Final Blog Post

Writing in the blog this semester has been an interesting experience because it made me realize how far reaching the impact of fairy tales has been. Not only do new twists on old tales continue to be written, but references to fairy tales can be found in almost any aspect of culture, from everyday speech to movies, music, and fashion.

The most surprising thing I noticed over the course of the semester was how often fairy tale references pop up in normal speech without people really noticing. This shows just how much fairy tale themes and ideas have infiltrated our culture and our expectations. Fairy tale weddings, princes riding white horses, and princess dresses are all things that get mentioned frequently and that are able to conjure up a very specific image in our minds. People make these references without even realizing what they are saying and this shows how normal these expectations are within our culture. I know that if I had not been in this class, I would not have noticed all of these references.

I think that all the pop cultural references to fairy tales further show how they have impacted expectations. Not only do we talk about them, but they show up everywhere. Since they are mutually understood, they can reach a wide audience, and so they are perfect for use in movies, music, etc.

I also think it is very interesting which parts of fairy tales our culture focuses on. Most of the references made are about rise tales, dressing up as a princess to find a prince, having a fairy tale wedding, even Cinderella stories in sports. I think that it says something about what our culture values that these are the elements of the story that are focused on and incorporated into daily life. It shows that people still believe in the “American dream” idea. They believe that with hard work, and a little luck, anyone can come out on top, just like in fairy tales (at least in the Disney versions).