Billy Ray Blog #6

I really enjoy stories of people rising up from nothing. These stories, or so-called “rise tales” features a narrative arc of “rags to riches through magic and marriage.” Cinderella is probably the most popular “rise tales” when we are discussing fairy tales, and we watched two films that had to do with this central motif in Cinderella. The one film, which is Disney’s animated Cinderella, is the story of Cinderella that most of us are familiar with. The other film, Pretty Woman, is a more modern adaptation of the story of Cinderella. Though the movies are different, they both prove that it’s realistic for a person to reach success with magic, marriage, and charm.  
 
In Cinderella, no matter how much negativity is thrown at Cinderella, she does not let it affect her until she has a breakdown when her dress gets destroyed by her wicked step sisters. Even in the beginning of the movie the narrator explains how badly Cinderella was treated by her step mother and sisters, but Cinderella remained benevolent and generous to everyone around her. Cinderella is wearing beat up rags and is always dirty from doing chores. She has nothing compared to her stepsisters who are granted whatever they wish. Cinderella ends up overcoming the cruelty of her step mother and sisters when the prince finds out it is her glass slipper and marries her. Marriage and Cinderella’s kindness brought her from rags to riches. 
 
In Pretty Woman, the woman (Vivian) is a prostitute working Hollywood Blvd. With her friend Kit in the begging of the movie. We find out that she was never wealthy growing up and she dropped out of school after the 11th grade. Vivian’s clothes are revealing/ poor looking and she doesn’t have any sense of what the other side lives like until she meets Edward. Edward takes Vivian in and they end up falling madly in love. Vivian was working the streets to make money for herself until she was “saved” by Edward. Vivian may have had money or any of the luxuries rich people have, but she was a kind person with a good heart (which Edward sees) and just like in Cinderella, it pays off for her at the end. 
 
Overall, both movies show the “rags to riches” motif that we have seen in all of the Cinderella variations we have looked at. Both films were different in their own way like how some of the fairy tales are different, but they both reveal the same motif we have seen for Cinderella. The films also both prove that a person can go from rags to riches or reach success/riches with magic, marriage, and charm. 

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