Through the Looking Glass: Distorted Discourse on Culture, Feminism, and Disney’s Snow White
In June of 2021, Disney cast Broadway star turned Hollywood actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White in their 2025 remake of the iconic classic. Since her casting, Zegler’s run as Snow White has been met with backlash bordering on vitriolic, largely related to her race as a Colombian-American. In Fall of 2023, the discourse around Zegler shifted to criticize her comments on Disney’s original Snow White. While some might be inclined to dismiss this as more anti-Latina sentiment, I find myself hesitant to do so. I think this discourse is actually indicative of a broader conversation surrounding feminism, the raising of children, and the role of the media in both of these areas.
Zegler went on the record on multiple occasions making disparaging comments about Disney’s original 1937 Snow White. (1) Most notably, Zegler asserted the remake would depart from the original primarily in its portrayal of Snow White’s relationship with the film’s male lead. Zegler triumphed that the new Snow White wouldn’t “be saved by the prince” or “be dreaming about true love” but rather she would “be dreaming about becoming the leader she [knew she could] be.” She went so far as to say that her castmate, Andrew Burnap, who plays the prince in question, could see all his scenes get cut, remarking, “It's Hollywood, baby!”
Not everyone was thrilled to hear these remarks. David Hand, son of one of the original film’s creators, stated that he felt the remake was “a whole different concept” from the original, and that he disagreed with this drastic departure. He added that he felt “[his] dad and [Walt Disney] would also very much disagree with it.” Hand later described the film as “woke” and “insulting.” (1) In the face of backlash from Hand and his contemporaries, Zegler stood firm in her position. She doubled down, saying the remake was “a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.'” (1)
The discourse between Zegler and Hand frames the issue as something centering around “wokeness,” otherwise described as the so-called invasion of progressive politics into media spaces. But discourse from ordinary people online, while taking up less air-time, discusses the issue in far better faith and centers not on politics, but feminism—asserting that regardless of the original, the remake isn’t doing women justice, either. One creator charged Disney with “failing to be [feminist]” by asserting that “there is only one type of strength a woman can have and that is to be independent.” (2) While this conversation is in no way new, Zegler’s comments reignited this debate, putting it on a scale larger than it’s ever seen before.
For those upset with Zegler about her comments on the original film’s merit, their issues with her were separate from her race or her talent, but rather her denigration of Snow White for her possession of traditionally feminine qualities and trajectories. Zegler takes issue with Snow White’s desire to marry, but what other paths were available to women at the time? What of the women of today, who, with increased opportunity for education and career, may still desire to marry and stay at home? Are their desires less valid? Zegler, it seems, would say yes.
Zegler is in no way a representative for the entirety of the Disney franchise or even the entirety of Snow White’s production team. She is, however, representative of a school of thought that has grown louder and more influential in recent years that conflates autonomy and independence, all the while asserting it does so in the name of female empowerment. The criticisms launched by Zegler and her peers are reminiscent of those of the second-wave feminist movement, while respondents seem to be calling for a more modern take—what irony. While feminist movements have never been perfect, particularly in catering to the needs of all women, Zegler’s characterizations of Snow White as weak and aimless just because she wants to marry rather than wield a sword are tired. It’s worth asking ourselves why we haven’t moved past this line of reasoning and why, so many years later, we are still in the business of trying to tell women how they ought to be.
Fairytale retellings are a powerful opportunity to reimagine a classic story in ways that are relevant and accessible to a modern audience. The fact that this audience is often made up of young, impressionable children makes the way we tell and retell fairy tales even more important. While a certain level of anxiety around retellings is normal, and certainly rooted in nothing more than nostalgia, this issue spans deeper than that. By nature, retellings change—but that doesn’t mean they always change for the better. If we can separate out our own ideology or internalized judgments from the discourse around the role of the media so as to not let the conversation devolve based on partisan or ideological lines, we can have better conversation about what a retelling gains and what it loses. If we want to have conversations in good faith about what actionable feminism looks like and how to translate it across stories over time, we need to put our own bias aside and focus on what fairy tales have always been about—women.
Strike Out,
St. Louis
Written by: Mallorie Goodwin
Edited by: Emily Bekesh
(1) Hargrave, S. (2023, September 27). Rachel Zegler’s Snow White Controversy Explained: Is Disney’s Movie in Trouble? The Direct. https://thedirect.com/article/rachel-zegler-snow-white-disney-movie-controversy
(2) Emilia, M. (2023, August 15). Part 1. https://www.tiktok.com/@velvet.flower/video/7267687063867215136?_r=1&_t=8ktW5wn3aAg