There are stereotypes and prejudices portrayed all over popular culture. One work that sticks out to me that has very prominent stereotypes such as one about women in powerful positions is Cinderella. In the Disney movie the way they show the relationship between the step mom and Cinderella makes the impression that if given power a women will take advantage of it and push things too far.
In the movie they portray the step mom as someone who doesn’t care about anyone but herself and her two daughters. She makes Cinderella do all the house cleaning and locks her away from the whole world. One instance that really shows this is when the price is hosting a ball. Cinderella gets all excited makes a dress and gets all ready to go. As she is walking out to leave with everyone she realizes that the have left without her. Cinderella ends up going anyways with the help of a fairy god mother and her and the price dance all night long. At midnight she has to rush out before everything she was given by the godmother turns back to rags. While she was rushing out the prince notices that she lost her glass slipper. He vows that he will find this mystery girl and sets up a town wide search. The step mother realizes that the mystery girl the price is looking for is no other than Cinderella. She couldn’t let Cinderella take the possibility of becoming the prince’s bride away from her daughters so she locks her in the seller.
By having the step mom do these things to Cinderella they create a sense of her abusing the power she is given. The step has two of her own children and she treats them like royalty and Cinderella who is not her child is treated like crap. She makes her do everything and her kids do nothing and there is nothing Cinderella can do about it. The step mom is very aware that because she is the only adult figure in Cinderella’s life she can control every move she makes, and that’s exactly what she does!
I must say that I agree with you in that the step-mother idea does seem to have become a stereotype. Just thinking of the word "step-mother" makes me think of some cruel lady , extra points if they have bullies for children, and you can see this concept pop up in pop culture -- Ella Enchanted, Snow White, Strangers with Candy. There are plenty of stereotypes Cinderella has fed, but the idea of an evil step-mother has turned the new ones of the family into the "enemy" of sorts, and that doesn't bode well for some families.
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