Subversive Elements in Stadust 'Once, Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 947 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 3

Trace the roots of many of the traditional cannon of fairy tale - Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty etc. - and women and children are often subdued by the establishment. Stardust's suggestion that there might be greater things inside all of us seems perfectly in line with traditional fairy tales.

If, however, you believe in more traditional gender roles and are very conservative in regards to family structure then Stardust may present a problem namely, that homosexuality is okay. To those coming from the hard right, Captain Shakespeare's effeminate behavior behind closed doors (or in the closet), and his revelation to the crew that he enjoys cross-dressing and they're subsequent reveal that they already knew, Stardust is definitely a challenge to the status quo. Even the heterosexual romance between Tristan and Yvaine pushes the limit as they are shown in bed together on more than one occasion. Magic and the heavy pagan influence might be of particular concern, as were parents after the release of "Harry Potter," and "The Golden Compass."

Hard liberals and feminists could pull their own message still. Both Tristan's human love Victoria (Sienna Miller), Yvaine (Claire Danes), and the witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a near perfect Aryan complexion. There are no people of color shown on either side of the wall. Portrayals of women are questionable as well. They're shown as being fickle in the case of Victoria - she'll only marry Tristan if he can get her the fallen star and then complain about it being too small; conniving and deceitful as with the witches; and gullible - Yvaine gets tricked repeatedly by more than one character.

Stuck Writing Your "Subversive Elements in Stadust 'Once," Essay?

View All Our Example Subversive Elements in Stadust 'Once, Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Furthermore, femininity is shown as being dangerous - the more beautiful the witch the greater her power.

What all of this means is that the messages embedded into a film may not be the same messages that are extracted (Lurie, 27). The forces driving a character's actions are as much focused by the reader as they are the author. Alison Lurie alludes to this throughout her essay but never truly addresses the concept of encoding and decoding. She righteously gives credit to both the ultra-right and ultra-left in their interpretations of fairy tales but unnecessarily so. Fairy tales are no more subversive than any other literary media. While the accepting of homosexuality in Stardust does alienate the largely conservative populous, it also speaks to a growing segment of the population that pushes equality. In the end, a fairy tale can have subversive elements to one reader and be entirely comfortable to the next. Put a story in context, and it'll end….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Subversive Elements In Stadust 'Once " (2010, December 12) Retrieved June 14, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/subversive-elements-stadust-once-5873

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Subversive Elements In Stadust 'Once " 12 December 2010. Web.14 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/subversive-elements-stadust-once-5873>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Subversive Elements In Stadust 'Once ", 12 December 2010, Accessed.14 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/subversive-elements-stadust-once-5873
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example