simply too bright and hurts my eyes. Black is calm and relaxing. That's why I always go for walks when it's dark; I'm less tense. ... Am I the only one who is thinking that mindset is NOT good for my longevity?

Colors are very interesting...

As for fat people being evil, I don't think that's quite how it works. I think that somewhere along the line someone decided that evil people had to be unnattractive. And since obesity is often considered unattractive, it would be a good trait to assign a villian. Except that I, thanks to Santa Claus, view fat people as jovial...Anyway, evil villains are usually unattractive, because most cultures are narcissistic in nature. If the bad guy was attractive, more people would sympathise with him or her.

[Rojo]

Yay, I get to make a coherent point...

Evil people don't neccisarily have to be evil, in fact, a phrase goes "Beauty in the eye of the beholder". I'm not quite sure what it means, but I think it means something ugly and evil can contain inner beauty, which comes back to the idea of love and kindness conquering all.

Anyway, villians don't have to be ugly. In fact, some of the best villians are handsome or beautiful, which really makes you pay attention to their character, becuase you think "Wait--villians aren't supposed to be pretty...I'll keep my eye on them." This is maybe why some villians strive to be loved and admired, becuase a true villian wouldn't want to be admired becuase she's prettier than others, she/he would do it becuase they want to have charasmatic rule over others. But then again, becoming completely ugly can have perks too: people prettier than you will give you sympathy (most of the time) and prehaps help you.

Also, I agree with the colours thing. I find red better than blue, and black over white. I don't find them evil, unless I want to, but maybe that's becuase black and red are my favourite colours...

For example, there's a picture of a pink and white Darth Vader on the tinternet somewhere, and it has so many views, becuase it's not what you expect.