Express View: Long-held beliefs about amphibian passivity have been shattered.It might be time to do the same for stories featuring them.
If only Walt Disney had access to the latest research on frogs recently published in the Royal Society Open Science journal. Far more than the original spooky tales by the Brothers Grimm, it’s Disney’s animated films that have shaped the way generations of people see frogs, princes, and animals (the company founded by Walt Disney , perhaps the most influential entertainment giant in the world today). Princesses from the poor to the rich. As it turns out, Disney’s first feature-length films, 1937’s Snow White and The Princess, both could have used data from this study.
A study of female European wood frogs found that the amphibians “played dead” to avoid overzealous males during heat. This evidence, along with observations of other techniques such as physical avoidance, changed long-held beliefs about the timid and docile nature of female frogs and the aggressiveness of male frogs. The Disney universe, and many other influential stories and archetypes, incorporate a similar premise. Perhaps now they can evolve. Let’s take the fairy tale frog as an example. Frog needs a kiss to become a real privileged and cheeky prince. Why is the burden of his liberation placed on a woman? Or, as many are asking through movies and social media, what is so “charming” about the prince who kissed an unconscious Snow White?
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After all, the myth about the passivity of female frogs had been busted by Roselle von Rosenhoff’s book as early as 1758. However, they may have been ignored or not taken seriously. Lately, there have been attempts to retell Disney stories and other stories in a more realistic way. Here, the characters are more like people with agency, rather than the means to realize an idea fraught with inequality. I hope a new fairy tale can be told that is more egalitarian for both frogs and humans.
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Date first published: October 13, 2023, 06:46 IST