Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a critical and commercial success when it came out in December 1937. It’s the film that started Walt Disney’s company and one could argue that it’s been a major influence on not only future Disney films but animated films in general.
That all being said, I can’t pretend that Snow White has ever been one of my favorite Disney films. I like the movie well enough, but it’s hard to ignore some it’s issues such as the forced gender roles (e.g. the dwarfs and the Prince have to save Snow White while she remains helpless) and the ‘deus ex machina’ of a true love’s first kiss will awaken Snow White (and when you factor in that Snow White is 14 and an older man is coming to kiss her while she is presumed dead is a little too creepy for me). It is important to recognize that Snow White is a product of its time, much like the other older Disney films; I would still recommend anyone to watch it for themselves.
The film begins by silently narrating that the Queen ruled the land and was jealous of Snow White’s beauty and thus made her wear rags so that she can be, “the fairest in the land”. But one day the Magic Mirror that answers all the Queen’s questions informs her that Snow White is ‘more fair’ than her. This is what begins the film and the Queen’s quest to kill Snow White. Her first attempt has her commanding the Huntsman to kill Snow White and then bring back her heart as proof (savage move!). While the Huntsman watches over Snow White in the meadows, he prepares to attack, only to discover that he cannot do it. He pleads for her forgiveness and tells her to run away so she will be safe from the Queen.
This begins my favorite scene in the movie. Snow White is frightened by the news and rightfully so. But something interesting occurs. As she is running into the forest, her fears begin to intensify, and we see this through the surroundings in the forest. At one point, Snow White’s gown gets caught by branches, but Snow White sees the branches as arms grabbing at her. When she falls into a small pond, the tree stumps that are just floating on the surface turn into alligators. The entire scene gradually gets worse and worse; all the trees have scary faces and terrifying eyes and Snow White gets overwhelmed to the point that she stops running and falls on the floor. When she stops, the scene turns back into the normal forest: the scary trees are gone and everything is all still until all the concerned animals come in.
There are two major reasons why this scene is my favorite. The first is simply the animation. You can tell the animaters of this entire scene worked hard in matching Snow White’s increasing fear in her surroundings and the musical score that accompanies this scene also does well in heightening the emotions through it all.
The other major reason is honestly because I can relate to Snow White in this scene. I mean, thankfully I haven’t had a relative or anyone in my life attempt to kill me. But when I watch this scene, it makes me remember my first panic attack I’ve ever had. In 2016 I was in a bad car accident. While I walked away physically unharmed, my car was completely totaled, and I discovered that the crash affected me mentally. Two years later, I was driving on the highway when I saw a bad car wreck on the side of the road. Suddenly I noticed that my breathing was getting heavier. My heart began to pound in my chest and my hands were gradually becoming numb. The whole experienced frightened me. I decided to continue my drive until my feet and legs were starting to become numb. I couldn’t feel the gas peddle beneath my feet. I worried I would crash my car again if I didn’t do something so I finally pulled over. For the next 15 minutes my symptoms persisted. I was absolutely terrified and at the time I had no idea what was going on. It felt like I was losing control of my body. I found out later that I was experiencing a panic attack, no doubt triggered from the past trauma of my car accident and witnessing another car accident. While I felt helpless throughout the majority of my attack, eventually I was able to begin some deep breathing exercises that I was taught. I like to think these breathing exercises were helpful to me.
And that’s exactly what Snow White had to do in order to calm down. She needed to stop running, cry, and breathe deeply. In my situation, I as well needed to stop driving, express my emotions freely, and begin to breathe. This is why I appreciate this scene.
The scene that follows is when the animals come to check in Snow White and they lead her to the Dwarf’s cabin. She then begins to sing with the animals to help her stay calm as they continue through the forest. I can also relate to this as when I’ve been in a dark forest, I tend to either talk or sing very loudly.
Several years ago, I used to work at Christmount retreat center in Black Mountain, North Carolina. At night, the campgrounds would get extremely dark and with the possibility of a black bear or coyotes, I got scared really fast. So in order to cope with my fear, I would sing random camp songs out loud. Not beautifully like Snow White, but that didn’t matter to me at the time! The point was that sometimes singing can be another form of calmness for us when we are in a anxiety filled situation.
While not every lesson from Snow White is applicable to everyone, the lesson I take away is it’s alright to be afraid and when you are afraid, make sure to stop and breathe and maybe even sing to calm down.
My question for you is what do you do when you are afraid? And what is your favorite scene from Snow White?
Peace and Blessings be with you,
Kevin
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