Cinderella's marketers downplaying the cinders

by Sarah Gilbert (Subscribe to Sarah Gilbert's posts) Nov 3rd 2005 10:41AM

Categories: Money & Work, Development, Media

Cinderella's story is lovely, but if you read the original, she spends the vast majority of the tale dressed in rags and cleaning out the ashes - a dirty, dirty job. She only got to wear the ballgown for a few hours, until she was whisked away for her happily ever after.

Today, "ella" is not so "Cinder"-y anymore. The New York Times wonders if the re-branding of Cinderella as a Princess, permanently garbed in sparkly slippers, sumptuous gown, and fancy crown, isn't destroying the message of the fairy tale. What is the message, you ask? Something about the inherent worth of the person no matter what her material belongings (well, as long as said person has a fairy godmother to help her shine through her poverty). Only now Cinderella is all about consumption - of gowns, accessories, DVDs, vanities, and of course, cereal. Has Disney turned the moral on its head? Is anyone surprised? (And bonus points to the first person who designs "Take Back Cinderella!" onesies with an appropriately dirty ragamuffin.)

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