<CAUTION: These handouts must be used in conjunction with class discussion and other course materials. They are not intended to be stand-alone explanations.>

NOTE: The following is my outline of a review of the new Disney version of "Cinderella" by Rick Kushman, television critic for the Sacramento Bee. I want you see this article as an example of the paper outline form which was presented in Paper Guidelines 2. Of course, since journalists must emphasize brevity and holding the reader's interests above all, e.g. the ten-second "tv sound bite," his paragraphs are shorter and his examples less developed than what I will be asking you to do in English 20. However, the logical form of his essay is very close to our model <e.g. he provides background material to help set up his primary arguments and he attempts to support all of his arguments with specific examples>.

In addition, I'd like you to make particular note of his attempt to be "fair" to his subject material and to give the producers of the film "the benefit of the doubt" whenever possible. Needless to say, maintaining this attitude of fairness is vitally important when trying to critically evaluate points of view which differ from your own.

By Rick Kushman

SACRAMENTO BEE TV Columnist

KUSHMAN'S THESIS STATEMENT: Tonight, ABC's $12 million "Cinderella" makes a well-intentioned attempt to reconcile Western culture's prime rags-to-riches story with 1990s sensibilities. Sad to say, it ends up with so many contradictions, it can still give you nightmares.

A SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS HE WILL PRESENT

ARGUMENT 1: "Cinderella" shows how much sexual stereotyping still exists.

 

ARGUMENT 2: The film shows how little room society gives women.

1. KUSHMAN SAYS THAT THE PRODUCERS BOUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF "ENLIGHTENED MESSAGES" TO BEGIN WITH. HE PRESENTS THEIR POSITION BEFORE HE ARGUES AGAINST IT.

¥ABC and "The Wonderful World of Disney" have said for months that precisely because it's a children's tale, they have an obligation to tweak it enough to send out enlightened messages. And, in one of those unfair Catch 22s, by bringing up the subject, the producers invited close scrutiny of their messages.

 

¥In an interview with reporters recently, the producers talked about their intentions.

2. HE PRESENTS SUPPORTING EVIDENCE/SPECIFIC EXAMPLES SHOWING THAT CREATORS OF THE FILM WERE TRYING TO SEND SEVERAL "MESSAGES" TO VIEWERS.

MESSAGE 1: "We wanted everybody who watches to be able to say, 'That's my story, I can identify with people on that screen,"' said Neil Meron, an executive producer.

MESSAGE 2: "It was one of our main concerns," said director Robert Iscove, "to make sure that the story had some relevance to a '90s audience. We're trying to empower all of these ladies to realize that the beautiful dress and the externals are inside you, that every girl is a princess and they can bring that out."

MESSAGE 3: Iscove said both Cinderella and the prince underwent small but substantive character changes. Cinderella is no longer waiting to be rescued. At the end - before the prince finds her - she decides to leave her stepmother's house and salvage her life on her own.

MESSAGE 4: And the prince, in theory, is looking for a soulmate, not the winner of the Miss Kingdom pageant.

"This is more of a rebel prince who just wants to be a regular person, and he's looking for the person who will complete him."

3. KUSHMAN MAKES ALLOWANCES BEFORE BEGINNING HIS ARGUMENTS.

¥To be fair, we have to accept a few contradictions because this is, after all, a fairy tale.

¥So, on faith and without regard to logic, we don't ask why one glass slipper didn't dissolve at midnight with the rest of the clothes and the carriage; why the prince needed help from a shoe to recognize his true love; why Cinderella's family didn't recognize her at the ball; or how it was that no other woman in the entire kingdom had her same shoe size.

 

But, unfortunately, there are real contradictions and harmful messages in even this "Cinderella" that should not be taken on faith. Here are some of them:

PROBLEM 1. The fairy godmother (Whitney Houston) says wishes are "poppycock and twaddle" and that Cinderella has the power within her - apparently her personality and intellect - to change her life. Then she sends Cinderella to the ball to charm the prince with her looks and let him save her.

 

PROBLEM 2. Without the fairy godmother's magic - and some outside forces like, maybe, a winning lottery ticket - Cinderella is still helpless because she needs a beautiful gown and good wheels and can't afford them.

And with the magic expiring at midnight and Cinderella rushing home, this must mean she no longer has the power within her.

 

PROBLEM 3. Even while the prince insists he wants someone with whom to talk and share his life, the ball has a staircase of giggling, cooing women who've never met the man but are happy to marry him because he's a prince.

The prince, in the song "10 Minute Ago," asks a valid question: "Do I love you because you're beautiful or are you beautiful because I love you?" But he's already answered his question. He's known her for all of 10 minutes, and he's clearly not yet established any intellectual bond.

 

PROBLEM 4. The evil stepmother (Peters) reminds Cinderella's stepsisters that "this isn't about love, it's about marriage." So, although the stepmother is the villain, we still get the classic, destructive images of women as gold diggers and of mothers having one ambition for their daughters: marriage.

 

PROBLEM 5. There is more. The stepsisters aren't really evil, but they're villains because they commit the sin of being unattractive and clumsy. Cinderella's family ends up locked outside the castle gates, kept away from the wedding in a final act of revenge.

 

PROBLEM 6. <THIS IS AN ARGUMENT THAT RESPONDS TO POSSIBLE OBJECTIONS TO HIS "NEGATIVE" REMARKS ABOUT A "CHILDREN'S" FILM (WHICH WE ASSUME WOULD NOT INCLUDE THE DISNEY PRODUCERS). HERE HE IS TRYING TO ANSWER THOSE WHO MIGHT CLAIM THAT HE IS MAKING A BIG ISSUE OUT OF NOTHING.

[Of course] this is a children's story. Also in its defense, it's just a children's story, no harm intended.

But that's the final contradiction, that innocent stories used to help children fall asleep can't avoid having powerful messages and values. Through them we tell kids what is important and what is good. A children's story on television is even more powerful because it's coupled with the hypnotic seduction of TV.

1. <HE RECOGNIZES THAT THIS FILM WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A BIG CURE FOR SOCIETY'S WOES. BY THE SAME TOKEN, IT IS NOT GOING TO DO ANY GREAT HARM EITHER.>

Is one remade fairy tale going to change society? Of course not. Is ABC's "Cinderella" really going to convince children the world is colorblind or that fairy godmother's will save them ? Not likely.

2. <HIS ESSAY IS JUST A SIMPLE WORD OF CAUTION.>

But it is not so terrible an idea to remind our children as they watch of the morals and messages conveyed, of our own families' values, and of the world as we would like it to be in the perfect fairy tale.

NOTE: IN THIS SUMMARY OF KUSHMAN'S ARGUMENTS, I HAVE TRIED TO BE AS FAIR AND AS OBJECTIVE AS I COULD BE. HENCE, SOME OF YOU MIGHT ASSUME THAT I NECESSARILY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE SAYS.

HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT THE CASE. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I HAVE SOME SERIOUS OBJECTIONS TO A NUMBER OF THE POINTS HE MAKES. BUT MY PRIMARY PURPOSE HERE IS TO DO JUSTICE TO HIS ESSAY AS A NON-TECHNICAL EXAMPLE OF GOOD ARGUMENTATION.